After Masters win, some wonder if Woods can
hit the grand slam
By Brad Townsend
The Dallas Morning News
(KRT)
DALLAS - The green jacket barely was on his back an hour before
the question was posed: "Tiger, how soon is a slam in your
future? Is it possible this year?"
Since the Masters is the year's first major, asking its champion
about his chances of winning the grand slam (all four majors in
the same year) is a customary question.
But the question usually isn't posed too seriously. Usually,
the Masters champion laughs it off as preposterous. No one has
won golf's modern-day grand slam. For that matter, no one has
won its first two legs, the Masters and U.S. Open, since Jack
Nicklaus in 1972.
But when the grand slam question was raised Sunday, Woods didn't
smile or flinch. Nor did he hesitate in answering.
"You know, whether it's realistic or not, I couldn't really
tell you," Woods said. "But I think it can be done.
Look at Phil Mickelson last year. I think he won four times. Well,
if you win the right tournaments four times, then you have the
slam."
Leave it to Woods to make the nearly impossible sound plausible.
Frankly, given his historic 12-shot Masters victory, can anyone
doubt this 21-year-old's potential to make more history?
Woods claimed Sunday that he hasn't given much thought to winning
a grand slam. Don't believe it. On the plane ride from Orlando,
Fla., to Augusta, Ga., last week, he told friend and PGA veteran
Mark O'Meara that he thought he could win the Masters. According
to O'Meara, Woods asked about the feasibility of winning a grand
slam.
That is Woods' mentality. Earlier this year, after finishing
second at the AT&T Pebble Beach Open, Woods said, "Second
sucks, and third's even worse."
He has $60 million in guaranteed endorsements, not counting
bonus incentives and the $1.757 million he already has earned
in 15 PGA Tour appearances. Unlike other pros, he doesn't have
to play for his livelihood. He can play for history.
Golf doesn't get more historic than the grand slam. Only Bobby
Jones has won one, in 1930. But at the time, the grand slam events
were the U.S. and British Opens, and the U.S. and British Amateurs.
In 1953, Ben Hogan won the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British
Open (in his only attempt). But the PGA Championship that year
was played the same week as the British Open.
In 1960, Arnold Palmer won the Masters and the U.S. Open, then
lost the British Open by one shot. In '62, Palmer won the Masters,
finished second in the U.S. Open, won the British Open and finished
17th in the PGA Championship.
In '72, Nicklaus won the Masters and U.S. Open, then, like
Palmer, lost the British Open by one shot (to Lee Trevino). Interestingly,
Nicklaus had won the 1971 PGA Championship, so he came within
one shot of winning the four majors consecutively, though not
in the same calendar year.
"It's not very likely, but it's a possibility," Nicklaus
said of Woods' chances. "When you're climbing a mountain,
it's easier to climb it when you're young. But let's take it one
round at a time."
Said Paul Azinger of Woods: "He's really Michael Jordan.
He just has this knack for the flamboyant. ... I think he'll win
all four (majors) in a year."
It didn't seem possible, but winning the Masters has only increased
expectations for Woods. It is only natural to look ahead to this
year's other three majors.
The U.S. Open is June 12-15 at Congressional Country Club in
Bethesda, Md.; the British Open is July 17-20 at Scotland's Royal
Troon Golf Club. The PGA Championship is Aug. 14-17 at Winged
Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
Woods never has played any of those courses. None of the three
has the wide fairways and lack of rough that made Augusta National
so tameable for Woods.
But Woods proved last week that there is much more to his game
than his length off the tee. He showed touch and poise around
the greens. He needed just 111 putts. He made just three bogeys
during the final 63 holes.
The Masters showed Woods has the whole package, or at least
that he is capable of pulling it together in major championship
conditions.
In fact, Woods' teacher, Butch Harmon, said Sunday that the
Congressional layout is even better suited for Woods' game than
Augusta National. We'll see. But if Woods does win the U.S. Open,
the spotlight will intensify even more.
"These are the best players in the world, under the most
extreme conditions and circumstances," Woods said. "But
I think if you just peak at the right times, a lot like Nicklaus
used to do, and have luck on your side ... then, who knows?"
(Brad Townsend is a sports columnist for the Dallas Morning
News. Write to him at: Dallas Morning News, Communications Center,
Dallas, Texas 75265.)
(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News.
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