Woods makes Grand Slam not seem so far-fetched
anymore
By RANDALL MELL / Sun-Sentinel, South Florida
BETHESDA, Md. - Tiger Woods stepped amid the swollen masses
at Congressional Country Club in a practice round at the U.S.
Open Monday to scout the second leg in his pursuit of golf's holy
grail.
A curious throng eagerly awaiting his arrival swarmed the first
tee box to glimpse the magical swing that has the game abuzz over
the possibility Woods can win the Grand Slam.
The 21-year-old superstar is electrifying the capital and its
suburbs with the idea he could become the first professional to
win all four major championships in the same year.
Nicklaus couldn't do it. Hogan couldn't. And Palmer couldn't.
But when Woods blew away the field at The Masters in April,
a Grand Slam breakthrough no longer seemed so far-fetched.
The U.S. Open looms as the second step, the British Open at
Royal Troon in July as the third and the PGA Championship at Winged
Foot in August as the fourth.
The Grand Slam hasn't been talked about seriously since Jack
Nicklaus made a run in 1972. He won the Masters and U.S. Open
before finishing second at the British Open. If Nicklaus couldn't
sweep the majors, the thinking was that nobody ever would.
But now even the bookmakers in Great Britain aren't so certain.
"When I was hot, I was about 100-1 with the bookmakers
against doing the slam," said Nick Faldo, winner of six majors.
"Tiger must be half that."
Actually, even better than that. Woods opened the year a 5,000-to-1
shot to win the Grand Slam, but the odds dropped to 25-1 after
he won The Masters.
How improbable is a Grand Slam season? Only four have been
able to win each of the Grand Slam events over their entire careers:
Nicklaus, Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player. Palmer never won
the PGA Championship, and Sammy Snead never won the U.S. Open.
Even Nicklaus is skeptical somebody can win them all in one
year.
"Even with his talent, it's not realistic," Nicklaus
said. "But it's possible. When you're climbing a mountain,
it's easier to climb when you're young."
Woods is altering ideas about what's realistic.
He did, after all, win his first major as a pro by 12 strokes,
a margin of victory not surpassed since Old Tom Morris won the
British Open in 1862. Woods was the first to shoot 18 under par
at The Masters. This after becoming the first to win three consecutive
U.S. Amateurs and three U.S. Junior titles.
Tiger believed he would win The Masters, and he isn't discounting
a Grand Slam sweep.
"I think it can be done," Woods said. "Take
Phil Mickelson last year. He won four times. If you win the right
four tournaments in one year, then you've won the Grand Slam.
That's easier said than done because major championships bring
together the best players in the world under the most extreme
conditions. It's a matter of peaking at just the right time and
of having a lot of luck on your side. But if that happens, who
knows?"
The Grand Slam of golf may be sport's most difficult feat.
The Grand Slam of tennis has been won six times. The Triple
Crown has been achieved 11 times in horse racing and 16 times
in baseball.
Ben Hogan is the only golfer to come close to sweeping golf's
majors.
Hogan won The Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in 1953,
but he didn't play in the PGA Championship. Back then, the PGA
was a match-play tournament, and the dates conflicted with Hogan's
return from the British Open.
The Grand Slam, you see, wasn't a big deal back then.
Though nobody is sure who came up with the idea of the Grand
Slam, Bobby Jones is credited. As an amateur, he won the British
Open, British Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur. It was the
1930 version of the Grand Slam.
The Slam, however, wasn't a big deal until Palmer made a run
at it when he arrived for the 1960 British Open. Palmer had won
The Masters and U.S. Open, and he proclaimed his desire to win
all four.
Woods shares that desire, but it will be tested by a difficult
Congressional Country Club setup.
Congressional offers a test completely different from what
Woods faced at Augusta National. The fairways at Augusta are wide,
and the rough non-existent. Woods overpowered the course with
his driver and hit wedges into Augusta's challenging greens.
The United States Golf Association will test the field this
week. Congressional Country Club is set up with the USGA's typically
narrow fairways (26 to 32 yards) and punishing rough (5 inches
deep). Accuracy is a must, and though Woods leads the PGA Tour
in driving distance, he ranks just 44th in driving accuracy.
Still, Nicklaus is among players who think Woods is suited
to this course. It is, after all, set up as the longest U.S. Open
course at 7,213 yards, and it is only a par 70.
Woods can hit his 1-iron about 270 yards, longer than most
hit their drivers.
"Congressional is a very, very good golf course for him,"
Nicklaus said.
Winged Foot is long, too. If Woods wins this week, his stiffest
test may be at Royal Troon, where the windy British courses require
a different style and lots of bump-and-run shots.
"The courses are set up for him, except for Troon,"
said Tom Watson, winner of eight majors. "Troon is the equalizer.
Troon is kind of like ... the way Colonial played (three weeks
ago). It played very short, with a lot of irons required off the
tee, so it was an equalizer.
"But, heck, he can use his length to an advantage at Congressional
and Winged Foot and distance himself from the field. At Troon
he'll have to lay up a lot, and that will bring him back to the
field as far as his length is concerned."
Of course, a victory this week will make Tiger a favorite to
win in Great Britain, too.
"He may be the type of player that only comes around in
a millennium," Watson said.
(c) 1997, Sun-Sentinel, South Florida.
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