Wednesday, July 19, 2000
For Woods, a grand stage for a slam attempt:
St. Andrews
By Hunki Yun
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT)
Because he knew every other frame of reference would not be adequate,
Tiger Woods always measured his precocity by the records of Jack
Nicklaus, the greatest golfer ever.
But nowhere on the list of Nicklaus' early achievements that hung
on the wall of Woods' childhood home was this: When a 24-year-old
Nicklaus went to the Old Course at St. Andrews for the 1964 British
Open, it was his first attempt at completing the modern career
Grand Slam.
A student of golf history, Woods arrives in Britain likely aware
of the parallel he faces this week. Like Nicklaus 36 years ago,
the 24-year-old Woods—who has held up well against the Nicklaus
standard so far—will make his first attempt at completing
a career Grand Slam. At the British Open. At St. Andrews.
Nicklaus could not complete the feat at St. Andrews, finishing
second, five strokes behind Tony Lema. Nicklaus didn't win the
British Open until 1966, when he was 26. Those two years have
left Woods with the opportunity for yet another record.
Should Woods win this week, he will become the fifth player—and
the youngest—to complete the career Grand Slam, joining Gene
Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Nicklaus as the only players
to have won the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and the PGA Championship.
Even if he doesn't win this week, there is a strong chance Woods
will win a British Open in the near future and become the fifth
member of an exclusive club. As it is, Woods already enjoys distinguished
company as one of only 10 players with three different major championships.
Of the 10, he is the only one with a chance to move to win a fourth.
Winning three majors presents a hallmark of excellence. Four ensures
immortality.
Which is why Sam Snead pursued the U.S. Open in the same way Arnold
Palmer and Tom Watson burned to win the PGA Championship.
Certainly, Woods feels the same desire this week. Palmer still
thinks of what might have been, but with all hopes of winning
the PGA vanished, he has been able to leave the chase behind.
“I freely admit that I would have dearly loved to have won
the fourth major—the PGA,” Palmer said. “It would
have been important for me to win it and put the missing jewel
in my crown. It bothers me that I didn't win it, but it doesn't
prey on my mind.”
The Grand Slam Four
(Chronologically from when they completed the Slam)
— GENE SARAZEN
— Majors (7): 1922, `32 U.S. Open; 1922, `23, `33 PGA Championship;
1932 British Open; 1935 Masters.
— The final leg: 1935 Masters. In the second-ever playing
of the tournament created by Bobby Jones at Augusta National,
Sarazen made up a three-shot deficit with perhaps the greatest
golf shot ever. Standing over a 220-yard second shot to the par-5
15th hole in the last round, Sarazen's 4-wood found the hole for
a double eagle and propelled him to his only Masters win. Of course,
this was well before green jackets came into existence and the
Masters became known as one of golf's majors, but it counts retroactively.
— BEN HOGAN
— Majors (9): 1946, `48 PGA Championship; 1948, `50, `51,
`53 U.S. Open; 1951, `53 Masters; 1953 British Open.
— The final leg: 1953 British Open. Carrying enormous expectations
in his only British Open appearance, Hogan crossed the Atlantic
Ocean after winning the Masters and U.S. Open that year. During
four rounds over three days at Carnoustie, he won over the knowledgeable
Scottish fans with a near-flawless display of ball-striking that
has become legendary. After succeeding in his first attempt at
capturing the career Grand Slam, Hogan was greeted upon his return
to New York City with a ticker-tape parade down Wall Street.
— GARY PLAYER
— Majors (9): 1959, `68, `74 British Open; 1961, `74, `78
Masters; 1962, `72 PGA Championship; 1965 U.S. Open.
— The final leg: 1965 U.S. Open. Player, who has represented
his native South Africa for nearly five decades, became the first
foreign player to win the U.S. Open since Englishman Tommy Armour
won in 1927. Player's feat took place in the country's heartland,
Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. He defeated Australian Kel
Nagle in the 18-hole playoff to become just the third player to
complete the modern career Grand Slam.
— JACK NICKLAUS
— Majors (18): 1962, `67, `72, `80 U.S. Open; 1963, `66,
`67, `72, `75, `86 Masters; 1963, `71, `73, `75, `80 PGA Championship;
1966, `70, `78 British Open.
— The final leg: 1966 British Open. The last of the four
to achieve the career Grand Slam, Nicklaus also was the youngest.
He was 26 when he held off Doug Sanders and Dave Thomas to capture
the British Open in his fifth attempt. Chronologically, the British
Open win was Nicklaus' fifth pro major. Given the rarity of the
feat, few could conceive he would go on to win 13 additional majors
and become the only player to win each major more than once. He
has completed the career Grand Slam three times over.
They fell one short
(Listed alphabetically)
— RAY FLOYD
— Majors (4): 1969, `82 PGA Championship; 1976 Masters; 1986
U.S. Open.
— Missing major: British Open.
— How close he got: 2nd, 1978.
— Why he never won: Having won the PGA Championship and the
Masters, the major Floyd always wanted to win was the U.S. Open.
It was far more important to him than the British Open, and he
always pointed to the U.S. Open on his schedule. After finally
winning in 1986, becoming at the time the oldest winner of the
championship, Floyd had little left for the pursuit of completing
the career Grand Slam.
— BYRON NELSON
— Majors (5): 1937, `42 Masters; 1939 U.S. Open; 1940, `45
PGA Championship.
— Missing major: British Open.
— How close he got: 5th, 1937.
— Why he never won: A victim of his times, Nelson only played
in two British Opens, in 1937 and `55. To begin with, few Americans
played the British Open because it made little sense financially,
and Nelson always was watching his bank balance. After all, Nelson
retired from competitive golf when he had earned enough to buy
a ranch. In fact, when Snead won in 1946, his first-place prize
money was not enough to offset the total expense of the trip.
And from 1940-45, the prime of Nelson's career, the British Open
wasn't played because of World War II. Nelson retired after the
1946 season.
— ARNOLD PALMER
— Majors (7): 1958, `60, `62, `64 Masters; 1960 U.S. Open;
1961, `62 British Open.
— Missing major: PGA Championship.
— How close he got: 2nd, 1964, `68, `70.
— Why he never won: For three years after turning pro in
1955, Palmer wasn't eligible to play in the PGA Championship because
he wasn't a PGA member. Palmer's first PGA, in 1958, also was
the first in which stroke play was used after years of match play.
Were it not for the requirements, there is a good chance Palmer
could have won a match-play PGA because of his skills as a head-to-head
competitor and his aggressive style.
— SAM SNEAD
— Majors (7): 1942, `49, `51 PGA Championship; 1946 British
Open; 1949, `52, `54 Masters.
— Missing major: U.S. Open.
— How close he got: 2nd, 1937, `47, `49, `53.
— Why he never won: Although Snead was a runner-up four other
times, the U.S. Open he should have won was the 1939 event at
Philadelphia Country Club, where he was the victim of a final-hole
collapse similar to the one that befell Jean Van de Velde at last
year's British Open. In the days before ubiquitous scoreboards,
Snead stood on the 72nd hole thinking he needed a birdie on the
par 5 to win. Actually, all he needed was a bogey. Snead played
too aggressively, found trouble and made a triple bogey, finishing
one shot out of a playoff.
— LEE TREVINO
— Majors (6): 1968, `71 U.S. Open; 1971, `72 British Open;
1974, `84 PGA Championship.
— Missing major: The Masters.
— How close he got: 10th, 1975, `85.
— Why he never won: Trevino always contended his primary
shot shape—low fades—were incompatible with the high
draws needed at Augusta National. Upon cursory examination, the
explanation seems legitimate. But it isn't true. He was using
inability to hit the necessary shots on the course as a crutch.
One of the best shot-makers of all time, Trevino could hit any
shot for any situation. But he never felt comfortable on the grounds
of Augusta National, a bastion of elitism. A Mexican-American
from Texas who grew up in a shack without indoor plumbing, Trevino
often punctuated his views by changing into his golf shoes in
the parking lot rather than using the locker room.
— TOM WATSON
— Majors (8): 1975, `77, `80, `82, `83 British Open; 1977,
`81 Masters; 1982 U.S. Open.
— Missing major: PGA Championship.
— How close he got: 2nd, 1978.
— Why he never won: Watson's game really wasn't suited to
win the two majors based on precision—the U.S. Open and the
PGA Championship. That was why he won so many British Opens and
Masters, tournaments in which finding fairways isn't the key to
success. His only U.S. Open win came at Pebble Beach, a non-traditional
U.S. Open course. It was a links-style layout that more resembled
a British Open. In his prime, Watson's short game was among the
best ever. His putting stroke was an enviable mix of fearless
self-confidence and ideal technique.
— TIGER WOODS
— Majors (3): 1997 Masters; 1999 PGA Championship; 2000 U.S.
Open.
— Missing major: British Open.
— How close he got: 3rd, 1998.
— Why he never won: Woods now is learning how to play in
major championships, combining solid ball-striking, timely putting
and a strong mental outlook to string together four days of golf
that don't need to be his absolute best to win. In previous British
Opens, Woods has been victimized by too many big numbers, numbers
that he slowly has squeezed out of his repertoire.
One short — with a
footnote
— TOMMY ARMOUR
— Majors (3): 1927 U.S. Open; 1930 PGA Championship; 1931
British Open.
— JIM BARNES
— Majors (4): 1916, `19 PGA Championship; 1921 U.S. Open;
1925 British Open.
— WALTER HAGEN
— Majors (11): 1914, `19 U.S. Open; 1921, `24, `25, `26,
`27 PGA Championship; 1922, `24, `28, `29 British Open.
— Missing major: The Masters.
— Why they never won: These three deserve asterisks because
they played before the concept of a modern Grand Slam was commonplace
and they were past their primes when the Masters was established.
While Barnes never played in the Masters, Armour and Hagen did
but weren't factors. But all three won the Western Open, which
was considered a major tournament at the time.
(c) 2000, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
Visit the Sentinel on the World Wide Web at http://www.orlandosentinel.com/.
On America Online, use keyword: OSO.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address) of This Story
to A Friend:
|
