Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Four of 5 majors? That's Tiger's
next target
By Mike Kern
Knight Ridder Newspapers
So, what now?
The quality that truly separated Jack Nicklaus
was his ability to embrace history. After he had touched every
mountaintop, he scaled them all over again. And then once more,
just to make sure there were no doubts. He wanted to win as much
when he was 46, when he captured his sixth Masters in 1986, as
he did when he was 26, when he completed his first career grand
slam with a victory at the 1966 British Open. He would complete
two others, while winning 18 professional majors from 1962 to
`86. Numbers, of course, that will stand forever.
Uh, upon further review . . .
Nicklaus wanted to be the best to ever stick
a tee in the ground. As Bobby Jones — the best before Nicklaus
came along — put it, “He plays a game with which I am
unfamiliar.”
Tiger Woods wants to out-Nicklaus the Golden
Bear. That's all he's wanted to do since he first teed it up.
He, too, owns a game that's off the charts. At 24, he already
has one grand slam, two years ahead of Jack's pace. And just 12
months ago, weren't more than a few folks wondering when Tiger
was going to fulfill all the mania? These days, those same people
are left to ponder how high is up. They're certainly not alone.
Mulligans around.
What Woods has done in the last month might
never be duplicated. Others have swept the U.S. and British Opens
in the same year, though Nicklaus never did it and Tom Watson
(1982) is the only other one who's done it in the last 28 years.
It's the how and where that thrusts it into a higher realm.
You don't win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach,
Calif., by 15 shots, then turn around and win the British Open
by eight at St. Andrews. Nicklaus won an Open at Pebble, where
he nearly won another, and hoisted the claret jug twice at St.
Andrews, the game's birthplace.
Nicklaus once said a player had to win at
St. Andrews to be remembered. You think maybe Tiger didn't take
that to heart? He will win more U.S. and British opens. He might
even do so at Pebble or St. Andrews (2008 and 2005, respectively,
are his next opportunities at each of those venues, for those
keeping track at home). But to obliterate the field at both in
the span of four weeks is, well, historic.
Like Nicklaus, Woods lives for the moment.
But no moment, no matter how overwhelming, will define him. His
greatness will be two decades in the making, a series of snapshots
through time. His time. It cannot be any other way. That's how
this posterity stuff works.
Many have had their runs. Arnold Palmer
won seven majors, Gary Player nine, Lee Trevino six and Tom Watson
eight. Nicklaus spanned the foursome. When Tiger arrived, there
was no Palmer. There will be challengers. Whether it's David Duval
and Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia or Aaron Baddeley, or some kid who's
in junior high school. The rivalries will evolve, because they
always do. Greatness cannot occur without evolution. Why else
would Tiger overhaul his swing two years ago, 12 months after
he won the Masters by a dozen? He's in this for the big picture.
His prime is still way out there on the horizon.
So, is it too late for any future prodigies
to switch to tennis?
Tiger is only the second golfer since Watson
to win two straight majors (Nick Price in 1994). He also has won
three of the last four, which is something that hasn't happened
since Ben Hogan won the only three he entered way back in 1953.
That's the only time anyone has pulled a Triple Crown since the
Masters became the fourth major in 1934. Jack did hold three major
titles at one time, in 1972, because the 1971 PGA was played in
May instead of August. But the best he ever did was win three
out of five.
Nobody has won four of five in the modern
era. Tiger now has something to shoot for at next month's PGA
Championship at Valhalla Country Club in Louisville, Ky. Did we
mention that nobody has ever successfully defended that title
since 1937, which was only two decades before the format switched
from match to medal play? Exactly what he needs: more, steeper
mountains.
So who do you think will be favored? You
can tell how much the pressure fazes him. He can't win them all.
That won't stop him from trying. From the year that Nicklaus won
his first major until he won his last, he played in 100 majors.
Besides the 18 wins, he finished runner-up 17 times and had another
eight thirds. That means that nearly 50 percent of the time, he
had a chance. Think about that. Surely Tiger has. You can't win
if you're not in contention. Any more, Tiger's in contention every
time. Remember, he almost won the 1998 British and the U.S. opens
while he was still honing his revamped swing. Should Tiger remain
competitive until he's 46, he has 89 majors to go. Can he win
14 more? As a pro, he's played in 15 and won four. Do the arithmetic.
Tiger did not play at Valhalla - which,
by the way, is a Nicklaus design - when the PGA Championship was
first held there four years ago. He wasn't eligible because he
hadn't turned pro yet. In fact, several weeks after the PGA, Woods
would win his unprecedented third straight U.S. Amateur. Nicklaus,
of course, only won two, and not in a row. Does the course set
up for Tiger? Does it really matter? Right now, the rest of the
PGA Tour is so awed by his presence - whether they admit it or
not - that he has mostly everyone beaten before he hits a ball.
They use to say the same thing about Nicklaus.
See you in Louisville. And way beyond.
(c) 2000, Philadelphia Daily
News.
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