Sunday, July 9, 2000
Plagued by bad putting, Woods
tie for 23rd in Western Open
By NANCY ARMOUR
AP Sports Writer
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Quite a different
finish than the last tournament for Tiger Woods.
Playing for the first time since his 15-stroke
victory in the U.S. Open, one of the most impressive performances
in golf history, Woods had his worst finish in 101/2 months Sunday
in Western Open.
“It wasn't too bad. I didn't play all
that bad,” said Woods, who tied for 23rd. “I hit a lot
of good shots and just didn't make any putts. When that happens,
you're not going to go very low.”
Woods had rounds of 70, 69, 70 and 72 for
a 7-under 281 total. He finished seven strokes behind champion
Robert Allenby, who beat Nick Price in a playoff.
“He's the best,” Allenby said
of Woods. “If you ever have a chance to beat the best, you
grab it. And to win when he's in the field, it's an awesome feeling
because he doesn't lose too many tournaments. These days, anyway.”
In fact, Woods hasn't finished this far
out of contention since last August, when he tied for 37th in
the Sprint International. Coincidentally, that came the week after
he won the PGA Championship, his second major.
Woods has played in 19 tournaments since
then, winning 11. His only finish out of the top 10 was a tie
for 18th in the Nissan Open in February. He's won 12 of his last
22 tour events.
Now he heads to the British Open, where
he'll try and become the youngest person ever to win the career
Grand Slam. At just 24, he would be two years younger than Jack
Nicklaus was when he accomplished the feat, also at the British
Open.
“It'd be nice,” he said. “That's
something I've always wanted to do, win the career Slam. Whether
it's this year, next year or whenever, it'd be nice.”
If he's going to have a shot at St. Andrew's,
though, Woods had better get his putting game back on track. He
drove the ball just fine — using his driver on the 416-yard
par-4 4th Sunday, he drove the ball at least 360 yards —
and his iron game is fine.
But when it came to putting this week, Woods
couldn't get anything going. He missed long putts. He missed short
putts. He missed putts in between. He had putts that lipped out
and putts that were a foot off.
If he'd only made a few of them, he might
have collected his third Western Open trophy instead of a check
for $26,700.
“I felt like any moment now I can get
something going, something's got to happen,” he said of Sunday's
round. “Made eagle on 15, but couldn't get any putts to go
in from there.”
So, is he worried his putter might hold
him back at St. Andrew's?
“Not at all,” he said. “I
putted absolutely terrible going into the U.S. Open. I did all
right there.”
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