Sunday, November 5, 2000
Woods, tied with Singh, poised
to take shot at 10th win of year
By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
ATLANTA — The relative quiet of the
media room was suddenly interrupted Saturday.
“Hey, how are you?” Ernie Banks
asked of anybody and everybody who happened to wander into his
path. “Having a great day?”
Exactly why Banks and a couple of friends
showed up in the media room at the Tour Championship was unclear.
Perhaps it was to get out of the rain. Perhaps he wanted to talk
golf—Banks has become addicted to the game.
Or perhaps Banks, like just about everyone
else in the world, wanted to get closer to Tiger Woods. “Mr.
Cub,” one of baseball's greatest players, has become transfixed
by Woods' feats.
Banks sat in on Woods' post-round interview,
and then greeted him afterwards.
“Is your dad here?” Banks asked.
The exchange was brief as Woods was led away, but it was enough
to satisfy Banks.
“I love watching him,” Banks said.
“I love the way he carries himself. I love the way he plays.
I love his commitment. I wish I would have worked as hard as he
does. I would have been a better baseball player.”
Banks wasn't half-bad in his day, and the
same could be said of Woods on Saturday. As expected, Woods reached
the top of the leaderboard, shooting a 66 at East Lake Golf Club.
At 10-under, Woods goes into the final round
tied with Vijay Singh, who shot 65. Phil Mickelson is one shot
back after a 65.
Woods didn't disappoint Banks or his other
fans Saturday, as he opened with birdies on four of the first
six holes. The combined length of the putts on three of the birdies
wasn't more than three feet. He could have made them with his
driver turned upside down.
If only his driver had been as effective
off the tee. On a day when it looked as if Woods could go super
low—maybe 59?—his errant driver prevented him from running
away with the tournament.
“Today was one of those rounds where
I really didn't feel I was hitting the ball well,” Woods
said. “I felt pretty good with my irons. I just struggled
to get the ball in play. That was the struggle all day, all week.”
Struggle still is a relative term for Woods.
A couple of his bad drives hit trees and came back into the fairway.
David Duval, playing with Woods, didn't have the same luck, exploding
to a 74.
“David had one of those days where
the borderline shots he hit ended up terrible,” Woods said.
“I was the exact opposite. I hit some borderline shots that
ended up great.”
Then again, that's why he is Tiger Woods.
That's why he is the overwhelming favorite to win his 10th tournament
of the year Sunday. Let's put it this way: Would you bet against
Woods, who has won 19 straight tournaments when he is leading
or tied for the lead going into the final round? His only loss
after a 54-hole lead came during his rookie year in 1996 at Quad
Cities.
“I just enjoy playing in that position,”
Woods said. “I have always said if you have a lead, that
means you can't afford to make a mistake. The other guys have
to come get you.”
The scenario doesn't exactly apply Sunday,
because he will have to go one better than Singh. To make things
more interesting, there could be some leftover bad blood from
their singles meeting at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago, which
Woods won 2 and 1.
Woods wasn't amused when Singh's caddie,
Paul Tesori, showed up for the match wearing a cap emblazoned
with “Tiger who?” Things got testier when Singh didn't
concede Woods a short putt.
“No,” Woods said when asked if
Singh had said anything to him since the match. “That's just
his deal.”
For his part, Singh said he's more interested
in his game than in Tiger's.
“If Tiger plays better than me, then
I can't do anything about it,” Singh said. “I cannot
dictate how he plays or how Phil plays. I am not worried about
how everybody else is going to play; I'm just worrying about how
I play.”
Singh said he is playing well, which should
make for a lively final round. Banks couldn't wait.
“Where's the driving range?” he
asked, aware that Woods planned to head over there after his round.
Banks, like everyone else, can't get enough
of Tiger.
(c) 2000, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
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:
|
