Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Woods tunes up for title defense
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
Associated Press Writer
TA SHEE, Taiwan (AP) — A 20-hour flight didn't seem to
hurt the golf game of surging Tiger Woods when he played a relaxed
pro-am round Wednesday to prepare for a title defense in the Johnnie
Walker Classic.
Woods shot a 2-under-par 70, leading a team of three Taiwanese
amateurs around under sunny skies at the Ta Shee Golf and Country
Club.
On Thursday, Woods tries to extend his winning streak to five
tournaments in the $1.3 million event, played last year in Thailand.
“I'm playing real solid and been getting some good breaks,”
Woods said before teeing off Wednesday. “Fortunately, I've
been able to take advantage of the breaks.”
Woods said he somewhat weary after a long trip from Spain.
The 23-year-old golfer arrived Tuesday after winning the World
Golf Championship in Sotogrande, Spain. The victory Sunday was
his eighth this year.
No golfer had strung together four wins together since Ben
Hogan in 1953. No one has won eight in a single season since Johnny
Miller 25 years ago.
In his last four outings, Woods has won the NEC Invitational,
Disney Classic, Tour Championship and the World Golf Championship.
Woods doesn't see any advantage to the long course at Ta Shee,
despite speculation from other golfers that the length of the
fairways would favor a powerful driver like him.
“The golf course is long on the scorecard, but it doesn't
play that long because the fairways are playing really fast,”
Woods said.
Drives get so much bounce that some players known as long hitters
have been handling the fairways in practice sessions with smaller
clubs, such as nine irons and eight irons, even on par-5 holes,
Woods said.
Woods said competing in Asia is special because his mother
is Thai and has some ancestral ties to China.
“For me, coming to Asia is like coming home,” he
said. “I was raised under an Asian culture. My mother was
very strict, as are most Asians.”
The golfer said his recent string of victories hasn't softened
his desire to win in Taiwan.
“Every time I tee up, I tee up to win,” he said.
“That's always been my goal since I was a little boy and
that hasn't changed.”
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