Hackers beginning to identify with Woods more
and more
By Bob Verdi / Chicago Tribune
TROON, Scotland - I am not Tiger Woods, but that could change.
I never won the Masters by 12 strokes, had $100 million in
the bank by age 21 or needed security guards to protect my body
from the public, but I'm beginning to identify with him more and
more.
Woods caught my attention when he took a triple-bogey 7 on
the 11th hole during Thursday's first round of the 126th British
Open. That can happen to anyone, I suppose, but I really felt
a special bond on Friday when Woods put it all together and shot
a quadruple bogey 8 on No. 10.
My fellow hacks, you read that right. A standing eight. In
my league, we proudly call that a snowman.
"Throw out those two bad holes," Woods said, "and
I'm not playing too badly."
This isn't the Olympics, though. This is a real sport, where
everything counts, but I like his style. We've all been there.
We shoot 103, and we say to the guy whom we owe money, "Throw
out the first six holes, plus the par 5s, and the seven balls
I lost, and I hit it pretty well."
So did Woods to his drive on No. 10 at Royal Troon, a par 4
of 438 yards featuring a blind tee shot. Woods' ball landed in
the first cut of rough beside the fairway, only 152 yards to the
hole. That's when it got interesting. Woods pulled out an 8-iron,
swung hard, and hit the ball over the green.
"Had a flier lie," he said.
Happens all the time.
The ball settled in some gunk. We've all reached gunk in regulation,
but Woods had another problem. There was gorse behind him, and
when he tried to make a swing, this thick, prickly bush restricted
his movement.
"I needed to really downcock my wrists there," Woods
explained, exactly as I might have explained, "but unfortunately
my plane shallowed out instead of getting more steep on the way
down. So I hit the bush and whiffed."
I love it. Tiger Woods, my new golf god, whiffed.
Actually, Woods dug so deep that the blade of his 60-degree
wedge went completely beneath the ball, which just sort of bobbed,
like it was coming up for air, then settled.
I've got that shot, don't you? I've also got the next one.
You use the same club, just to prove the first accident was a
fluke, and you slash the ball toward another bush, about 6 yards
away.
Now, if you're Tiger or me, you're furious by then. So, you
try a third whack - same club, of course - only this time, with
absolutely no patience or concentration. Pretend it's like a slap
shot in hockey. You don't want much loft, because the ball might
find the putting surface, so you rip a low, screaming liner across
the green. That's five.
"That was from my worst lie of all," said Woods.
Which is fine. Excuses are not only allowed, but encouraged.
Woods chipped on and two-putted. We know that routine. How
did you make 8? I canned a 2-footer to avoid 9. Why, even Kim
Jong Duck of Korea had a par on No. 10 Friday, when it felt like
San Diego instead of Scotland.
"Didn't take advantage of the nice weather," said
Woods, understating the gravity of his 74. In particular, Woods
has avoided feasting on the front nine, where he's only one under
par for two rounds. Darren Clarke, who leads the Open, is eight
under there, and a whopping 13 shots ahead of Woods.
"Am I out of it?" Woods said. "I shot 63-64
the last two rounds at Pebble Beach. I'm never out of it."
Indeed, Woods made the cut. He sank a 20-foot birdie putt on
No. 18, just to be sure. I kind of lost touch with Woods there.
He might have been showing off. I would never do that if I shot
74. If I shot 74 at Royal Troon, I would just faint.
(Bob Verdi is a sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Write
to him at: Chicago Tribune, 435 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago,
Ill. 60611.)
(c) 1997, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on America Online (keyword: Tribune)
or the Internet Tribune at http://www.chicago.tribune.com/
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Item
Send the URL (Address) of This Item
to A Friend:
|
