Birdies on the par threes clinched title for
Woods
By MIKE NADEL
Associated Press
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) - Tiger Woods was being followed.
Thousands of fans - maybe even tens of thousands - broke through
the ropes aligning the 18th fairway so they could share the moment
with golf's present and future star.
Having landed his second shot safely on the green, Woods had
the Western Open won Sunday. Still, he tried to ignore the boisterous,
adoring crowd that trailed him down the fairway, a group that
kept growing in numbers. A normal occurrence at the British Open,
it rarely happens in the United States.
"I definitely heard them," Woods said. "I didn't
really see them. I was facing forward. I didn't want to look back.
It does no good. I have to finish out the hole. Finishing out
the hole is not behind me."
Such focus.
Combine that trait with skill, power, confidence and mental
toughness, and it explains why 21-year-old Woods has won more
tournaments and more money than any other male golfer in the world
this year.
Sunday's victory at Cog Hill's Dubsdread course was Woods'
fourth title this season and sixth in 21 events since turning
pro last August. The list includes this year's Masters.
"I was like a lot of people last year who thought it would
take him two years to win. Like many other people, I was proven
wrong," said Frank Nobilo, who finished second at 10-under-par
278, three strokes behind Woods' 275 and one ahead of Justin Leonard,
Steve Lowery and Jeff Sluman.
"When it stops, no one will know. If he was to win another
three or four, I don't think people would be dramatically surprised."
Woods certainly won't be.
"If I play my normal game, I should be able to win,"
he said. "The biggest thing is to have the belief that you
can win every tournament going in. A lot of guys don't have that.
(Jack) Nicklaus had it. Every time he'd tee it up, he felt he
was going to beat everybody. That's the mindset you have to have
if you want to win."
For winning the Motorola-sponsored Western, Woods got $360,000.
That gives him $1,761,033 in earnings this year, and only a huge
slump will keep him from becoming the first golfer to make $2
million in a season. As it is, he's less than $20,000 behind the
record Tom Lehman set last year.
"The money takes care of itself," Woods said. "I
just want to win tournaments."
He has reached six professional victories faster than everyone
except Horton Smith, a 1920s player who had seven before he turned
21.
Four wins in 13 starts this year puts Woods in the company
of some all-time greats. Nicklaus - the man Woods uses as a measuring
stick - won seven of 18 in 1973 and Jimmy Demaret six of 12 in
1940. Ben Hogan captured five titles in six events in '53, including
the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open.
Woods' next stop is Royal Troon.
"I think the British Open will suit him to a tee,"
Nobilo said of the major tournament, which begins July 17. "The
British Open does suit a stronger hitter of the ball."
Few, if any, are stronger than Woods. But while he elicited
oohs and aahs with his 320-yard-plus drives Sunday, he was unhappy
because so few landed in the fairways.
"Going into the day, I thought the par-5s were going to
be my saving grace just because of my length," Woods said.
"But that wasn't the case. I hit a couple bad drives and,
consequently, made only two birdies. The par-3s are what saved
me and won me the tournament."
He birdied 6, 12 and 14. And each 2 score was crucial.
No. 6 gave him his first birdie after opening with five pars
and drew him within a stroke of Loren Roberts, his playing partner.
No. 12 followed a bogey on 10 and a botched birdie attempt on
the par-5 11th. And No. 14 all but won him the tournament.
After hitting a tee shot within a foot on the 167-yard 14th,
Woods seemed almost embarrassed. He reacted to the fans' roars
by smiling sheepishly and shrugging. Woods then tapped in to take
the lead for good at 12-under.
"That was like a knife in the back when he made 2 there,"
said Nobilo, who had briefly tied for the lead. "When he's
in a position to win, he hardly ever goes backward."
Woods said he got lucky.
"It wasn't a very good shot. It almost went into the bunker,"
he said. "The golfing gods were definitely looking down upon
me in a good way."
All that skill, all that poise ... and golfing gods, too.
It really doesn't seem fair.
Divots: Woods had been struggling, failing to break
par in 11 of 12 rounds entering the Western and finishing 67th,
19th and 43rd in his previous three events. He took a week off,
and said the rest rejuvenated him. ... Defending champion Steve
Stricker shot his second straight 72 and finished 2-over. ...
Woods earned 150 Ryder Cup points. He leads with 1,165. ... Michael
Bradley withdrew due to illness, so his playing partner, Tom Watson,
went it alone. Watson wasn't totally alone, though - his 14-year-old
son, Mike, played the back nine with him. One of golf's all-time
greats and a three-time Western winner, Watson shot a 69 and finished
7-under. ... Sunday's attendance was a tournament-record 49,462.
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