Saturday, December 30, 2000
Golf's year-end review
From Nelson to Nicklaus,
it was the year of Tiger
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
Tiger Woods had one true rival in 2000 —
history.
In what might have been the greatest year
in golf, Woods played the game as if he invented it and hit shots
that will be talked about for decades.
He became the first player since Ben Hogan
in 1953 to win three straight majors and replaced Jack Nicklaus
as the youngest golfer (24) to complete the career Grand Slam.
Woods' nine PGA Tour wins were the most
since Sam Snead had 11 in 1950, and his six straight victories
were the most since Byron Nelson won 11 in a row in 1945.
And while Woods didn't make a double eagle
at the Masters as Gene Sarazen did, rarely did he fail to hit
a “shot heard 'round the world” at a tournament.
— The wedge he holed for eagle on the
15th at Pebble Beach when he made up seven strokes in seven holes
to win his sixth straight PGA Tour event.
— The shot he hit in the dark that
landed a foot away from the hole on the 18th at Firestone to wrap
up an 11-stroke victory, as fans flicked lighters to show their
approval.
— The 6-iron from 218 yards out of
a fairway bunker, over the water and at a flag where no one else
would aim, to win the Canadian Open. That made Woods the first
player to win the U.S. Open, British Open and Canadian Open in
the same year since Lee Trevino did it in 1971.
“He hits every shot like his life depends
on it,” Thomas Bjorn said at the U.S. Open, where Woods finished
at 12-under 274 and won by 15 strokes, the largest margin in a
major championship since Old Tom Morris won by 13 in the 1862
British Open.
Perhaps that explains why Woods didn't have
a round over par after the first day of the Byron Nelson Classic
in May — 47 consecutive rounds when his season ended in Spain
in the second week of November.
His scoring average of 68.17 broke the mark
Nelson set in 1945 (68.33) and was 1.46 strokes better than anyone
else this year, which computes to nearly six shots a tournament.
“The more times you're in position
to win, the better your chances are at winning,” Woods said.
“Hopefully, next year I can duplicate — if not better
— what I was able to do this year. You're not going to win
every tournament. You just have to be there enough times, and
the odds will be in your favor.”
Woods had a big year off the course, too.
He signed a new deal with Nike that will pay him at least $100
million over five years, believed to be the richest endorsement
deal in sports.
He also challenged the PGA Tour over marketing
rights, and ended the year on a conciliatory note after a meeting
with commissioner Tim Finchem.
“Everyone says it's been tenfold, what
he's done for the PGA Tour,” Fred Couples said. “I would
say that it's been 10,000-fold.”
The only month in which Woods did not win
was April, and the Masters was the only major that kept him from
making it a clean sweep of the four majors.
In that respect, the year didn't belong
entirely to Woods.
Vijay Singh won the major not even he thought
he could, conquering the slick greens of Augusta National to win
the Masters by three strokes over Ernie Els, who became the first
player to finish second in three straight majors.
Phil Mickelson won four times and twice
stopped a streak by Woods.
In February, he ended Woods' tour-winning
streak at six by holding him off in the Buick Invitational. In
November, Mickelson came from behind to win the Tour Championship
and become the first player in 20 tournaments to win an event
in which Woods had at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
If there was anyone close to a rival for
Woods, it was on the LPGA Tour.
Karrie Webb, the 25-year-old Australian,
won her first four events and then took the first major, the Nabisco
Championship, by a record 10 strokes. Webb wound up with seven
victories, enough points for the Hall of Fame.
It was the kind of year that led LPGA commissioner
Ty Votaw to say, “Tiger is the Karrie Webb of the PGA Tour.”
On the Senior Tour, Larry Nelson won six
times and finished first on the money list with more than $2.7
million.
In Europe, Lee Westwood ended the remarkable
reign of Colin Montgomerie by winning six times to claim the Order
of Merit in a close battle against good friend Darren Clarke.
And it was the end of the road for Nicklaus,
who played all four majors for the last time. He missed the cut
in the last three majors but played with Woods for the first time
at the PGA Championship.
It was a ceremonial passing of the baton,
although Nicklaus pointed out, “I think it's been handed
over long before this.”
“I knew he was good,” he said.
“I think he is better than I thought he was.”
Woods started the season with an eagle-birdie-birdie
finish to beat Els in a playoff in Hawaii. His summer alone would
be a Hall of Fame career for most players — in seven tournaments,
he won five times, set five scoring records and took three majors.
No tournament sized up his year quite like
the U.S. Open.
All along the back nine of Pebble Beach,
Woods was playing only for himself and his place in history. In
a championship that bills itself as the ultimate test, Woods never
shot worse than par over his final 26 holes, unheard of in a U.S.
Open.
He found the final piece of the Grand Slam
at the home of golf, St. Andrews, where his 19-under 269 was a
record for majors in relation to par. And he made it a Grand Slam
of major scoring records by finishing at 18-under 270 in the PGA,
where he had to beat Bob May in a three-hole playoff at Valhalla.
As amazing as Woods' year was, he could
get even better.
“He's a legend in the making,”
Els said in Hawaii. “He's 24. He's probably going to be bigger
than Elvis when he's in his 40s.”
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