Young lions and Tiger usher in new age for
the PGA Tour
By Brad Townsend
The Dallas Morning News
(KRT)
DALLAS - Tiger Woods, at age 21, was voted 1997's PGA Tour
Player of the Year by his peers. For the third straight year,
Greg Norman finished atop the world rankings. Justin Leonard and
Davis Love III won their first majors.
So naturally, as the 1998 PGA Tour season opens this week,
most of the focus will be on ... David Duval.
Duval, the 26-year-old Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., resident, won
his last three starts of the '97 tour season: the Michelob Championship,
the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic and the Tour Championship.
Although two months have passed since Duval's Tour Championship
victory, the PGA Tour recognizes winning streaks that span more
than one season. Thus by winning this week's Mercedes Championships
at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif., Duval would become the first
tour player to win four straight starts since Ben Hogan in 1953.
"It's a good thing I didn't have to play the next week
(after the Tour Championship)," Duval said. "I probably
would have gotten hammered by everyone talking about four in a
row. I've had a few months to prepare for everyone getting on
me come La Costa."
Duval in many ways embodies the tour's increased depth and
competitiveness. A four-time All-America at Georgia Tech and the
1993 collegiate Player of the Year, Duval performed well on the
Nike Tour in 1994, then earned a PGA Tour rookie-record $881,436
in 1995.
But it took Duval three years and 92 tournaments to break through
with his first tour victory. Prior to that Michelob Championship
win on Oct. 12, Duval was No. 32 on the 1997 money list. By winning
$1,269,000 in his final three events, Duval shot up to No. 2,
behind only Woods.
As if the tour's Young Gun fraternity wasn't crowded enough.
At season's end, four of the tour's top five earners - Woods,
Duval, Jim Furyk and Leonard - were 27 or younger.
In another sign of the tour's competitiveness, Duval realized
after the 1995 season that he needed to become a better athlete
to survive week in and week out. He dropped more than 30 pounds,
trimmed his doughboy appearance and developed forearms that would
make Popeye envious.
"I have better endurance because I don't have a bunch
of fat blocking me like I did," Duval said.
But ultimately, Duval's breakthrough can be attributed to another
transformation, a mental one. He says he finally learned true
course management. When he was faced with shots he didn't feel
comfortable pulling off, he simply aimed away from the flag and
relied on his putter.
While many point to the talent level of today's young players,
the biggest reasons for their early success are their precocious
knowledge of the game and ability to handle pressure.
Today's young players EXPECT to win. Perhaps that is why Duval
looked surprised when it was suggested that 1997 was a breakthrough
year for the tour's 20-something generation.
"That's for ya'll (the media) to judge," Duval said.
"I certainly think there are a lot of great young players
right now. But breakthrough? If anything, I think that might be
a disservice to their talents because they are great players."
For some of the tour's top young players, 1998 will offer a
different kind of challenge. In professional golf, it is not uncommon
for players coming off career years to sustain their performance
level the following year.
Last year, players such as Mark Brooks, Steve Stricker and
Steve Jones plummeted in earnings after posting big seasons in
'96.
For Dallas' Leonard, the reigning British Open champion, the
mental approach to 1998 will be the same he has had since he was
a junior player.
Perhaps no one on the PGA Tour is more single-minded and goal-oriented
than Leonard. It shows in his steady climb up the tour earnings
ladder, from 22nd in 1995, to 11th in '96, to fifth last year.
"I certainly see ways I can improve, and kind of apply
the experiences I had last year," Leonard said. "Going
in with that attitude and trying to improve is all I've ever done.
I'm not going to change a whole lot because I feel I'm onto something
that really works with my swing and the way I manage myself on
the golf course."
Leonard prefers playing a lot of tournaments, and last year
was no different. He played 29 events, tying Duval and Flower
Mound's Paul Stankowski for the most appearances among the top
25 money winners.
But unlike past off-seasons, when he sometimes would take four
to six weeks off, Leonard didn't slow down much in November and
December. Being the British Open champion meant more off-season
opportunities, and Leonard took advantage.
He played the Dunhill Cup in Scotland, the Grand Slam in Hawaii,
the Million Dollar Challenge in South Africa, the World Cup in
South Carolina and the Diners Club Matches in California.
When the Mercedes Championships begin this week, Leonard will
have a three-week break, which he considers ideal. A historically
slow starter, Leonard said he won't play as many West Coast events
this year. By playing a more balanced schedule, he hopes to be
better prepared for March's Florida swing.
"I think a little bit about my slow starts, but I haven't
been able to really pin it to anything," Leonard said. "I
think that in spacing out my play in November-December, where
I didn't have a month or six weeks off, hopefully I'll come out
rested, yet ready to play."
Then again, few golfers have maintained consistent excellence
through an entire season. Furyk was an exception last year, posting
13 top-10 performances (including eight straight) and making 24
of 27 cuts.
But for all his consistency, Furyk failed to earn a victory.
In fact, he set a record for most money earned ($1,619,480) without
winning.
No one in 1997 learned more about long and hard PGA Tour seasons
can be than Woods. Although he won four times and became the tour's
first single-season $2 million winner, his last victory occurred
July 6 in the Motorola Western Open.
Woods went from winning the Masters by a record 12 strokes
to have media and fans question his staying power. Woods, who
turned 22 on Tuesday, said that is a lesson he plans to carry
into 1998.
"My putting became erratic and I hit a lull," Woods
said. "Overall, I can improve in my consistency. I want to
score better, to go out when I'm not playing my best and still
shoot in the 60s and low-70s.
"You can do that if you have the right swing and the correct
state of mind. In my first full year, I had to fight through and
learn, and I think I learned a lot."
Tiger Woods, playing a more well-rounded, consistent game?
If that happens, the bar, for the second straight year, will be
raised for everyone else.
(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.
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