Oct. 25, 1999
Tiger Woods simply has more arrows in his quiver than anyone
else
By Larry Guest
The Orlando Sentinel
(KRT)
ORLANDO — Tiger Woods is the hand-signal coach for Mike Ditka.
Tiger is a card-carrying member of the John Birch Society, under
an assumed name.
He is the one who designed the Denver Broncos' gosh-awful pajama/uniforms.
Tiger contributed six figures to the Monica Lewinsky defense fund.
He one-upped Peter Warrick by arranging a 96 percent discount
at Dillard's.
Actually, none of that is true. But what is there possibly left
to say that would be new about Tiger Woods? He is the best golfer
on the planet today and on a fast track toward becoming the best
in golf history. Including Old Tom Morris, Young Tom Morris and
all future Morrises.
In an era when the roster of serious contenders has never been
so deep, Tiger became the first player in nearly 20 years to win
six PGA Tour events in a single season Sunday at Disney World.
And he has two more cracks at seven. Actually, he already has
seven -- worldwide -- having also won a European Tour event. He's
the No. 1 player in the world and has a runaway lead for the 1999
money title with more than $4.7 million in official bread. He's
already shattered the single-season money record and has a legitimate
chance to double the old mark.
Tom Watson was the last to win a half-dozen times in one PGA Tour
year and he was a seasoned, 31-year-old veteran at the time. Tiger
is, gulp, twenty-three!
With the way he's going, can 10 titles in one year be out of the
question? A dozen? Fifteen?
He doesn't rule out such unthinkable domination, but he resists
painting a bulls-eye on any particular number. “We'll see,”
he shrugged Sunday after nipping Ernie Els for the Disney title.
“I'm not going to put any kind of limit to where I think
I could go. That would probably do more harm than good.”
Whatever the target number, Tiger already has become to the PGA
Tour what Florida State is to the Atlantic Coast Conference. What
Mike Tyson is to cannibalism. What Bill Clinton is to lechery.
Tiger simply has more arrows in his quiver than anyone else in
the game.
About the only thing that can whip Tiger now is complacency. He
did seem rather subdued after tapping in the final putt Sunday,
offering only a soft smile and no jack-hammer fists. Ho-hum, another
win? Tiger said he was not subdued inside, simply focused on that
sealing two-footer on a day when slick Disney greens required
one's full attention. Besides, Tiger pledged his undying love
to the game, an ominous bulletin to all those who aspire to his
throne.
“When I was in junior golf, I thought that I could never
again love the game as much as I did then. (But) I got out here
and started playing more, and for some reason, I love it more.
I never thought that would be possible,” he said. “I
love to play. I love to practice. I love to compete. I can honestly
say I love it more.”
Exhibit A in arguing that case is this: When Woods finished his
third round at Disney on Saturday, he raced home to the Isleworth
practice tee and beat balls until it was too dark to see.
After a modest remodeling job last year, Tiger's game is maturing.
Best of all, he is maturing. He's not quite the high-maintenance
guy he was when first bursting onto the game's grandest stages.
Oh, there's still occasional pretentiousness. Remember the Showdown
at Sherwood, that over-hyped death duel with David Duval a few
months ago? He wanted him and his caddie to wear shorts, but because
it was a Tour-sanctioned event and Tour rules prohibit shorts,
he was denied. When his caddie wore shorts anyway, Tiger was fined
$10,000. He reacted poorly, angrily threatening to punish the
Tour in various means including withdrawing from it's charity
program. After cooling down, he dropped the threats. But the point
is that those ego eruptions have become fewer and farther between.
The less he trips over his own stature, it seems, the larger it
becomes.
(c) 1999, The Orlando Sentinel (Fla.).
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