The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Tiger has to roar to silence critics

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Wednesday, Apr 07, 2004

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Sport - Golf

Tiger has to roar to silence critics

By Clifton Brown

AUGUSTA (GEORGIA), APRIL 6. Unless he wins the Masters this week, Tiger Woods figures the questions will not stop.

Has his game been damaged by his break-up with his swing coach, Butch Harmon? Have Woods' engagement to Elin Nordegren and the joy in his personal life sapped some of his passion for golf? Have improvements in equipment and improvements by other players closed the gap between Woods and the others?

Welcome to Woods' world, where anything short of excellence must be explained. His inconsistent play in March, with too many wayward drives, penalty strokes and uncharacteristic big numbers have only intensified the magnifying glass that is focussed on Woods, the world's No. 1 player, as he prepares for the 68th Masters, which begins on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Woods will enter the year's first Major championship not ranked among the PGA Tour's top-50 in driving accuracy, greens in regulation, sand save percentage or putts per round. His last two tournaments have been his two worst performances this year, a tie for 46th at the Bay Hill Invitational and a tie for 16th at the Players Championship, where his first-round 75 was his highest round for 2004.

In a reflective mood last month after the third round of the Players Championship, Woods admitted that he had grown weary of the constant probing of his game and his life. Despite playing far from his best this year, he won the Accenture Match Play Championship in February, he has four top-10 finishes in six starts on the Tour and he has extended his Tour record for consecutive cuts made to 120.

But his prolific achievements, winning seven of 11 Majors between August 1999 and June 2002, becoming the first player to win four consecutive professional Majors and winning nine times, with three Major championships, in his superb 2000, created a monster. And Woods has found that monster hard to feed.

"I guess the public perception is that I have to win every week," Woods, who has won eight Majors and the career Grand Slam faster than anyone else, said. "No, I'm not winning as much as I did in 2000. And you know what? Not too many players ever have.

"The scrutiny has been amazing. It's not like I've fallen off the planet. It's not like I haven't won in two years. It's not like I'm missing cuts. I mean, I've already won once this year, and it wasn't exactly an easy tournament to win. I'm certainly going to try to win every week, and believe me, it's not from a lack of effort. But you know what? These players out here are very good. And golf is very fickle."

Rarely has a player been held to Woods' standards. Last year was considered an off year, yet his five Tour victories were more than anyone else, he had the third-lowest scoring average in Tour history and his peers voted him player of the year for the fifth consecutive time.

Since his last victory in a Major at the 2002 U.S. Open, however, Woods has been excellent but not dominant. Six players have won the past six Majors. Last year, all four Major winners had never won a Major before, including Mike Weir at the Masters. And heading into the Masters, 14 players have won the year's 14 PGA Tour events.

There is clearly more parity in golf than when Woods turned professional in 1996. Advances in technology enable every player to hit the ball farther, decreasing Woods' power advantage and helping veteran players remain competitive longer. More players, many of them because of Woods, have made fitness a priority. And talented younger players, like the 23-year-old Adam Scott, who won the Players Championship, continue to increase the pool of players capable of winning.

Those factors will make it more difficult for Woods to achieve his ultimate career goal, to surpass Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 professional Major championships. But even Nicklaus had a stretch in his prime when he started 11 consecutive Majors without winning. Woods remains ahead of Nicklaus' pace, and he remains passionate about golf despite the changes in his life, most notably his engagement to Nordegren last December.

Responding to the notion that his contentment has diminished his dedication, Woods smiled. He said that having a balanced life will make it easier to cope with frustrations and to stay on top longer.

"Elin and I have lived together for over two years now," Woods said. "When I won two Majors in 2002, we were already living together. Nothing has changed. That's what's funny about it. But people want to think that I've changed."

Woods said he received good advice from Mark O'Meara, his closest friend on the Tour.

"He told me that when you come out on Tour, they're going to build you up when you're going good, and they're going to chop you back down when you're not," Woods said. "If you get caught in that roller coaster, you're going to go nuts.

"The key is to be happy. I love to play. I love to compete. But golf is a sport, where you have to look at the big picture. You can't look at each day, whether it was good or bad, or you'll drive yourself crazy. Have other interests in your life. Don't let one thing dominate everything else. That's the only way to succeed over the long term. And in my life, that's where I am."

For Woods, the challenge this week is to fix his game in time to win the Masters. He has pointed to this tournament since January, and what happens this week will give more insight into the state of his game.

If Woods wins the Masters for the fourth time, talk will suddenly shift from what is wrong with Woods to whether he can make a run at a Grand Slam. But if Woods does not contend and has another poor week striking the ball, the scrutiny will only intensify.

Woods has seen glimpses of what he is looking for, like his opening-round 67 at Bay Hill or his third-round 68 at the Players Championship, when he made eight birdies. But can he put four rounds together this week, when it matters most? Woods was eager to find out, and he knew millions would be watching, closely.

"What have I learned the past year?" Woods said, repeating a question. "Not much about myself, but I've learned a little more about the periphery of golf, not to get caught up in the distractions. You're always going to have criticism, you're always going to have highs and lows, but so far my lows haven't been that low. I've had a pretty darn good career so far. As long as I keep working my tail off to try and get better, I think I'll be all right." — New York Times News Service

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