The Hindu : Sport / Golf : Tiger Woods in familiar spot

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Friday, Jul 15, 2005

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Sport - Golf

Tiger Woods in familiar spot

ST. ANDREWS (Scotland): Tiger Woods had his sights on the claret jug. Jack Nicklaus was just trying to hold on 'til the weekend.

Woods, an overwhelming favourite to capture his second British Open title, surged onto the top of the leaderboard early on Thursday with three birdies on the first seven holes of the Old Course.

But this was one of the rare occasions when Woods was overshadowed by another player.

Nicklaus began his Open farewell with a flourish, clearing the Swilcan Burn with a short iron on his second shot and rolling in a 4-foot putt for birdie at the first hole. Tom Watson, a five-time winner of this event and one of the Nicklaus' fiercest rivals in the 1970s, also started with a birdie.

As the two strolled to the second tee, someone shouted, ``Another duel in the sun!''

``So far,'' Nicklaus replied, managing a slight grin at the thought of his memorable showdown with Watson at Turnberry in 1977.

Ceremonial player

Of course, the 65-year-old Nicklaus is more of a ceremonial player than a serious contender, but the presumed end of his competitive career drew a large crowd to the Scottish seaside on a breezy, cloudy morning.

The cheers turned to groans when he barely caught the right side of the huge green at No. 2, three-putting from nearly 100 feet for a bogey that quickly knocked him off the leaderboard.

Nicklaus also bogeyed the fourth, but got back to even with a birdie at No. 7. While acknowledging that his chances of winning were nil, he hoped to make the cut and delay his final walk across the Swilcan Bridge until Sunday.

Turning to the legitimate contenders, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen got to 4 under with a birdie at the 12th before dropping back with a double bogey on the next hole. That left Woods, American Kenny Perry, English hopeful Luke Donald and Australian Robert Allenby tied for the lead at 3 under.

Sentimentality

There was plenty of sentimentality and emotion at the birthplace of golf, where Nicklaus won two of his record 18 major titles and picked as the most appropriate place to bring it all to an end.

Nicklaus' son, Steve, handled the caddie duties. Jack's wife, Barbara, and two other sons, Gary and Jackie, were part of the gallery.

``He's just so special, isn't he?'' a British fan commented while watching Nicklaus at the first hole. ``In every respect.''

Nicklaus once said there were three types of British Opens: those in England, those in Scotland and those at St. Andrews.

Of all the moments that have defined Nicklaus' incomparable career, perhaps the most memorable occurred 25 years ago on this hallowed course.

Overwhelmed

In 1970, Nicklaus had a one-shot lead on the final hole of a playoff when he smashed his drive over the 18th green. Doug Sanders played a bump-and-run to 5 feet, and Nicklaus chipped down to 8 feet. Then, from that familiar knock-kneed pose, he rolled the ball into the right side of the cup.

Overwhelmed by his first victory at St. Andrews, Nicklaus thrust his arm skyward and leapt with such force that his putter went airborne, causing Sanders to duck.

``I had never shown emotion like that before, and it was totally out of character,'' Nicklaus would say later. ``But then, I had never before won the oldest golf championship in the world at the cradle and home of the game.''

While the wind that sweeps across a links course is always the first line of defence, the bunkers at St. Andrews — all 112 of them — can be just as formidable.

Maybe it's the names: Cartgate and Coffins, Cat's Trap and Lion's Mouth, Kruger and Mrs. Kruger — and, of course, Hell.

``I don't know all the bunkers, obviously, but I know a fair number of them,'' Nicklaus said. ``I would never think of that in any other place.''

Five years ago, Woods failed to hit into a single bunker over four days on the Old Course. Not surprisingly, he set a major championship record at 19-under 269 and finished eight shots ahead of anyone else.

``I should have seen in probably three or five bunkers, easily,'' Woods recalled. ``Just off the tee shots alone, it happened to hop over a bunker and catch a side and kick left or right of it. That happens. Fortunately for me, it was happening that week. I got lucky a few times.''

The way things were going, Woods' 5-year-old record might be in jeopardy. He has emerged from the second major swing change of his career to reclaim his status as the world's most feared player.

Woods won the first major of the year, the Masters, and was runner-up to Michael Campbell at the U.S. Open three weeks ago. — AP

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