So far, the 2011 PGA Tour season has been full of stories. Surprisingly, most of them do not concern the world’s most famous golfer, Tiger Woods. At the forefront is the rise of a young class of golfers from all over the world. These gentlemen grew up watching Woods, and this gives them a mental edge that the field did not possess in the days of Tiger v. The field.
Woods dominated the game in the early 2000s for lots of reasons, but by far the most visually striking was his power. His singular ability to carry driver over 330 yards left him with approach shots that had golf course architects rolling in their graves. His emergence, at the 1997 Masters, when he finished a record -18 under par, literally had Augusta members in uproars. One was literally, “Oh my god, did you just see that?!” And the other was, “Even the best golfer ever shouldn’t be able to average nearly a 67 over four rounds on the hardest golf course in the world.”
And yet, he walked away from the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach laughing. He finished -12, while Miguel Angel Jiminez and Ernie Els tied for 2nd at a measly +3. Yikes. This may have actually been the tournament that tipped the scales for everyone, resulting in overhauls of basically every quality championship course in the States, and prompting similar adjustments at famous layouts across the pond, such as the Old Course at St. Andrews. In the following year, Woods won his second Green Jacket at -16, just two shots shy of his record.
So it stands to reason that Augusta saw this as the moment to step up the game. After all, for every possible scenario one might think of – even in a match play event – golf inherently remains the same challenge. It’s the player vs. the course. So in 2002, the best in the world arrived at that special neck of woods in Georgia to find that nine of the holes had been lengthened by a combined 345 yards. It would play over 7000 yards for the first time in its history. All Tiger did was win again, but at a much more stomachable -12.
Critics of the changes at Augusta? Oh, only the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Gary Player – three of the best golfers of all time, and three superb course architects in their own right. But alas, as Sir Nick Faldo points out (rather annoyingly) almost every tournament, the game has simply changed. Most golfers, like Faldo, who were nearing the end of their careers as Tiger emerged on the scene lamented that improvements in alloys and club design were the main reason. I found that difficult to accept. It really just looked like he was swinging harder, and wanted it more.
There’s no question that Tiger single handedly changed the game of golf. This would become most evident in the year 2007. Woods played through the first “slump” of his career in 2003-2004. He won six tournaments in those two seasons, but no majors. He had gone through a couple swing changes and critics wondered to what end. He responded by winning 14 tournaments, including four more majors, over the following two seasons.
But 2007 was clearly a different year. Augusta National played incredibly hard that year. The fairways were so fast that it actually hurt the long hitters. The greens were so fast that even Woods, considered the best putter at the time, struggled immensely. Instead of letting the course play him, Zach Johnson played the course. The quick fairways helped his short drives. But it was his gall – doing the unthinkable at Augusta – in laying up on every par 5, which he played at -11 all week despite winning at +1, the first Masters winner to finish over par since Gary Burke, Jr. in 1956.
The “Tiger-proofing” trend had clearly caught on. Angel Cabrera won the 2007 U.S. Open at a rather melodramatic +5. Oakmont C.C. played so hard it was almost like watching amateurs play. The USGA had set as its goal for the U.S. Open to be “the toughest test in golf.” They want the winner to be even par. While Augusta holds that privilege of being the one course where a major is held every year, there’s been enough evidence in recent years that the right golfer, in the right conditions, can dominate that course.
That’s what made Tiger’s win in the 2008 U.S. Open at the Torrey Pines South Course so incredible. It wasn’t just that he had a torn ACL and a fractured shin bone, audibly screaming in pain after certain shots (most notably his patented power-fade, a necessity for righties at Torrey Pines). It wasn’t the two impossible eagle putts he drained on Saturday. It wasn’t that Rocco Mediate decided to reach another level and match him shot for shot. It was that it took ALL of those things, over 90 holes of golf, just to sit at even par. Guess what score won the 91st hole and the tournament: par.
I remember feeling very ambivalent about going to work on that Monday. I was working for the Grounds Crew at Colorado College. I felt like I was about to miss out on the conclusion of what still, to this day, stands as the greatest athletic competition I have ever witnessed, and probably ever will. About 30 minutes before Rocco and Tiger were set to tee off, a day long torrential downpour of rain began falling in the foothills of Pikes Peak. God had indeed answered my prayers.
And yet since that day, it has been a tumultuous ride for Woods fans. OK, it’s been a lot worse for Tiger. All by his own making, he still had to face what every public figure has the fear and potential of facing: the complete unraveling of any sense of privacy, and private life. After all, the hallmark of Tiger’s game – the reason he IS who he IS – was his ability to maintain the highest level of mental focus. In 2010, I got really tired of hearing Jim Nantz point out that Tiger just looked like another Tour player. Thanks Jim…we were all able to gather as much.
I spent most of this winter ruminating on the stories from last year. Phil’s incredible third win at Augusta that featured three rounds of 67. Dustin Johnson’s horrific meltdown at Pebble Beach. And that disastrous Sunday at Whistling Straits which featured another horrific meltdown by the 54-hole leader, Nick Watney, but was ultimately overshadowed by Dustin Johnson grounding his club on the 72nd hole, to lose, and Bubba Watson hitting his second shot in the water on the playoff – literally giving Martin Kaymer the win in a playoff…with a bogey. Wah wah wahhhhhhhhh.
At the Masters this year, it seemed trends were continuing. Another young, extremely talented, golfer held the 54-hole lead (actually he held the 18, 36, and 54-hole lead) only to have a horrific meltdown. But there was Tiger. His 31 on the front nine on Sunday was ultimately soured by the three putt bogey on 12, and the missed 5 footer for eagle on 15. But it was really the 74 on Saturday that killed him. And he was still right there, with a share of the lead for at least part of Sunday.
Tiger got a taste and that’s all he needs. His first “slump” lasted two years, so it stands to reason that this one will too. For all the talk of the young guys having no fear to step up and play Tiger’s game, they have yet to prove they have that IT factor – that extra dose of focus required to finish it out. Tiger plays for the first time since the Masters in the Players Championship this week at TPC Sawgrass. But I’m sure he has his sights set on Congressional C.C. – the site of this year’s U.S. Open – and the same course he won the 2009 AT&T National. Something tells me he’ll be ready.
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