Tiger Woods has yet to play golf with Michael Jordan but would prefer basketball. Their paths soon will cross, and perhaps they should split the difference before the game of choice, and talk.
About being a big fish in the bowl of fame.
“I admire Michael,” said Woods, who would do well to listen when it happens. “He carries himself with a lot of dignity. He speaks eloquently. He knows what he’s doing.”
So does Tiger. He’s just not quite sure when to do it, or what day it is. He has that glazed look as he munches on a grilled cheese sandwich with fries for breakfast.
“Just came back from Australia, the Australian Open,” said Woods. “Adjusting the body to different time zones, that’s a jolt. But hopefully, I’ll be out here a while, so I’ll get used to it.”
Tiger’s challenge Saturday was to enliven the annual Skins Game, granddaddy of all TV golf shows. He’s ratings. He’s box office. He’s also $40,000 richer after sinking a birdie putt on the fifth hole at Rancho La Quinta Country Club before a frantic gallery of almost 10,000.
“I never saw that many people following one group,” said Woods. “Other than that, this format was pretty much what I expected. Fun.”
Another time zone, another new landscape for Woods. Here he’s the whiz kid against three PGA Tour standbys–Fred Couples, who takes lightly defending his Skins title; Tom Watson, who preceded Woods at Stanford by many moons; and John Daly, golf’s Babe Ruth until Tiger arrived.
Imagine Daly representing the establishment. That’s how dramatically Woods has altered golf’s sense of balance since he bypassed his junior/amateur status in college, won two tournaments, amassed $790,594 within two months to finish 24th on the official money list and signed $60 million in endorsement contracts.
The Skins is strictly show biz, and Tiger is obliging, though he tweaked the media for advancing this weekend as a home run hitting contest between him and Daly, whose 288.8-yard average off the tee led the PGA Tour only because Woods’ 302.8 on an abbreviated schedule didn’t qualify.
Whatever, on Saturday, they did not disappoint. Woods, by sheer coincidence, drew the leadoff berth at No. 1 and launched his tee shot 318 yards. Then Daly chased him and knocked it 340. That’s official, because his golf ball settled between the 4 and 0 on fairway hashmarks painted especially for this moment in golf lore.
“Looks like a football field,” noted Woods, whose 377-yard rocket on No. 5 was still 3 yards shy of Daly, apparently energized by this challenge to his reputation as golf’s biggest bopper.
And so it went. Couples, who used to be considered long, hit it 302 on No. 1 and found himself away. He merely shook his head. Watson, meanwhile, maintained that he’s “just an old dog hoping the young guys leave me a bone.”
Well, the old dog ate. Watson birdied Nos. 1 and 8 for $100,000, while Couples matched Woods’ $40,000. Daly played well enough, but was blanked, though not discouraged. He realized there’s $360,000 riding on Sunday’s back nine.
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“I was glad I was chosen, and I’m glad I’m here,” said Woods. “You’ve got to play golf, but you’ve got a microphone on and you’re also supposed to put on a show. I don’t have any problem with any conflict there.”
Woods, supremely confident, is not at peace with all the commotion he creates–at least until he gets inside the ropes, where he is an adolescent version of Jordan, who is basketball’s Jack Nicklaus. Hold your heart, because theirs is bigger.
“I’m probably better than I used to be because I’m learning more shots all the time,” admitted Woods. “And you always develop course management. That’s golf, where your mind will keep you in contention when the swing doesn’t.”
Woods, who has been hitting golf balls almost since he could stand, possesses nearly flawless mechanics. Nicklaus, for one, expresses awe. Tiger’s power is generated from a 155-pound body perfectly coiled. As he takes the club back not even to a parallel position, the rest of him braces to explode at point of impact.
But a lot of starving pros look good too. Tiger’s strength clearly emanates from within.
“I enjoy being creative,” he said. In other words, a shot that travels awry and lands astray does not represent trouble, as it would to the multitudes. To Tiger, it is a mandate to invent, and this positive attitude multiplied by superior results equals a reinforcement that can be described as utter absence of fear.
Yes, he will be only 21 next month, but he’s already experienced a lifetime of birdies from the parking lot.
“I’ve tried to take 50 players and take the best of what they do,” Woods said. “Why are they great? Jack Nicklaus and his long irons. Lee Trevino, his short little wedges. Tom, his putting under pressure.
“I really haven’t played that well lately. But, like I said, there’s so much more to golf than hitting the ball. There’s course management. There’s thinking your way around a round.”
The TV types hope Sunday’s Tiger will speak even louder and continue to carry a big stick. The rest of the PGA Tour contemplates, with trepidation, a larger screen.
What might occur when Tiger Woods, the rookie who seems even braver than this new world of his, really loosens up?