Thursday, May 10, 2001
Tiger returns at Nelson Classic today
The Associated Press
IRVING, Texas — The first clue that Tiger Woods had returned to the PGA Tour was the helicopter that circled above the TPC at Las Colinas, right about the time he was hitting a meaningless 2-iron off the first tee in the pro-am.
Another sign was when a radio reporter approached David Toms and asked a question that surely was on everyone's mind Wednesday.
“What do you think is Tiger's favorite board game?”
Toms, who won in New Orleans last week by playing the final 36 holes in 17 under par, walked away in disbelief.
The Byron Nelson Classic usually gets one of the strongest fields among regular PGA Tour events because of its namesake. It usually gets a ton of attention because of Woods.
Such was the case in 1997 when Woods became the youngest Masters champion by shattering records at Augusta National, then took four weeks off and returned to competitive golf at the Nelson Classic.
Four years later, not much has changed — except for his game and the expectations.
Woods is playing for the first time since another historic Masters victory, this one giving him an unprecedented sweep of the four majors. Now, even the biggest wins and the most unfathomable records are not as surprising.
Just listen to Toms, who won for the fifth time in his career at the Compaq Classic by making up a seven-stroke deficit against Phil Mickelson in the final round.
“To win golf tournaments out there, some strange things have to happen,” he said. “Unless you're maybe a Tiger, which you're just obviously better than the rest of the guys.”
No one is in position to debate that.
At 25 and having spent just under five years as a pro, Woods already has won as many PGA Tour events (27) as Lee Trevino in his 25-year career, and as many majors (6).
Woods comes to the Nelson Classic having put together a three-tournament winning streak for the third year in a row, claiming Mickelson, Vijay Singh and David Duval as his latest victims.
He also has his work cut out for him.
“I haven't played hardly at all,” Woods said. That much was evident by the 2-iron that drifted 20 yards right of his target into deep rough in his pro-am round, and a few other shots that he “skanked” around the Las Colinas course.
The Nelson Classic in some ways represents the second stage of the season, as players start turning their attention to Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., site of the U.S. Open just four weeks away.
The field includes three of the past four winners on tour since Woods has been in hibernation: Toms, Hal Sutton and Jose Coceres of Argentina. It has five of the top seven in the world rankings, missing only Davis Love III (sore neck) and Colin Montgomerie, who is trying to get his game on track at The Belfry in a European tour event.
It also has 23 of the top 30 players on the PGA Tour money list.
Then again, the toughest fields usually bring out the best in Woods.
In the 13 toughest fields since the 2000 season, Woods has won eight and finished no worse than a tie for eighth.
“I'm pretty excited about teeing it up again,” he said.
Woods was supposed to go to Southern Hills on Tuesday with Mark O'Meara for a practice round, but that was canceled when O'Meara's mother died on Friday. Woods is not really sure about the state of his game because all he has hit since that Sunday afternoon at Augusta were balls on the practice range.
But not even time away — in bed with a fever, on the road at junior clinics and a charity concert, dressed in a space-age suit to make a video game — can change his priorities.
“I'm just going to go out there with the intent, just like I always do: try to get myself in position to win this thing,” he said. “I feel like my game is pretty solid for the time off that I took, and hopefully it will come together and I can get it going again, and get myself where I can peak at the U.S. Open.”
A victory in the U.S. Open would be his fifth straight major and continue perhaps the most amazing streak in golf. Woods seemed to direct so much of his energy to the first part of the year, specifically the Masters, for that rare opportunity to hold all four major titles.
Was that the end of a particular chapter in his career.
“It's hard to say I'm ending it, because I'm just five years into my career,” Woods said. “In golfing terms, I'm just getting started; I'm still in my infancy. I have so many years that I can play at a high level. When I'm older and look back, that may be the end.
“Or,” he added, “that may be the beginning.”
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Tiger returns at Nelson Classic today