"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
August 22, 2000

What does Tiger Woods do next? Anything he wants to, apparently.

After winning the PGA Championship on Sunday, giving him three straight major titles this season and four in a calendar year, what’s next for the man many believe is already the best golfer in history?

The Grand Slam, of course, which leads to an interesting debate. If Woods were to win the Masters next April, would that be considered the Grand Slam? I say yes, because he would hold all four major championship titles at the same time. A panel of PGA professionals consulted for the purpose of this discussion disagreed.

"I would consider a true Grand Slam to be all four in the same year," said Bear Trace’s Robin Boyer.

"I like to think of its as Bobby Jones did it,’’ said Council Fire’s Hunt Gilliland. "That’s all four in one year."

"Tiger Woods is the greatest player who ever played the game,’’ said Zeb Patten of The Golf Center. "Period. But in my mind, if he did win the Masters, that would not be the Grand Slam."

Obviously, these guys are purists. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just think that any man who holds all four major titles at once has a right to say he’s won the Grand Slam, regardless of whether those titles were spread across a couple of seasons.

Bobby Jones himself might agree, for Jones was a man who knew and appreciated talent. It’s interesting to note that Jones once said Jack Nicklaus played a game with which he was not familiar, and last week, Nicklaus said the same thing about Woods.

Clearly, if anyone alive could win a Grand Slam, it’s Woods. Before this season, I wasn’t sure anyone was capable of winning all four majors in one year. Now, I’m convinced Woods can do it.

"I never thought anybody would come along again and win the career Grand Slam,’’ Gilliland said, "let alone all of them in one year. The tour is just getting so full of good players. They aren’t scared; they’re coming out of college tournament tough and ready to win. What Tiger’s done against such great fields is amazing.’’

What’s amazing is that Woods, at 24, has already won five major championships, and that he holds the scoring records in all four tournaments. What’s amazing is that after winning the 1997 Masters, re-tooling his swing and then suffering through a 10-major dry spell, he’s won four of the last five. What’s amazing is the margin of victory Woods has compiled in the majors (even though both his PGAs were down-to-the-wire jobs).

No athlete in any sport has dominated to that degree.

"Two years ago, I told a reporter that nobody would ever dominate golf again, because the fields were too strong,’’ Patten said. "And Tiger has become more dominant than Nicklaus. And these guys Tiger’s beating are better than the players Nicklaus beat. He doesn’t have the best record yet, but he will. He’s by far the best player in the history of the game."

Even Nicklaus might have acknowledged that last week, after being paired with Woods for the first time in competition. "I never played at the level this young man is playing," Nicklaus said.

Could there be higher praise?

What separates Woods from his peers? The same thing that might have set Nicklaus apart from the players of his era: the will to win.

"I think he loved the challenge (put forth by Bob May in the PGA),’ Gilliland said. "He was looking for somebody to challenge him, to push him. He was pushed, and he did what he had to do to win. That’s what motivates him."

"The kid would be doing what he’s doing now even if they were playing for trophies and no money," Patten said. "Money means nothing to him. Oh, it’s a nice perk, but since he’s been three years old, he’s been taught that it’s all about winning. That’s his sole focus."

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