"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch

April 3, 2001

No, Tiger Woods won't officially have achieved the Grand Slam if he wins the Masters this week, as most expect. The controversy has raged ever since Woods won the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship last season. If he were the holder of all four major championship titles at one time, would that make him a Grand Slam winner?

The Grand Slam, in the strictest sense of the term, refers to winning all four major championships in a single season. So unless Woods reels off four straight major triumphs this season, he needn't concern himself with thoughts of the Grand Slam. In truth, though, Woods has already achieved something that will never be done again. 

If Tiger does win the Masters this week, he will be the reigning title holder of an incredible array of nine tournaments: all four majors, the WGC-NEC (formerly World Series of Golf), the Canadian Open, the Players Championship, Bay Hill (hosted by Arnold Palmer) and Memorial (hosted by Jack Nicklaus). Never in golf history—and I'd be more than willing to bet never again—has anyone dominated, in the course of a calendar year, so many significant championships with strong fields at each.

Just another amazing factoid brought to you by young Mr. Woods, who has a different job than anyone else playing professional golf. Woods doesn't play golf for money or fame. He plays for history.

Will history be made at Augusta this week? Few would bet against Woods winning his second Masters, especially not after the last three weeks, when he shook off a so-called "slump" and won at Bay Hill at the TPC. Obviously, for anyone to have called Woods' winter handiwork on the PGA Tour a slump—even though he didn't win—doesn't know golf. Not even Woods can be in command of this most fickle game all the time. But make no mistake, when he is in command, awesome things happen.

I'm just shocked that Woods, after raping and pillaging the Masters field four years ago, hasn't won that tournament every year since. Some of the changes Augusta National officials have made to the course have indeed rendered it a little less friendly to Tiger, but the home of the Masters is still tailor-made to his strengths.

Jack Nicklaus once said, after having played a Masters practice round with a young Woods, that he might win 10 green jackets. That might well be true, for who knows how long Woods might be competitive? If Nicklaus won the Masters at 46, might not Woods—who will certainly shatter all the Golden Bear's records—be competitive into his 50s?

Remember, it isn't money that motivates Woods. It's the pursuit of history. Clearly, Woods will leave behind records that will never be surpassed. It's hard to imagine anyone possessing the rare blend of attributes Woods has—length, touch, guts, brains, the ability to handle pressure and an appreciation for history. True, a lot of people said that about Nicklaus. But Woods has raised the bar to a level previously unforeseen.

No, Woods won't secure the Grand Slam if he wins at Augusta this week. But that might be a moot point. As well as he's played in the significant tournaments, he might just run the major championship table this year. Incredible as it sounds, the odds are probably with him.

• I'm very happy to be back for a second year as golf columnist for the ChattanoogaTPC.com.  And I hope the golfers who take advantage of the site enjoy what they read here. Keep in mind that this space belongs to you. If there is a particular subject you would like to see explored, or if you have an interesting story idea, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail.

I look forward to an exciting local golf season.

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