“You know Operation Grand Slam won’t work.” — James Bond
“I think it’s easily within reason.” — Tiger Woods
River Liffey flows like a Yeats sonnet through the Irish countryside surrounding The Kindale Hotel & Country Club.
A gentleman who had shown the visitor his corner oval room in the mansion estate, which dates to the sixth century, pointed beyond the glass doors and spoke. “Dinner is served promptly at 7. And should you care to take your hand to fishing, River Liffey is inviting enough. There’s a lad out there even now.”
The visitor walked out into the dusk and watched the fellow in the red sweat shirt flip his wrist so naturally and smoothly cast his line.
“How’s the fishing?” the American tourist asked.
The young man was startled, then settled.
The line pulled taut. The fisherman pulled hard. A rainbow trout emerged from the water.
“The fishing’s fine. Just fine,” he laughed.
“How’s the golf?”
“Couldn’t be much better,” Tiger Woods said.
“I’ll leave you be,” the visitor said.
Almost six years later, and the fishing is fine, and his golf, incredibly, gets much better. Leave him be.
Woods won his fourth consecutive PGA Tour event Sunday afternoon, his sixth straight worldwide tournament — and his eighth title in his last nine efforts. This victory seemed almost effortless. Woods sank Cink in the World Golf Championship Match Play with 14 birdies in 29 holes.
Dog bites man. Tiger bites foe.
He has this year in deserts from Dubai to Tucson.
At the time in 2002 of that odd- chance meeting on the bank of the river, Woods already had won the Masters and the U.S. Open. He would go to Muirfield in Scotland the next week and blow up to an 81 in the third round of the British Open, and a final-round 65 wasn’t sufficient. No Grand Slam in one calendar year, or another Tiger Slam (four consecutive major titles in 2000-01).
But Operation Grand Slam ’08 could work. It is easily within reason for Woods, Tiger Woods.
Last year Woods won only one major (PGA Championship), but it’s generally forgotten he tied for second in two others (Masters and U.S. Open) and had one bad, costly round at the British. He owns 13 major titles overall and, at 32, continues to bear down on The Bear, who, oddly enough, although he is retired from serious action, was playing, and playing well, on another channel over the weekend in the Champions Skins Game.
No less than Arnold Palmer (who was striding along with Jack Nicklaus as Woods passed his total PGA victories with No. 63) says that it’s entirely possible this year for Tiger to win the Grandest Slam. Bobby Jones won the U.S. and British Opens and the U.S. and British Amateurs in 1930.
One oddsmaker has Woods as a 100-to-1 shot to win the Masters in early April, the U.S. Open in mid- June, the British Open in mid-July and the PGA Championship in early August. Some claim the feat is an impractical proposition.
Wanna bet?
The Masters: Tiger has won four. The Augusta members attempted to Tiger-proof the course. Instead, his experience in Georgia and his knowledge of the greens has made the Cathedral in the Pines a place where Tiger preys. Add that his game is peaking to near perfection, his body is healthy and fit and his personal life is idyllic, and the fishing is fine. And nobody dares to step up to the tee to challenge him. Mickelson, Els, Singh and the others fire and fall back, content to win when he’s not around or on the leaderboard in the final round.
The U.S. Open: Tiger has won twice. The national Open will be held at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., and Tiger has won the Buick Invitational on his childhood course four years in a rows (the last, last month) and six overall times. Torrey Pines will be toughened; so will Tiger.
The British Open: Tiger has won three. He has not won at Royal Birkdale but was one stroke out of a playoff last trip. If he has won the Masters and the U.S., Tiger will be downwind all the way in England.
The PGA Championship: Tiger has won four, including the last two. He hasn’t played a major at Oakland Hills (outside Detroit), but he was 2-1 in Ryder Cup matches, without Phil Mickelson as his partner, in 2004.
A visitor watched from outside the ropes as Tiger dominated, then destroyed, the fields at the U.S. and British Opens in 2000, and didn’t think he could ever get better. He can. He was young, raw and talented then. He is older, wiser and more talented now. Stewart Cink grinned and endured his punishment.
James Bond prevented Auric Goldfinger’s Operation Grand Slam. Bond can’t stop Tiger Woods’ Operation Grand Slam. A river runs through it.
Woody Paige: 303-954-1095 or wpaige@denverpost.com
