MARANA, Ariz. — Before the start of what would become his fifth consecutive tournament win, the World Golf Championships 2008 Accenture Match Play, Tiger Woods was musing about a couple of tournaments that somehow eluded him.
One was the previous year’s Match Play, when Woods was eliminated in the third round after he missed a match-winning putt, a virtual gimme, after his putt struck a ball mark he failed to see. In the other, the 1996 U.S. Open, Woods said he became unraveled after letting what he considered a bad ruling affect his play.
Listening to Woods only confirmed what anyone who has stepped onto a tee box already knows: Golf is capricious. There are far too many variables, be it an ill-timed gust of wind or an opponent riding a hot putter, for anyone to realistically believe he can control the game.
But the anecdotes also spoke to the audaciousness that is Tiger Woods. After more than 11 years of incomparable play, including a 2000 season that stacks up as the greatest ever, Woods has the temerity to say out loud that 2008 can be better.
That’s not because he’s undefeated this year, with three victories in three events, or is in the midst of a two-season stretch in which he’s won seven of his last eight tournaments, finishing second in the one he didn’t win. No, Woods is calling out the golf gods because of what he feels he’s capable of doing up around the bend — winning the Grand Slam, the four major championships — something that’s never been done in the same calendar year.
“My goal when I was a kid was to win a career Grand Slam, and it’s something that’s still in the back of my mind because I think I’ve got the game that can compete in any major,” tour pro Arron Oberholser said. “But I’ve never ever considered doing them all in one year. If Tiger were to do it, I would consider it the greatest feat in sports history.”
Lombardi Trophy, too?
This is where Woods has set the bar, where his achievements enter the realm of Miracles on Ice, 56-game hitting streaks and 100-point games — where talk of seemingly impossible tasks is not only broached, but somehow manages to sound plausible.
Talk, for example, of going through a season undefeated, an idea that gained a lot of traction during the recently completed NFL season. Having gone 3-for-3, and with his next two projected events — the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and the WGC’s CA Championship at Doral — tournaments that Woods has won repeatedly, a quintet of victories certainly isn’t out of the question.
The Masters would then be the next tournament on Woods’ schedule, which would generate considerable buzz about a perfect season. But while Woods said he expects to win every event he enters, that’s one particular thought even he doesn’t dare to dream.
“I’ve had one perfect season, but it’s been awhile,” he said in Arizona, pausing to let the anticipation build. “When I was 11, I won 36 tournaments. Didn’t lose one. I guess I peaked at 11.”
So maybe Woods won’t wear a red hoodie to the first tee for the final round at Augusta, but it looks like it will take a Giants-size upset to prevent him from winning his fifth green jacket and opening the door to a historic season.
“I think you can do it,” Woods said of winning a Grand Slam. “If you look at my career, I think I’ve won over five tournaments per year. I just have to win the right four.
“That’s the hard part. I think that if you have everything go your way, get lucky, peak at the right times, have the golf course set up well for you and then go out there and have everything go your way. … Is it possible? I’ve won four (majors) in a row before, so it is possible.”
Air of legitimacy
Oberholser is a fine player who may someday make any number of Ryder and/or Presidents Cup teams, but right now he only has one PGA Tour win. It took Phil Mickelson 11 years and almost 50 attempts before he won his first major.
The majors are hard, but here’s Woods talking openly about winning not one this year, but all four. And while there have been times when the actions of the world’s top player have caused his fellow pros to roll their eyes, this isn’t one of them.
“He’s the only person who could say it because he’s the only person anyone out here thinks could do it,” said Woody Austin, the runner-up to Woods in last year’s PGA. “He is the only one, legitimately, he’s the only one who’s ever come close. Other than Mark O’Meara (in 1998), it’s been a long time since anyone else in this era has won two in one year.
“For him to come out and say it only means he’s confident, that he likes the way he’s playing. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
Woods has come close before, notably in 2000, when he finished fifth in the Masters and then won the U.S. and British Opens and the PGA. When he opened the 2001 major season by winning the Masters, he completed what has come to be known as the “Tiger Slam.”
Last season, Woods finished tied for second at Augusta after briefly holding the lead in the final round. At the U.S. Open at Oakmont, Woods finished second again, this time one shot behind Angel Cabrera. When he didn’t win the 2007 British, tying for 12th place, some questioned whether Woods would fail to win a major in a season for the first time since 2004. He provided an answer at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla., winning his 13th major, leaving him just five behind Jack Nicklaus’ record.
For good measure, Woods then went on to win the BMW and Tour championships, clinching the inaugural FedEx Cup in the process, and added the unofficial Target World Challenge as well. This season he won the Buick Invitational for the fourth consecutive year, came from behind to top Ernie Els at the Dubai Desert Classic and survived a couple of close calls to take the Match Play, routing Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in the final.
Courses for horses
To be sure, there’s every chance someone like Ben Curtis or Shaun Micheel, who won the 2003 British Open and PGA, respectively, could come from out of nowhere and win a major this year. After all, when Woods grabbed the lead at Augusta last year, no one expected Zach Johnson to be the last man standing. But this season, as if he really needed any more help, the planets seem aligned for Woods.
There is, of course, Augusta, where no one plays better. That’s followed by the U.S. Open, which is being held at Torrey Pines, where Woods has won six times since turning pro. This year’s British, the third major, is at Royal Birkdale. Woods has only played the course once as a pro, in the 1998 Open. While his buddy O’Meara won, Woods finished just one shot away from joining him in a playoff.
That leaves the PGA, at Oakland Hills outside of Detroit. In truth, Woods’ memories there haven’t been pleasant. It was the site of an ill-fated pairing with Mickelson in the 2004 Ryder Cup. It was also the site for that 1996 U.S. Open in which Woods, then an amateur, imploded after making the cut.
Of course, that was 12 years and 13 majors ago. It’s doubtful that today’s Tiger Woods would let an unfavorable ruling take him out of his game, and if he indeed were in position to win a Grand Slam at that point, do you think a little matter like course unfamiliarity would stop him?
“I like all four venues,” Woods said. “That’s the thing, I really do. I think all four venues are really great golf courses. It’s about playing well at the right time. That’s how you win major championships.”
In a little more than a month, we will begin to see if the time is indeed now for Woods.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
Touch ’em all?
A Grand Slam for Tiger Woods seems possible, given his play the past few months and how well he has done on the four courses in which the 2008 major championships will be contested.
Masters April Page 10-13
Augusta National Golf Club
Woods has played in 13 Masters, winning four. He tied for second a year ago. He will be the overwhelming favorite this year. Above, flowers bloom during practice for the 2007 Masters.
U.S. Open June Page 12-15
Torrey Pines Golf Course (South Course)
Woods has won two Opens, most recently in 2002. More germane, however, is the fact that he has won six times at Torrey Pines as a pro, most recently in this year’s Buick Invitational. Above, Woods celebrates a birdie at the Buick. British Open July Page 17-20
Royal Birkdale Golf Club
Woods has won three British Opens, the last in 2006. He has competed once at Birkdale, finishing one shot out of a playoff. Woods said inexperience cost him that championship. Above, the eighth hole at Royal Birkdale.
PGA Championship Aug. Page 7-10
Oakland Hills Country Club
Woods has won four PGA Championships, including the past two, but he’s played just two championship tournaments at Oakland Hills, as an amateur in the 1996 U.S. Open and as a member of the 2004 U.S. Ryder Cup team, above, with Phil Mickelson.
