His great article ended by describing Tiger Woods practicing in a rainstorm, "alone, on the 10th hole of the closed Stanford golf course, in the middle of a horizontal wave of rain, his car the only one in the lot, and he is ripping two-irons into the teeth of an Auntie Em wind...".
I have the "Larry Bird: A Living Legend" video. In it, one of Bird's high school friends describe a young Larry Bird, shooting free throws in the rain, everyone else inside. Dedication, and commitment, at such a young age.
Fast forward to today's playoff, in the rain, against the PGA Tour Player of the Year. Tom Lehman drops his shot into the water. Tiger, taking advantage, going right for the jugular, drops his tee-shot within nine inches of the hole.
The win is symbolic of Tiger's fierce, and frightening, drive to win. In the CNN/SI telecast, he said that he truly expects to win everything he enters. I think the PGA Tour has to start taking him seriously now.
The best part was watching Tiger at the end of the ABC telecast. When ABC field announcer Mark Rolfing announced to Tiger that he has won $1 million in just nine tournaments, he said "I'll take it." When Mark asked Tiger what he thought of his picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he said "I think it's a funny looking picture." When asked about his 21st birthday celebration, he said "I'm finally legal!", and he celebrated "big time." The humor of Tiger's responses was great television.
He did say that his only peace comes on the golf course, alluding to the strain of his very public life.
According to Clari News, the course layout at the La Costa Resort and Spa, in Carlsbad, CA (north of San Diego) was:
1 Par 4 412 yards 10 Par 4 450 yards 2 Par 5 526 yards 11 Par 3 180 yards 3 Par 3 187 yards 12 Par 5 541 yards 4 Par 4 386 yards 13 Par 4 410 yards 5 Par 4 446 yards 14 Par 3 204 yards 6 Par 4 365 yards 15 Par 4 378 yards 7 Par 3 188 yards 16 Par 4 423 yards 8 Par 4 398 yards 17 Par 5 569 yards 9 Par 5 538 yards 18 Par 4 421 yards --------------------- ---------------------- Out: 36 3,446 yards In: 36 3,576 yardsThe course was a par-72 (36-36), measuring 7,022 yards.
With a 30 foot putt, Tiger eagled his par-5 12th. His score out and in was both 35.
His remaining eagle putt (from 40 feet) was played well, resulting in his birdie for the 17th.
He birdied his last four holes (La Costa's "Longest Mile"), sealing the tournament's best round of 7-under 65. Tiger did have a spate of bad putting on the back nine.
Tom Lehman played hard as well. He shot a 3-under 69, his third round under 70. His birdie putt on the 18th had him pumping his fist in slow motion, a la Mr. Woods. Tom played with Jim Furyk, behind Woods and Love, and he knew how well Tiger was doing by the applause and the cheering from the gallery. Lehman's round of 69 brought him in a tie with Tiger Woods, at 14-under.
Tiger's Card - Third Round Par Out - 4 5 3 4 4 4 3 4 5 36 Woods - 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 3 5 32 Par In - 4 3 5 4 3 4 4 5 4 36 72 Woods - 3 3 6 5 3 3 3 4 3 33 65
ABC did make mention of the huge gallery following Tiger, and how Davis Love (and any partner for that matter) had to contend with the shifting movement of the gallery.
Since Tiger Woods and Tom Lehman were tied, Curtis Strange and Mike Tirico, of ABC, set the stage for what the PGA Tour officials would do. If half the field completes play, the Tour would return tomorrow to finish the rest of the field. If half the field does not play, the Tour would have to find a dry hole to have a playoff to determine the winner between Lehman and Tiger.
ABC did a great job keeping viewers interested, and involved. There were interviews with Davis Love III, and Fred Couples (whose term of affection for Tiger is "young punk"). Tom Lehman was on TV before the playoff; he said he was watching football and he described how surprised he was when his caddy told him about the playoff!
The gallery moved quickly when the PGA Tour announced the playoff at the 7th hole. ABC showed Tiger and Woods starting their practice swings (Tiger got on the practice green first). Butch Harmon, Tiger's swing instructor, was interviewed as well.
The conditions were wet and windy. A coin toss decided that Lehman would go first. This was his first playoff experience.
ABC flashed their matchup on this 188 yard par-3 7th hole:
Thursday Friday Saturday
Woods Par Par Par
Lehman Birdie Par Par
Tom Lehman's agressive five-iron shot carried right into the water. The crowd seemed to groan and perk up at the same time. Peter Arliss of ABC said that if Tiger's shot followed Lehman into the water "he needs his bottom smacking."
Tiger followed with a six-iron. And as I mentioned earlier, his shot fell within six inches of the hole. It was probably an advantage to hit second, to see how the ball would play in the air.
As the television cameras tracked Tiger and Lehman marching to the green, you saw Tiger reach for the umbrella. His face was impassive; there would be no smiling. Lehman had to take a penalty, and his chip shot across the water almost bounced into the hole, but then bounced almost three feet away. A makeable putt, but his penalty was costly. Tiger's tap in sealed the win.
In the interview with Tiger at the end of the match, he said that his goal this year was to be on the Ryder Cup team.