He was the perfect target for criticism, animosity and jealousy.
He had arrived on the PGA Tour at 20 with lots of hype and lots of confidence. He signed multimillion-dollar endorsement deals without ever teeing up a ball as a professional.
Who did this guy think he was?
Now we know: He was Tiger Woods. Any of the envy that surrounded him when he made his grand entrance on the tour in 1996 has either gone away or gone underground. In its place is one big shrug. What’s a group of pro golfers to do?
The guy is that good. On Sunday, Woods completed a career Grand Slam by winning the British Open by eight strokes. At 24, he is the youngest to accomplish that feat. Jack Nicklaus was 26 when he completed his Grand Slam, Gary Player 29, Gene Sarazen 33 and Ben Hogan 40.
Woods’ four rounds, all subpar–67, 66, 67, 69–gave him a 269 total, a record 19 under par. Nick Faldo set the previous British Open record, 18 under in 1990.
Sometimes–and this would appear to be one of those times–you just have to admit that somebody is better.
“It wasn’t that long ago when I said there would not be another Jack Nicklaus,” said Mark Calcavecchia, who finished tied for 26th Sunday. “In fact, we are looking at one of them. He is the chosen one. … If Jack were in his prime today, I don’t think he could keep up with Tiger.”
In the last two years, Woods has won 14 tournaments. Of the 97 career starts he has made, he has won 21 times. He received $759,150 for winning Sunday, giving him $5,735,581 to top the money list. Not a bad year. Not a bad career.
“Tiger’s playing different golf, and we all knew we had to put pressure on,” said Thomas Bjorn, who finished tied for second with Ernie Els at 277. “David [Duval] tried in the beginning, but it wasn’t enough. Tiger has done fantastically well. There’s nothing you can say. He deserves it very much. He’s the best player in the world at the moment.”
Els finished second to Woods at the U.S. and British Opens this year.
“What can you say?” Els said. “I am probably living in an era where we’re seeing the next great player. For me to win, I have to play really well, and he has to have a mediocre week.”
When Mark O’Meara won the British Open in 1998, he let Woods, his good friend, look at the championship trophy.
“I think he was happy for me that I’d won, but yet I think he realized in his mind that he wanted to see his name printed on that trophy very soon,” O’Meara said.
He knew it was a matter of time.
“The guy is just so good,” O’Meara said. “All I can tell you is that I play with him, I practice with him and I know him probably as well as anybody else besides his mom and dad, and maybe his girlfriend.
“He is one of those sports figures who comes along every so often. Certainly he has brought this game to new heights.”
So golf goes on. If his opponents are jealous, they’re smart enough to not let on. The rest are either resigned to his dominance or happy for him. There are a few challengers, though no consistent contenders.
“What really stinks about it is the fact that you can’t control him,” said Paul Azinger, who finished tied for seventh.
“In every other sport you can control your opponent except for this sport. You can only focus on your own game.”
FINAL BRITISH OPEN SCORES
At St. Andrews, Scotland, 7,115-yard, par-72 Old Course at St. Andrews:
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269 (-19), $759,150
Tiger Woods 67-66-67-69
277 (-11), $371,984
Thomas Bjorn 69-69-68-71
Ernie Els 66-72-70-69
278 (-10), $197,379
Tom Lehman 68-70-70-70
David Toms 69-67-71-71
279 (-9), $151,830
Fred Couples 70-68-72-69
280 (-8), $100,587
Paul Azinger 69-72-72-67
Pierre Fulke 69-72-70-69
Loren Roberts 69-68-70-73
Darren Clarke 70-69-68-73
281 (-7), $56,346
David Duval 70-70-66-75
Mark McNulty 69-72-70-70
Davis Love III 74-66-74-67
Vijay Singh 70-70-73-68
Stuart Appleby 73-70-68-70
Bob May 72-72-66-71
Bernhard Langer 74-70-66-71
Phil Mickelson 72-66-71-72
Dennis Paulson 68-71-69-73
282 (-6), $38,717
Steve Flesch 67-70-71-74
Notah Begay 69-73-69-71
Padraig Harrington 68-72-70-72
Steve Pate 73-70-71-68
Paul McGinley 69-72-71-70
Bob Estes 72-69-70-71
283 (-5), $30,366
Mark O’Meara 70-73-69-71
Mark Calcavecchia 73-70-71-69
Colin Montgomerie 71-70-72-70
Miguel Angel Jimenez 73-71-71-68
Dean Robertson 73-70-68-72
284 (-4), $25,432
Jarmo Sandelin 70-70-75-69
Steve Jones 70-70-72-72
Jose Maria Olazabal 72-70-71-71
Jean Van de Velde 71-68-72-73
285 (-3), $23,534
Eduardo Romero 71-68-72-74
286 (-2), $21,256
Jose Coceres 74-66-69-77
Sergio Garcia 68-69-73-76
Robert Allenby 72-71-72-71
Craig Parry 72-72-71-71
Tsuyoshi Yoneyama 74-69-70-73
Jesper Parnevik 73-69-72-72
287 (-1), $15,707
Gary Orr 72-71-72-72
Retief Goosen 72-72-71-72
Jim Furyk 69-71-75-72
Lucas Parsons 70-72-71-74
Nick O’Hern 69-74-70-74
Jeff Maggert 72-71-69-75
Jarrod Moseley 70-71-70-76
Nick Faldo 70-71-75-71
Justin Leonard 70-74-72-71
Stewart Cink 69-73-76-69
288 (even), $12,754
Rocco Mediate 74-69-76-69
Ian Garbutt 68-75-70-75
Mike Weir 75-68-70-75
289 (+1), $11,843
Greg Owen 70-74-72-73
Andrew Coltart 70-72-73-74
David Frost 73-71-71-74
Shigeki Maruyama 68-76-69-76
Tom Watson 73-71-72-73
290 (+2), $11,273
Christy O’Connor Jr. 69-75-72-74
Jeff Sluman 72-68-75-75
Steve Elkington 73-69-74-74
Kirk Triplett 73-71-74-72
291 (+3), $10,970
Desvonde Botes 71-70-76-74
Per-Ulrik Johansson 72-69-76-74
Lee Westwood 70-70-76-75
Ian Poulter 74-69-73-75
292 (+4), $10,742
Ian Woosnam 72-72-73-75
Gordon Brand Jr. 69-72-80-71
294 (+6), $10,628
Tom Kite 72-72-76-74
Kazuhiko Hosokawa 75-69-77-73
295 (+7), $10,628
Lionel Alexandre 75-68-76-76
Peter Senior 71-71-74-79
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