The first tee at the Plantation Course seems suspended, looking down 80 feet to the hole below. The ball hangs against the blue backdrop of the nearby Pacific with the humpback whales flapping their tails in the distance.
This isn’t Kansas.
Even a 30-handicapper can look imposing in this setting. The effect intensifies 300-fold when the player is Tiger Woods.
Woods’ mere presence inspired the usual awe at the Mercedes Championships when he stepped to the first tee Thursday to open the 2004 PGA season.
He went on to shoot 71 in the first round, trailing leader Stuart Appleby by five shots. Appleby, who had six birdies on the back nine, led Darren Clarke by one stroke.
Though the galleries still regard Woods with a sense of awe and wonder, his image has changed among his closest competitors. Back in 2000, when Woods was laying waste to the tour by winning nine tournaments and three majors, they viewed him as all powerful and untouchable, a golfing god in their midst.
Their perception changed in 2003. Woods did win his fifth straight player-of-the-year title, but the gap separating him from a handful of rivals wasn’t crater-sized. Vijay Singh beat him for the money title; Davis Love III and Ernie Els won their share of tournaments. And the topper: Woods didn’t win a major for the first time since 1998.
Now, as the 2004 season begins, Woods’ challengers see opportunity. For the first time since perhaps 1998, they believe they can share his pedestal, if not knock him off.
Woods, dare we say, has come back to Earth.
“I think things have changed a little bit,” Els said. “I think the Tiger effect is not as strong as it used to be. It’s not as huge as it used to be three or four years ago. Guys go into a week and feel if they play their games, it might be good enough.”
Like Els, Love pays his respects to Woods, saying he is still the player to beat. But Love comes into the new season feeling confident after beating Woods at the Target World Challenge in December. Love threw in a dig, noting that Woods hates to lose in his own tournament.
“It’s nice to know that if I’m playing well, I can win,” Love said. “I don’t have to sit back and go, `Man, I’ve got to do something or I can’t beat the No. 1 player in the world.'”
Woods’ challengers have stepped up their games to approach Woods’ level. They had no choice.
They have followed his lead and put themselves on fitness regimens. Even Irishman Darren Clarke, who seemed to subsist on beer and cigars, arrived at the Mercedes 30 pounds lighter.
“The standard of play has increased a lot,” Els said. “See where the cuts used to be and where they are now. It has to be a shot better at least.”
The difference is most evident on the tee. In 2000, Woods’ average drives were more than 20 yards longer than Els’ and Singh’s. Last year they were outdriving Woods by 4 yards.
Whether it is the result of improved fitness or their choice of equipment, picking up 25 yards is huge. Woods’ distance edge is being negated as an intimidation factor, particularly on the par 5s.
“A lot of guys are driving it as long or longer than him,” Els said. “He hasn’t got that big of a bonus.”
Els is quick to note Woods still hits a soft-landing 2-iron shot that nobody else has. And when he is on, few players can match Woods with the putter.
For all the talk of the gap closing, it could be just a one-year anomaly. After all, Woods wasn’t healthy in 2003.
He missed last year’s Mercedes while recovering from knee surgery. Though he opened his year with a flourish in February, his practice regimen was limited and he never quite got his game in sync. He couldn’t hit balls on the range for hours, as is his custom.
Those restrictions are gone, and Woods says his knee is 100 percent.
“The biggest thing is that I have no apprehensions,” he said.
History has shown that a Tiger unleashed can be a dangerous thing on the course. He also thrives on the idea of a challenge.
When he was told his fellow players believe the gap is closing, Woods’ motivation level seemed to rise perceptibly.
“I look at it this way–if I’m playing well, I like to take my chances against anybody,” Woods said. “When I’m playing well, I’m tough to beat.”
But Woods might not be impossible to beat, which seemed to be the case a couple of years ago. His challengers maintain that the tour isn’t a one-man show anymore.
“We’re all right there,” Love said. “There’s a big group that is chasing him. He knows it. He likes it. He prefers it that way.”
Gaining ground
A look at driving distance in yards from 2000, when Tiger Woods won nine tournaments and three majors, and 2003, shows why his main competitors feel they’re closing in.
2000 DIST. RANK
Tiger Woods 298.0 2nd
Davis Love III 288.7 3rd
Vijay Singh 279.9 30th
Ernie Els 278.9 38th
2003 DIST. RANK
Els 303.3 5th
Singh 301.9 6th
Woods 299.5 11th
Love III 299.2 15th
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