CKNW Editorial
for July 24, 2000

Many years ago Sports Illustrated printed a bit of rare fiction. The story was of a baseball rookie "phenom" who singled his first four times at bat. As the first week finished he had gone four for four every day. After a month it was the same – four for four every day - and the crowds jammed the stadiums around the league. By the All-Star break the kid was still going four for four every game and he was the toast of the sporting world and they had to add new bleachers to accommodate the crowds, many of whom hadn’t even cared about baseball until now. By Labour Day the kid was still going four for four every day but the crowds started to dwindle. By the beginning of October the crowds were down to record lows as the phenom hit safely, four for four, every day. On the final day the kid singled his first three at bats and the crowd was booing. On his last at bat the kid hit a clean single and what was left of the crowd stoned him to death.

Is it that way with Tiger Woods? Is he to become bad for golf? Is he just too good?

What was scary was to learn that his coach, Butch Harmon thinks he’s only 75% of capacity and Woods agrees.

He is, as we all know, the youngest player ever to win all four Majors but it’s even more scary how he’s done it – by a total of 36 shots or an average of nine per win and he only won the PGA last summer by one shot! But I suppose the scariest part is that he has literally destroyed very good players in the process. Many who have played with him in his course destroying rounds have never played as well again … one thinks of Colin Montgomery, Davis Love III and David Duval.

His win yesterday was so typical – in fact the same thing happened on Saturday. Just as players moved in on him he hit the afterburners and pulled away. He has, without question, the most disciplined approach to golf since Ben Hogan and perhaps of all time. On both Saturday and yesterday he played sound, cautious golf until he hit the stretch where he knew that his length and short game gave him a huge advantage. His patience paid off.

But what of the game now? This isn’t like the days of Palmer, Nicklaus and Player … and a little later Trevino and Severiano Ballesteros. In those days every tournament that mattered was a three or four horse race. Now, for the most part, it’s a walkover. This is Secretariat running against $2500 Claimers at Exhibition Park. Will the crowds still come? Of more importance, will they still watch TV. Already we’ve seen a dramatic falling away of crowds, both in the gallery and in front of the "boob tube" when Tiger sits one out … which he does very regularly. You can’t blame him for that – his object is to win the Majors and the near-Majors. He can’t do that without pacing himself and that’s bad news for tournament sponsors.

It’s also reached the ridiculous where Tiger does play two minor events a year, one in the Far East and one in Germany, because he gets a $1 million appearance fee.

Time will, of course, tell. Many good players have burnt out or lost interest. But somehow one gets the impression that this 24 year old, very mature young man, has his sights set on Nicklaus’ record of 18 Majors – he has 14 to go. That’s a tall order but who would dare say he won’t do it.

What does remain to be seen is not whether or not Tiger Woods can handle success … but whether golf itself can stand the success of this remarkable young man.