Tiger at Thirty

TODAY, as another New Year dawns for the rest of us mere mortals, a fourth decade beckons the world's most famous and charismatic sportsman. Two days ago Eldrick became an Elder-ick as Tiger Woods turned 30, unleashing the golfer who has already proved himself to be balding head (ha!) and broad shoulders above what passes for his competition upon the period of his professional life that history tells us will likely be the most productive of his already stunning playing career.

"If you look at most of the guys, it looks like their peak years are in their 30s," Woods confirmed recently. "Hopefully, that'll be the case for me. Obviously, there's a lot deeper competition, a lot more work I need to get done. I need to work very hard to accomplish those goals, but ultimately it's winning major championships that I want to do."

 

Added to the typically non-specific answer Tiger always gives when asked what he is working on - "getting better" - his public prioritising of yet more Grand Slam titles will surely strike a deep foreboding in the hearts and minds of the best of the rest. Such is the extent of his current supremacy, the statistical difference between Woods and the No.2 player on the world ranking list, Vijay Singh, is the same as that between the Fijian and Peter Lonard of Australia, who is 46th. So a still-improving Woods is the last thing those with major ambitions need, though the knowledge that every leading professional's material wealth has been multiplied many-fold through his charismatic presence and enormous drawing power must come as something of a blow-softener.

It is also hardly news to say that Tiger Woods is golf, but with the PGA Tour's next television contract currently up for discussion with the various networks - the early word is that those on the world's most lucrative circuit may be playing for as much as $200m less over the next four years - the need for him to perform with some distinction at the most high-profile times has never been greater. And in 2005 he did just that, finishing but four shots from winning all four of golf's biggest titles, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his contemporaries.

During the recent Target World Challenge in Los Angeles, the buzz among players and tour insiders was all about Tiger, in particular his performance at November's PGA Grand Slam in Hawaii.

In a 36-hole event he would win by a yawning seven shots, the still 20-something so dominated his three fellow competitors, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and Michael Campbell, the feeling was that each would require no small amount of time to recover fully from the trauma. Casually out-driving all three by as much as 50-60 yards, Woods sent a message, making some large dents in sizeable egos as he did so.

Interviewed by television during the second round, Mickelson was asked if he was looking to put pressure on Woods, who at that point was only three or four shots ahead of his compatriot. "I don't think Tiger is the least bit worried about anything I'm doing," sighed the USPGA champion with a rueful smile.

The key factor in the Woods equation during 2006 and beyond is his ability to drive his ball into places from where he can reasonably attack the flag. The driver is the one club in the bag that has been less than stellar (at least in terms of accuracy) throughout the rebuilding programme the world No.1 has undertaken with coach Hank Haney. But here's the rub: at the sharp end of today's game, hitting fairways is about as valuable as an ice-making machine at the North Pole.

Finding the short grass from the tee has become professional golf's most irrelevant statistic. Like it or not - and most don't - straightness means little to the very best. Which is why none of the top-five players on the planet is close to being in the leading 100 for driving accuracy. They simply don't care, though Tiger, albeit selfishly, does have some regrets about his own indifference. He knows that his already sizeable edge over this increasingly robotic generation of golfers would be further enhanced by a return to more traditional golfing values.

You know, things like imagination, flair, strategic decision-making and shot-shaping.

"I enjoy moving the ball and hitting different shots, and I think that's the way golf should be played," he said. "But the game has changed since I've been on tour. I'd like to see more spin added to the ball, so misses would be more pronounced and good shots rewarded more. And I'd eliminate the 60-degree wedge, and set a 56-degree limit. It would bring more feel into the game.

"I played with Lee Trevino recently, and he blew my mind with some of the shots he hit. Then you look on tour and ask: 'Who's a true shot-maker?' And there really aren't that many, if any, out here anymore."

Any blame for golf's torpor can be laid legitimately at the door of increasingly out-of-touch administrators, the United States Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient, who have spent the past decade and a bit sitting on their hands as equipment companies have produced clubs and balls that, combined with superior technique, launch even off-centre hits into outer space.

Through the witless inattention of those grey-haired buffers in blue blazers, the game at the highest level has become less sophisticated. And, in turn, less interesting to watch, as the tumbling viewing figures in the US would seem to confirm. Studied shot-making is out; slogging is in, something that Tiger and the rest can hardly be blamed for taking advantage of, even if such a mindlessly muscle-bound style of power play has dire implications for the aesthetic qualities of the sport in the long-term (see under 'tennis'). Fiercely competitive, their collective instinct will always be to take the shortest route to immediate success, no matter that they are missing fairways as often as not and/or inwardly hating themselves in the process.

"I had to get back to hitting the ball farther again," Woods admitted. "I didn't originally go along with the equipment changing everyone else was doing, and I got left behind. There were guys hitting the ball past me who I used to out-drive, no problem. My swing changes gave me some distance, and I got with the technology."

In practice, what Woods' supposed waywardness comes down to is simple geometry. During the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta two months ago, he missed the fairway at the 15th hole by "miles," according to the talking heads on Sky television. Which was - typically for commentators hardly renowned for the depth of their analysis - the lazy, easy and thoughtless conclusion to draw. But listen to the man who found Woods's ball in the rough (from where he hit a less-than-full wedge to the green).

"Tiger's ball finished 347 yards from the tee," he revealed. "And he was well off the fairway, to be sure. But when I walked back in a straight line from his ball to the tee, I was on the fairway at 297 yards out. In other words, if he had hit his ball 50 yards shorter, the guys on television would have been raving about the quality of the drive he had just hit. Tiger misses fairways because he hits the ball so far, not because he is wild necessarily." Lots of other numbers are just as worrisome for Woods's rivals, especially if the small sample of his achievements that follows is but a warm-up for what is to come over the next few years.

Take a deep breath. In fewer than 10 full seasons as a professional, the three-times US Junior and Amateur champion has been PGA Tour player of the year seven times and has tucked away ten of those precious majors, 46 US Tour victories, 17 other wins worldwide and, wait for it, more than $68m in prize-money. Let's not even get into his now-ended 100-plus 'cuts made' streak or how much he has earned off the course, courtesy of Nike, American Express and Buick, to name but three of his high-profile corporate sponsors. Suffice to say, the man has - by miles - the highest level of performance in the game and is a walking, Swoosh-covered conglomerate.

"He's one of those special guys who doesn't come along very often," said former USPGA champion David Toms. "He's more driven and more focused than any person I've ever been around in professional golf."

Indeed, the closer one looks, the more impressive Woods's statistics become. In three of the game's four major championships, he has recorded victory margins of at least eight shots. If one counts his three amateur 'majors,' only one man, Jack Nicklaus, has more, and if one doesn't, only Nicklaus and the late Walter Hagen remain ahead of him. On the career list of PGA Tour tournament winners, Woods lies seventh, and is the only active player among the top-ten.

Nicklaus and his 18 majors is his only real reference point, a fact that the Tiger cub realised long ago. Not for nothing did his childhood bedroom wall host a homemade chart recording milestones in the Golden Bear's career. Long before he turned professional, he was comparing his achievements with Jack's; no one else mattered. Or matters, such is Woods' pre-eminence in almost every statistical category.

By way of illustration, much has rightly been made of rookie professional Ryan Moore over the past few months. Since joining the paid ranks after the US Open at Pinehurst, the former US Amateur champion has finished second in the Canadian Open, racked up nearly $700,000 in earnings from only 10 events and guaranteed himself a tour card for 2006 in the process.

Very impressive, or it is until one looks at what Woods did in 1996. After turning pro two months later than Moore, Tiger recorded two wins, three other top-five finishes and qualified for the end-of-season Tour Championship - in just eight events. Any questions Ryan?

Moore is hardly alone in his metaphorical reluctance to speak up. Even Jack may not have much to say for himself in the not so distant future, given that Woods has already overtaken so many of his career benchmarks. For example:

Nicklaus won 30 PGA Tour events before he was 30. Woods has won46.

Nicklaus had won eight of his 18 major championships before 30. Woods has won two more.

Nicklaus won three of his record six Masters titles before turning 30. Woods has already won four times at Augusta.

No-one has shot a lower 72-hole score than Woods in any of the four events that he and Nicklaus care about most, the majors.

On the other hand, it would be foolish to write off all of Nicklaus's numbers just yet. Woods still has a bit of catching up to do, so now is certainly no time to be easing down. Nicklaus won 43 of his 73 PGA Tour titles in his 30s and 40s, and enjoyed his best three-year period between the ages of 31 and 34, when he won 19 times, including four majors. He also won six majors after turning 35.

"Maturity plays a great part in golf," Nicklaus reflected recently. "It really takes a long time to truly know how to play, to learn one's own game, and how to be patient with it. Some players learn earlier, but even then they tend to peak later. I can't imagine Tiger being any different. He's a very smart young man. He understands the value of patience and experience."

Add an extraordinary desire for success and a work ethic that shows no hint of diminution, a re-built swing he is ever more comfortable with and an all-round short game that is easily the best in golf, and what history will anoint as the Tiger Woods era is a long way from being over.

If only he would stop his awful and constant spitting on the course and get rid of his boorish caddie, the despicable Steve Williams, Woods would be the perfect role model for youngsters drawn to his obvious - and endlessly exploited - marketability. You can't have everything though. Not even Tiger.

But he's close, and getting ever closer.

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Tiger Woods will recharge his batteries during a short winter break, allowing the world No 1 to spend more time with his family, including his wife Elin.
Picture: Andrew Redington/ Getty Images

Woods puts family life before Tour duties

TIGER Woods will underline his stature as a global golfer when he returns to action from a winter break at the end of January by teeing up on the PGA Tour at the Buick in California before jetting out to the Gulf and challenging Europe's best golfers at the Desert Classic in Dubai.

Having played his last event as a twentysomething earlier this month, Woods opted to take an extended rest from the game over the holiday period to spend time with friends and family. Preparing to spend a first Christmas with his wife, Elin, Tiger will be also concerned for his father, Earl, who has suffered from poor health lately.

 

The world No 1 confirmed yesterday that he will begin next season at the Buick Invitational from 26-29 January in La Jolla after skipping his usual early-season events to "recharge my batteries".

Woods, who increased his tally of major wins to ten in 2005 thanks to victories in Augusta at the Masters and the Open at St Andrews, is determined to avoid burn-out.

"I played a full schedule this year and never took an extended break," he said. "I need some time to recharge my batteries, let my body heal and hang out with family and friends."

Woods celebrates his 30th birthday on 30 December. "Although my friends keep reminding me, it hasn't really sunk in yet," he added. "I don't feel old, but I have been grinding on the PGA Tour for almost ten years, which is pretty scary."

When he first indicated he wouldn't take part in the US PGA Tour's season opening event in Hawaii, Woods explained: "I just need some time away from the game. It's been a long season and I have played a lot of golf. I need a break."

Tiger, of course, has long been a critic of the inordinate length of the golf season. Because there isn't a month in the year when the sun doesn't shine somewhere in America, the game only pauses to draw breath around Christmas and New Year.

That said, because of Woods' importance in attracting TV viewers to watch professional golf in America, his influence on the PGA Tour's decision makers is significant. Starting from 2007, the US Tour will introduce a radically altered schedule which means the top players won't have to compete beyond September.

Restored to the peak of his powers in 2005, Woods derived much satisfaction from a year in which he won two majors, stretched his advantage over Vijay Singh at the summit of the world rankings and led the US money list with earnings of more than $10.6 million (£6.1m).

Not since the brilliance of 1999 had Woods performed so impressively. Long but not always straight off the tee, the truth is the world No 1 rarely puts himself in unplayable positions. Tiger's brain power always manages to figure out an escape route, no matter how improbable.

It's in the area of course management that Woods believes he's made the greatest progress. As he looks forward to the milestone birthday, Tiger is pleasantly surprised by the scale of the success in his twenties.

"I'm very excited about turning 30. Maybe the best is yet to come because physically you're not going to change a whole lot in your early to mid-30s, but you benefit from sheer experience, learning how to manage your round."

Asked if 2005 was one of the best seasons of his career to date, Woods replied: "Probably, yeah. I think 1999 is pretty close. I was in contention at all the majors, won two World Golf Championships and was in contention at other events - and that's why I made all the changes."

Apart from the swing changes undertaken with coach Hank Haney, Woods also made a change in his private life this year and married his long-term girlfriend, Elin. He said: "I have a foundation now with my marriage to Elin and it's been huge for me to have that type of connection off the golf course."

Although he weighs a couple of stone more now than when he first came on tour, the world No 1 can still boast a taut 30-inch waist. Tiger pioneered the athletic approach and, with others now sharing his enthusiasm for the gym, the emphasis on power golf shows no sign of flagging.

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