Sports Watch

By Bill Kwon

Friday, August 13, 1999

PGA needs Tiger at
Grand Slam

GOLF WATCH

TI-GER. Ti-ger. OK, no cheering in the press tent, I know. But I can't help it.

Tiger Woods has to win the PGA Championship this week or else. Or else what?

A ho-hum PGA Grand Slam of Golf on Kauai Nov. 16-17, that's what.

The winner of golf's final major at Medinah will complete the Grand Slam foursome.

He'll join Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal, U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart and Scotland's Paul Lawrie, who backed in to win the British Open when Jean Van de Velde -- Les Miserables to his French buddies -- forgot that golf is also a game of management.

That is, unless Olazabal, Stewart or Lawrie win another major. Then an alternate will be selected.

So who do we have lined up right now?

Olazabal. Ole! but boring.

Stewart. Born again, but boring.

Lawrie. Boring, even if single-malt neat.

So the PGA of America, which sponsors the Grand Slam event at the Poipu Bay Resort, needs Tiger badly.

Only Woods can provide a sound bite that will turn anyone and a television set on.

He has the length and the mental strength to take on Medinah. Unfortunately, the history of the PGA Championship is against him.

Ten of the last 11 PGA Championships went to first-time winners of majors.

When you round up the list of usual suspects to win, these previous PGA champions weren't among the first you'd corral:

Defending champion Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, John Daly, Wayne Grady, Mark Brooks, Steve Elkington and Paul Azinger.

Daly went on to win the British Open as did Nick Price, who made his major breakthrough in the PGA Championship in 1982. He doubled his pleasure in 1984, winning the PGA again after the British Open.

So the chances of a first-time major winner looks good again. That field is impressive with David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Jeff Maggert and Jim Furyk. And, Sergio Garcia, the first-round leader.

So if it's not Tiger Woods, let it be Duval or Mickelson. Duval's dull, but he is, after all, the PGA Tour's leading money winner.

Mickelson will add more pizzazz. And he won't need to leave his pager on. But, please, no more foreigners, especially Montgomerie or Garcia.

Two Spaniards in the foursome? Ay caramba!

Two Scots out of four? You'd think they invented the game.

All things said and done, nothing could be finah at Medinah than Tiger winning.

NO EASY RYDERS

David Duval has already won $3 million, Tiger Woods almost that much. So why are they griping about having to play in the Ryder Cup for little money?

Their sponsors should tell them to cool it. It's bad PR.

HAWAII NO KA OI

The best place to golf in the world? According to Conde Nast magazine's poll of 6,000 of its readers, it's Hawaii.

Of the top 50 best golf resorts in the world, 16 are located in Hawaii. Five -- Manele Bay and the Lodge at Koele on Lanai, Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, the Four Seasons Resorts at Wailea and Mauna Lani Bay -- were listed among the top 10.

The other resorts cited are Kea Lani, Orchid at Mauna Lani, Grand Wailea Resort, Hyatt Regency Kauai, Four Seasons Hualalai, Princeville, Kapalua Bay, Mauna Kea Beach, Kauai Marriott, Maui Prince and Hapuna Beach.