Monday, November 19, 2001
[HAWAII GOLF]
Tiger Woods is the name. Woods on Kauai to regain magic
By Kalani SimpsonTiger Woods, the youngest legend, the Sunday swoosh. Bright lights and headlines follow him wherever he goes, and in those already classic final rounds his competition has alternately both been broken and parted like the Red Sea.
He is more than just a champion now. With six majors and four PGA Player of the Year awards, and a smile and commercials to match, Woods looms over the rest of the tour as a haunting presence.
But the spell may have been snapped heading into tomorrow's first round of the two-day PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Kauai's Poipu Bay, featuring the champions of the last four majors.
"I have lost a couple of playoffs to Tiger in the past, but I had the 'Golden Goose' with me today," Ernie Els told Reuters yesterday, as Grand Slam entrant Retief Goosen's clutch play helped Els and South Africa hold off fellow Grand Slam competitors Woods and David Duval to win the World Cup in a four-team playoff at Gotemba, Japan.
Now Woods, Duval and Goosen face off against each other as individuals in this week's Grand Slam, joined by the fourth major champion, PGA winner David Toms. Format is 36 holes, stroke play.
When: Tomorrow, Wednesday, 9 a.m. PGA Grand Slam of Golf
Where: Poipu Bay Golf Course, Kauai
Who: Winners of golf's four major tournaments -- Tiger Woods, David Duval, Retief Goosen and David Toms
TV: TNT, 3-6 p.m. (tomorrow), 3-6:30 p.m. (Wednesday)
Woods, entering the Grand Slam wearing his second Masters green jacket, has won the last three Slams, including a dramatic victory last year. Woods beat Vijay Singh thanks to an eagle on 18 to force a playoff and another eagle on 18 to win it.
Duval is in the field after winning the British Open, finally breaking through for a major, finally removing the shades and showing a smile. Goosen is on Kauai thanks to an 18-hole playoff that won him the U.S. Open, completing a comeback that started when he was hospitalized for months after being struck by lightning as a teenager.
Toms, the Louisiana native, rocketed to the spotlight in a less dramatic fashion. Needing par on the final hole to win the PGA, Toms chose to lay-up, rather than going for the gusto, setting up a 12-foot putt and a one-shot win over Phil Mickelson.
Goosen, Duval and Toms are in the in the Grand Slam of Golf for the first time, competing for a $1 million purse, with $400,000 to the winner.