Tiger Woods suffered his
most serious humiliation as a professional during the Phoenix Open
-- and plans to avenge that embarrassment in a practice round with
Mark Calcavecchia this week.
Woods shot a two-over-par
73 in the second round at Scottsdale, while eventual winner Calcavecchia
went round in a brilliant 60.
The 13-stroke difference
was the worst Woods has suffered since he joined the paid ranks
in 1996.
The forthcoming round at
Cypress Point will be a tune up for this week's Pebble Beach Pro-Am,
but Woods sees it as the chance to pay his good friend back.
"He's going to have to
give me six strokes a side," Woods said. "Then I like my chances."
Certainly nobody fancied
Woods's chances at the Phoenix Open at the weekend once it became
clear that Calcavecchia was in overdrive.
The former British Open
champion who had not tasted success since the 1998 Honda Classic
simply ran away from the rest and set tournament and U.S. PGA Tour
records. He won by eight strokes and finished 28-under-par on 256.
In the process he erased the 46-year-old Tour best for low 72-hole
aggregate.
The previous mark of 257
was set by Mike Souchak at the 1955 Texas Open.
Calcavecchia's peers were
not really surprised. He is an aggressive player and the approach
pays handsome dividends on occasions.
Woods said: "Calc is one
of those players who is a little streaky. When he gets going, he
really gets going."
Second-placed Rocco Mediate
added: "He was flawless. Except for a couple of holes, he was awesome."
Calcavecchia has won 10
PGA Tour events, plus the 1989 British Open. Even with a six-stroke
lead going into the final round, he spent Sunday going for par-fives
in two and using a driver on most holes.
Apart from breaking Souchak's
record, the 40-year-old American equalled John Huston's mark of
lowest under par in a tournament. He also shot 32 birdies, breaking
Huston's record of 31.
But Calcavecchia did not
look like he would even break 70 before the tournament started.
In a practice round the week before the event at a nearby course
with friends, Calcavecchia shot a 75.
"I was hitting it everywhere,"
he said. "I was like 'I had better do some heavy-duty practising'."
So he hit balls, and called
his teacher Butch Harmon and then worked a little more. When he
played in the pro-am he shot a 65 and knew he was ready.
"I shot kind of a nonchalant
65 in the pro-am without lining up many putts, so basically I knew
I had it," Calcavecchia said.
Tiger
Woods has never before lost 13 shots to the lowest round of
a tournament. Allsport.
"I went home, my mom flew
in and asked how I was doing. I looked at her, and I said, 'I got
it. I just shot the easiest 65 you've ever seen on the pro-am'."
had found it.
Calcavecchia flirted with
a 59 before settling for a tournament-equalling 60. In the third
round, while others struggled with bad weather, Calcavecchia shot
a 64, breaking Gay Brewer's 1967 PGA Tour mark for two low consecutive
rounds.
He didn't ease up in the
final round either, increasing his lead by two strokes and thought
he could go even lower.
"I tried to play a game
with myself and I tried to get to 30- under," Calcavecchia said.
"I thought that would be pretty cool, getting a 30-under."
