Winning
six tournaments, adding his second major championship, and soaking up the thrill
of a Ryder Cup victory apparently isn't enough for Tiger Woods going into the
last three PGA Tour tournaments of the year.
"I'd
like to put a little hat trick on them," Woods said today at Disney's National
Car Rental Classic, his first 72-hole tournament in seven weeks. "That would be
nice."
That just
might happen.
Even though he hasn't played since the Ryder Cup four weeks ago, even though he
will be playing for the first time since undergoing Lasix eye surgery, Woods has
proven once again that anything is possible.
He has had such an astounding season that even with $12.5 million in prize money
on the line in the last three tournaments -- $2.35 million in combined first-place
checks -- only three players have a mathematical chance to surpass him on the
money list.
The
other side of the equation is this: Woods can win two of the next three tournaments
and become the first $6 million man in golf.
"That
would definitely put a good end to the year," Woods said. "If that doesn't happen,
what's really important to me right now is making sure that my game stays solid.
If I can continue that, I know I'll probably give myself a chance in the tournaments
to come."
It all
starts Thursday next to the Magic Kingdom, where Woods leads a strong field that
includes 27 of the top 40 on the PGA Tour money list.
This is the final tournament to qualify for next week's Tour Championship in Houston,
where only the top 30 on the money list compete for $5 million. That explains
why every player from No. 27 to No. 40 is at Disney.
So what is Woods doing here?
Aside from the fact the Magnolia and Palm courses are a mere 30-minute drive from
home, Woods is ready to gear up for a hectic finish to the season.
Next up is the Tour Championship, followed by the final $5 million American Express
Championship, the third and final World Golf Championship event of the year, in
Spain. After that, he goes to Taiwan for the Johnnie Walker Classic, followed
by the World Cup in Malaysia, a two-day exhibition in Japan, and then the PGA
Grand Slam of Golf for the four major championship winners in Hawaii.
Whew.
"I'm
getting ready to go on a schedule that's going to be tough on the body," Woods
said. "So I've stayed away from the game as long as I possibly could."
Maybe he should have stayed
away longer to give everyone else a chance.
While David Duval, the only player in the top five on the money list not at Disney,
had the best spring in 25 years by winning four times, Woods has made that a distant
memory.
It all
started one morning on the driving range in May.
After more than a year of a meticulous, step-by-step overhaul of a swing that
was good enough to win the 1997 Masters in record fashion, Woods stopped thinking
about mechanics and found that his rebuilt swing started coming naturally to him.
He called swing
coach Butch Harmon with the news: "I got it. Everything has come together."
Then, he went out and proved
just how much it had.
"I
went out and shot 61 the first round of the Byron Nelson, and I've gone on that
stretch since," he said.
That stretch has established Woods once again as the premier player in golf. He
has finished worse than seventh just once since then, a tie for 37th in the Sprint
International, the week after he won the PGA Championship.
Take out Carnoustie, the toughest conditions in a British Open since World War
II, and Woods has averaged 68.5 per round. In fact, Carnoustie was the last 72-hole
stroke play tournament that he failed to win.
So, the only thing that might hold him back now is rust.
"It's
been seven weeks since I played in Akron (at the NEC Invitational),'' he said.
"I played in the Ryder Cup, but other than that, I have not done much of anything.''
Part of that time
was consumed with Lasix surgery. Woods has always worn contacts, which can irritate
him when the wind kicks up and his allergies get bad. Now, he says he can read
the subtleties in slopes on the green a little better.
"Objects
are bigger," he said. "The hole is bigger, the ball is bigger, clubs are bigger.
You definitely have to adjust to everything. I've been practicing around and making
sure everything looks all right. And I found that I'm actually able to clip the
ball off the ground better. Maybe my swing has improved."
Another thing that could really get bigger is his bank account.
Woods already has just over $4.2 million, nearly $740,000 more than Duval.
U.S. Open champion Payne
Stewart and Vijay Singh also have a mathematical chance to win the money title
0- assuming Woods finishes near the bottom in the final two events and misses
the cut this week, something he has done only once in his career.
Who knows?
If the
long layoff doesn't stop the Tiger Woods Express, the PGA Tour could be looking
at its first $6 million man.
