#15 2/04/2000
Is this the Year of the Dragon? -- More like Years and Years of Tiger
This was the fourth year that I went to the AT&T Pro-Am Golf Tournament ( http://www.attpebblebeachproam.com/
) at Pebble Beach Golf Links as a guest of Fremont Bank ( http://www.fremontbank.com/
). As a novice golfer since 1996, I've enjoyed going to the AT&T Pro-Am
since 1997. I figure that this is probably the only way that I'll visit Pebble Beach
golf course (http://www.pebblebeach.com/)
since the greens fee is about $300! Even though this was the Year of the Dragon
according to the Chinese lunar calendar, I thought that I'll try to catch a
glimpse of Tiger--Tiger Woods, that is.
After I picked up Jerry from San Jose, we arrived at Chateau Julien Winery at
Carmel Valley ( http://www.chateaujulien.com/
) where Fremont Bank had a breakfast reception.
[Jerry took this picture of Poppy Hill's par-3 15th.] Tiger hit a beautiful 4-iron, and the ball landed just
4 feet away. Tiger was able to convert this into a birdie.
[Jerry took this picture. Who was it? Why was it so blurry? This was what
happened when we try to catch a glimpse of Tiger Woods as he sprinted off after
signing just a few autographs!]
We went to Poppy Hill to catch a glimpse of Tiger Woods. Instead we saw Kevin
Costner.
[Jerry was able to take better pictures of Kevin Costner.]
What was the worst part of the day? Was it the fact that we saw Tiger Woods'
bogey on the 14th hole? Was it the dreary weather? Was it the shortened play on
Friday? It was waiting in lines: we drove down to Carmel Valley, took the
shuttle to Pebble Beach, took the shuttle to Poppy Hills, took the shuttle back
to Pebble beach, took the shuttle back to the Winery, and then drove home! I
think we spent more time in traffic and waiting in lines than watching golf!
Jerry took this picture while he and I were in lines at Poppy Hills. We
waited for more than 1 hour before getting on the bus. I joked that waiting in
lines took longer than watching grass grow!
We then headed on over to Pebble Beach. By the time we finally got there the
day's tournament was finished. So Jerry and I walked on the course! It was
great to walk on the course and enjoy a magnificent view of the Pacific ocean.
[Jerry took this picture
of me.] Even though I was disappointed by not getting an autograph from Tiger
Woods, but I was thrilled to be able to walk on Pebble Beach Golf Links. Don't I
look like a Yellow Dragon at Pebble Beach Golf Links?
[Jerry took this picture of the par-3 7th hole at Pebble.]
Rondo would have enjoyed this view with the Carmel City Beach in the background.
It was too bad that he was no there.
[Jerry took this photo of Carmel City Beach.]
[Jerry took this picture of an
impressive fairway bunker at Pebble]
Here was
Jerry pointing Tiger Woods' score of -4 at the end of Friday.
Here were a couple stories story on the WEB ( www.pga.com
) about how Tiger Woods was able to come back from behind on Monday to win his
6th consecutive PGA tournament in a row. He was down 7 with 7 holes to play. On
TV I
saw his dramatic eagle-2 on the 15th and then almost followed with another eagle on the 16th.
For my 1999's AT&T Pro-Am story, click here.
Find out whose autograph I got? Kevin Costner, Ken Griffey, Jr., or David Duval?
First round done at Pebble, but how many more
will be?
February 4, 2000
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- In the two hours that Tiger Woods spent on a
soggy golf course, he knocked the head off his driver with a mammoth tee shot,
made five birdies in eight holes and got into position for his sixth straight
PGA Tour victory.
A first round that took two days in ever-changing weather for the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am finally ended Friday with David Duval, Vijay Singh
and Notah Begay in the lead at 6-under 66 after taking advantage on soft, serene
Poppy Hills.
Woods finished with a 68 -- eight birdies, six pars, four bogeys and only 13
clubs in his bag when his round was over. The head of his driver snapped off on
the 16th hole, which may have cost him an easy birdie chance on the par-5 18th.
``That was shocking,'' Woods said. ``You don't expect that to happen.''
Woods also had few complaints, except for missing his driver on the last
hole.
``I wanted to end up at 3- or 4-under, so this puts me right in the ball
game,'' said Woods, trying to become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1948 to
win six straight tour events.
Woods wasn't hitting the ball particularly well on Thursday, and the half day
off from rain and high wind seemed to help. His irons were like lasers into the
green, never straying too far from the flag. His only bogey Friday was a
three-putt from 15 feet, when he had the line but rammed it four feet by the
hole.
The wheels didn't come off, but the head of his driver did.
After a 4-iron into four feet for birdie on the par-3 15th, Woods lashed at
his driver and was left holding only a stick. The head tumbled some 85 yards
down the fairway.
``Nice Arnold Palmer follow-through,'' Mark O'Meara told him, not realizing
there was a reason for whipping finish.
Woods stared in disbelief at the shaft, then turned to the gallery and flexed
his arms.
He still made birdie by hitting a 6-iron into 12 feet, and followed with
another birdie on the par-3 17th, this from six feet.
Woods wasn't allowed to use the driver in the bag of his amateur partner,
Stanford buddy Jerry Chang, but he's got another one for Saturday's round.
Still, the one that broke has some special memories.
``I've had it since the winter of '98,'' Woods said. ``It's worked pretty
well for me.''
First-Round Scores:
David Duval 33-33-66 -6
Vijay Singh 34-32-66 -6
Notah Begay III 34-32-66 -6
Tiger Woods 37-31-68 -4
Lee Janzen 34-34-68 -4
Grant Waite 36-32-68 -4
Steve Scott 36-32-68 -4
Woods' streak at six after thrilling comeback
victory
February 7, 2000
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- With an astonishing comeback to win the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Tiger
Woods on Monday moved a step closer to Byron Nelson's
"untouchable" record of 11
straight victories.
Seven strokes behind with seven holes to play, Woods electrified an otherwise
gray afternoon on the Monterey Peninsula by holing a 97-yard wedge for eagle on
the 15th and making birdies on two of the last three holes for his sixth
consecutive PGA Tour victory.
Woods became the first
player since Ben Hogan in 1948 to win six tour events in a row and took an
unbelievable leap closer to Nelson's record, which was set in 1945.
It was a command performance, filled with spectacular shots that have defined
Woods' young but spectacular career. It ended with Woods watching from the 18th
green as Matt Gogel missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have
forced a playoff.
Woods closed with an 8-under 64, the lowest final round by a champion in the
53-year history of Pebble Beach. He finished at 15-under 273 and earned
$720,000.
"I figured if I birdied the last four holes, I might have a chance,''
Woods said.
Gogel, the 28-year-old tour rookie, made birdie on five of the first seven
holes to seemingly turn the final round into a rout.
Instead, he turned in a shocking collapse -- a 40 on the back nine -- that
will only be forgotten because of a miraculous comeback by a player who never
ceases to amaze.
So shaken by his failed birdie putt, Gogel missed a three-footer for par on
the 18th and wound up in a tie for second at 13-under 275 with Vijay Singh.
Gogel closed with a 71, while Singh had a 70.
"I said it yesterday, he's going to be there at the end,'' said Notah
Begay, an ex-teammate at Stanford who finished three behind. "It adds to
the whole mystique of Tiger.''
It was the 17th career PGA Tour victory for the 24-year-old Woods. Among
active players not on the Senior Tour, only Ben Crenshaw (19) and Greg Norman
(18) have won more.
What Woods has proved
during his PGA Tour winning streak -- even as far back as his three straight
U.S. Amateur titles -- is that he can never be counted out until he's no longer
on the golf course.
Woods was five strokes behind to start the final round, which was pushed back
to Monday because of high winds and rain earlier in the tournament. Despite the
relatively serene conditions, he managed only three birdies through the first 11
holes and was running out of time.
Not only was he seven strokes behind, five other players were in front of
him.
Woods needed some help, and Gogel obliged. Five under after his first seven
holes, Gogel came unglued after his first bogey of the day -- on No. 11 -- and
handled the spotlight like a deer on the highway.
But this day will be remembered more for the spectacular play by Woods.
The guy who folded his arms and stared blankly across the ocean for most of
his round suddenly unleashed one of those famous fist pumps when his wedge on
the 15th landed four feet to the right of the hole with just enough spin to
slide across the grain and into the cup.
One hole later, he missed another eagle when his wedge landed an inch in
front of the cup on its second bounce, setting up a 2-foot birdie.
He missed the green to the right on the par-3 17th, not far from where Tom
Watson chipped in to win the U.S. Open in 1982. He nearly matched Watson's
heroic shot, the ball turning away at the last turn.
Woods came up short on
the par-5 18th, hit a nice flop shot to 3 feet, and then had to wait about 30
minutes to see if Gogel could catch him.
He only had two decent birdie chances, and none of those came very close.
Next up for Woods is the Buick Invitational this week in San Diego, where he
is the defending champion. Should he continue to win, he would surpass Nelson at
the tournament where the Woods legend took root -- the Masters.
For Gogel, it was another lesson to be learned from playing in the final
group on the final day. He was there two weeks ago in the Bob Hope Classic, came
out conservatively, and was quickly passed.
This time, he started with three straight birdies, and moved to 5-under for
the round with a 25-foot birdie from just off the green at No. 7.
The 10th hole is the last one that runs south down the Pacific coast, ending
a terrorizing six-hole stretch where the tournament is more often lost than won.
When Gogel walked off No. 10 with a par, he had a five-stroke lead over Singh,
and Woods was nowhere to be found.
That changed as quickly as clouds replaced sunshine at the start of the
round.
Gogel missed a five-foot par putt on the 11th, then failed to get up and down
out of the bunker on the par-3 11th as the pressure of trying to close out his
first PGA Tour victory on one of the most storied courses in the world began to
take its toll.
If that wasn't enough, the roars that resounded from a half-mile away were
enough to shake anybody.
Woods hit a 5-iron on the par-3 12th that stopped eight feet from the cup for
birdie, and he bagged another one on the par-5 14th with a greenside bunker shot
to about six feet.
Then the fun really began.
Only Woods can produce such dramatics these days. The wedge he holed for
eagle, and the next one that bounced in front of the cup at No. 16, were
reminiscent of the kind of shots only seen during the Ryder Cup -- only they
came from one player.
Woods clenched his fist after his final birdie, as if he knew that would be
enough. He came into the press room to watch Gogel play the final two holes,
then headed out to the 18th green to pick up another trophy.
