A `HOMECOMING' FOR TIGER.Byline: Greg Wilcox Golf The Williams World Challenge takes up residence at the posh Sherwood Country Club later this year and it's being billed as a postseason showdown between the planet's top 10 golfers and two special invitees. It's much more, though. It's a father and son reunion. The 72-hole, stroke-play tournament benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation The Tiger Woods Foundation was established in 1996 by Tiger Woods and his father, Earl Woods, to create and support community-based programs that improve the health, education, and welfare of all children in America. and presents its namesake with a grand stage on which he can test his game against the best there is in front of his first coach, his father Earl. ``It is very special,'' Earl Woods Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was an athlete, a US Army infantry officer, (retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel), and the father of golfer Tiger Woods. said of the tournament's move from Phoenix to the Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both Southeastern Ventura County and Northwest Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It was discovered in 1542 by Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, and eventually became part of the Rancho El Conejo land grant by . ``It is like a homecoming for Tiger since he played in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Junior Golf Association events and at many of the leading country clubs in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area.'' Earl Woods began working on this project three years ago as a way to raise funds for his son's foundation, which strives to help young people reach their potential, whatever that might be. In this regard, Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. is a fitting role model.
Everyone associated with golf knew he had potential. Everyone associated with golf now knows he's lived up to that potential. The fact that the best of the best are willing to come to Southern California to play in a tournament hosted by a player who is still cutting his professional teeth tells you about Woods' standing among his peers. Greg McLaughlin, the tournament director, said official invitations would go out Sept. 11, the day after completion of the Canadian Open This article is about the men's golf tournament. For the women's tournament, see Canadian Women's Open. For the tennis championships currently known as the "Rogers Cup", see Canada Masters. , but Sergio Garcia, defending champion Tom Lehman and Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer. Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina before turning professional in 1985. already have indicated they will play. Of course, the money is huge. It is the silly season's biggest pot, $3.5 million, with the winner earning $1 million. That's almost twice the prize money of the Shark Shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. , which had a larger field. The last place finisher will earn $120,000. It is about more than money, though. Earl Woods will tell you it is all about golf. ``The design of the golf course is superb and a worthy challenge for the top-10 golfers of the world,'' he said. ``Essentially what we are planning for is to see who can claim the title on the field of battle as the number one golfer in the year 2000.'' Well, for this weekend, anyway. And the Williams World Challenge will give the gallery and television viewers a side of Sherwood that never surfaced during the Shark Shootout, when par was obliterated o·blit·er·ate tr.v. o·blit·er·at·ed, o·blit·er·at·ing, o·blit·er·ates 1. To do away with completely so as to leave no trace. See Synonyms at abolish. 2. . That was a team event. The players took their best shot and this time it is Sherwood's turn. ``I think the course will play tougher that it did for the Shark Shootout,'' said Earl Woods. ``They had a very receptive view for low scores and we won't have that. We want the best golfer to emerge and for this to be a worthy test for these world-class players.'' ``Hello world.'' Remember that brash Nike television commercial that introduced a young Woods to the masses when he turned professional after winning three straight U.S. Amateur titles? That ticked off some people. Some other things did, too. But Woods overcame them all. He listened to the greats that preceded him, players like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Amd the father has seen the son change. ``First and foremost is that he is very comfortable with who he is,'' said Earl Woods. ``He has made the requisite personality changes he had to make to adjust to the PGA Tour and he has grown and matured, both physically and mentally. It is reassuring to see him reflecting all of the things we used to fight over as a little kid. He's doing them routinely now.'' To no one's surprise, these skirmishes were about golf. Not walking to the green before a short wedge shot to analyze the contours or sticking with the same routine on putts. Tiger Woods does both nowadays - out of habit. We know where he got it. So when the Williams World Challenge begins in November, it will be about more than charity, money and bragging rights. It will be about a proud father watching his son demonstrate that he has learned his lessons well. ON THE GREEN PGA TOUR Shell Houston Open The Shell Houston Open is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is currently played in March at Redstone Golf Club in the Houston suburb of Humble. Shell and the Houston Golf Association are the main sponsors of the tournament. Course: TPC at The Woodlands TPC at The Woodlands is no longer a public golf club in The Woodlands, Texas. This private course is now called The East Course and is under the management of The Woodlands Country Club. The course no longer hosts a PGA tournament and no longer has an affiliation with the PGA. (7,018 yards, par 72) Schedule: Today-Sunday Purse: $2.8 million, $504,000 to winner TV: The Golf Channel and Fox Sports Net (Today-Friday, 1 p.m); Channel 2 (Saturday, noon; Sunday, 1 p.m.) SENIOR PGA (1) (Professional Graphics Adapter) An early IBM PC display standard for 3D processing with 640x480x256 resolution. It was not widely used. (2) (Programmable Gate Array) See gate array and FPGA. Bruno's Memorial Classic Course: Greystone Golf Club (6,992 yards, par 72), Birmingham, Ala. Schedule: Friday-Sunday Purse: $1.3 million, $195,000 to winner TV: ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (Friday, noon; Saturday and Sunday, 2:30 p.m.) DRIVING DISTANCE PGA Player.............Avg. John Daly..........296.2 Casey Martin.......287.3 Tiger Woods........286.3 Scott McCarron.....286.3 Harrison Frazar....284.2 LPGA LPGA abbr. Ladies Professional Golf Association Player.............Avg. Sally Dee..........264.4 Jean Bartholomew...261.9 Pat Hurst..........260.0 Sophie Gustafson...259.7 Caroline Blaylock..258.8 SENIOR PGA Player.............Avg. Jim Ahern..........285.4 John Jacobs........285.2 Gary McCord........284.7 Terry Dill.........283.1 David Lundstrom....282.5 SPOTLIGHT STUART APPLEBY Appleby defends his PGA Shell Houston Open title, which was his first since the death of his wife in 1998. He won with a 71, the highest final round by a winner in 15 years. CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Stuart Appleby Box: On the green (see text) |
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