THE YEAR OF THE TIGER IF NOTHING ELSE, THE STREAK PROVED WOODS IS ALWAYS THE FAVORITE.Byline: Dave Shelburne Staff Writer No streak? No difference. Not for Tiger Woods  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled. , whose 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. winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" reached six - second best in tour history - before Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) (nicknamed "Lefty" for his left-handed swing, even though he is otherwise right-handed), is an American professional golfer. He is one of the leading players of his generation, having won three major championships and a total of 32 ended it in a stirring duel last week at Torrey Pines Torrey Pines can refer to:
Mickelson's victory in the Buick Invitational The Buick Invitational, is a PGA Tour professional golf tournament played in the San Diego, California area in the early part of the Tour season, known as the "West Coast Swing. stopped Woods five wins shy of Byron Nelson's seemingly untouchable untouchable Former classification of various low-status persons and those outside the Hindu caste system in Indian society. The term Dalit is now used for such people (in preference to Mohandas K. record of 11 in a row. With the streak over, Woods can now concentrate on winning the Nissan Open The Northern Trust Open, formally known as the Nissan Open and originally known as the Los Angeles Open, is a regular golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in February in Pacific Palisades, California. at Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. . ``Winning is what really drives me,'' he said. That won't change whether this week's Nissan is for one in a row or eight in a row. The latter looked as if it might happen when Woods erased Mickelson's seven-shot lead to tie for the Buick lead with five holes to play. After Mickelson had won, Tiger wasn't disappointed in having the tour's longest streak since 1952 stopped, only in finishing second. ``When I'm out there playing or getting ready for a tournament,'' he said the day before the streak ended, ``the only time I think about the streak is when you guys bring it up. That's the only time. I'm out there trying to win a tournament - that's all. And what I did last week doesn't really matter this week.'' That immediate focus helped stretch Woods' run as much as his will to win and his shotmaking accuracy that can border on the unreal. On the final regulation hole of the Mercedes Championship last month in Hawaii, Woods needed an eagle to get into a playoff with Ernie Els Theodore Ernest "Ernie" Els (born October 17, 1969) is a South African golfer who has been one of the top professional players in the world since the mid-1990s. A former World No. 1, he is known as "The Big Easy", for his imposing physical stature (he stands 1. for a fifth consecutive tour victory. He hit a three-wood nearly 300 yards to within eight feet of the flagstick flag·stick n. A removable pole with a flag marking the placement of each hole on the putting greens of a golf course. and got his eagle. And he got the playoff win. At Pebble Beach two weeks ago, down seven strokes with seven holes to play, Woods nearly had back-to-back eagles from the fairway, holing his first attempt from 106 yards and leaving his next within inches of the cup from 115 yards. That kind of shotmaking, in Woods' view, was the best part of his streak. It also might be the best reason to think a future streak is not that unlikely for the 24-year-old. In just his fourth full season, Woods has 17 tour victories, including two majors, and ranks first on the all-time money list. ``His desire has always been to be the best player who ever lived,'' Paul Azinger Paul William Azinger (born January 6, 1960) is an American golfer who was at his peak in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. Azinger was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He attended Florida State University and turned professional in 1981. said after Woods' comeback at Pebble Beach. ``I don't think anything's going to slow him down.'' Said Els: ``He's not afraid to make mistakes.'' ``He's the best I've played against in my 20 years on tour,'' said 1999 Player of the Year Mark O'Meara Mark Francis O'Meara (born January 13, 1957) is a professional golfer who was a prolific tournament winner on the PGA Tour and around the world from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s. In 2007 he entered his first season on the Champions Tour. . Woods remains focused: ``People talk about the streak rather than the shots I'm hitting or the putts I made here and there,'' Woods said last week. ``And I think that's more important than the streak because that's what keeps it alive.'' When it ended on Sunday, it was as much because he had lost his accuracy rather than Mickelson's tenacity down the stretch. Woods was able to overcame the lapse with a wondrous short game, but he was so off his game, he was laughing about it with his caddie. ``He said, `Would you just hit a fairway?' I said, `I'm trying!' And I missed the fairway.'' Woods' ability to enjoy himself while struggling is a change from his early days on tour, when he often responded to misfortune with irritation. He says it's a matter of feeling more comfortable. ``My life changed pretty dramatically from 1996 (when he turned pro after winning a record third consecutive U.S. Amateur title) into '97,'' Woods said of his transition from college student to worldwide celebrity in a span of six months. He attracted the spotlight by winning twice in his first eight tour events. When he followed that with a dramatic win in the '97 tour-opening Mercedes Championship - nearly hitting a hole-in-one on the first playoff hole - then won his first professional Masters by a record 12 strokes, Woods found himself, at age 21, the most well-known golfer in the world. ``No one can ever prepare you for that,'' he said. ``And I guess, you know, I didn't handle it well at times. And at other times I was just kind of learning as I was going. ``There is no class for that, nothing anyone can ever say can help you along. You have to go through it yourself.'' These days, Woods is obviously more accustomed to celebrity and appears comfortable with his status. ``I think I'm a little more experienced than I was in '97 to handle all this,'' he said to another packed media throng at the Buick Invitational, where credential requests tripled. Although the streak is now history, there will likely be no shortage of media or fans this week at Riviera. His opposition will likely go with the game plan endorsed by Woods' former Stanford teammate, Notah Begay. ``The road to any tournament,'' Begay said, ``goes through Tiger Woods' driveway.'' TIGER FILE --Who: Tiger Woods --Residence: Orlando, Fla. --Claim to fame: Threat to win any tournament --Status this week: Player to beatYEAR 2000 Greens in regulation 76.4 Tournaments entered 3 First place finishes 2 Second place finishes 1 Earnings $1,506,000 Scoring average 68.44 CAREER PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". wins 2000 -- Mercedes Championship, Pebble Beach Pro-Am 1999 -- Buick Invitational, The Memorial, WesternOpen, PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the U.S. PGA Championship outside of North America) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers Association of America as part of the PGA Tour. , WGC-NEC Invitational,National Car Rental Classic, Tour Championship, WGC-AmericanExpress Championship 1998 -- BellSouth Classic 1997 -- Mercedes Championship, The Masters, Byron Nelson John Byron Nelson, Jr. (February 4 1912 – September 26 2006) was an American PGA Tour golfer between 1935 and 1946. He and two other well known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within 6 months of each other in 1912. Classic, Western Open 1996 -- Walt Disney Classic, Las Vegas Invitational THE STREAK World Golf Championship Aug. 26-29--Winning score: 270 National Car Rental Classic Oct. 21-24--Winning score: 271 Tour Championship Oct. 28-31--Winning score: 269 WGC-American Express Championship Nov. 4-7--Winning score: 278 Mercedes Championship Jan. 6-9--Winning score: 276 Pebble Beach National Feb. 3-7--Winning score: 273 CAPTION(S): 4 photos, drawing, box Photo: (1) no caption (Tiger Woods in front of gallery) illustration by Eric Barrow (2 -- 4) no caption (Tiger Woods) Drawing: (color -- cover) no caption (giant Tiger Woods tied down by lilliputian figures) Jorge Irribarren Box: Tiger file (see text) |
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