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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 1, 2002
An exhibition, yes. Meaningless? Far from it.
The latest Battle at Bighorn was far more compelling than most of the made-for-TV golf in abundance today. Tiger Woods has that effect on just about any telecast. The players who rounded out the foursome made it more so.
Chances are we won't see Woods playing much more with the legend whose records he is chasing, Jack Nicklaus.
The Golden Bear looked all of his 62 years, struggling with the bad back that has hampered him in recent years. Still, Nicklaus pulled off a few magical shots.
Then there was the non-stop talking of Lee Trevino, one of Nicklaus' greatest foils in their heydey. Trevino won six major championships. Nicklaus finished second to him in four of them.
And there was Sergio Garcia, known more for his waggles than his wins and who is expected to be a challenger to Woods. Garcia, 22, has been in contention in five of the past six majors.
Maybe the best thing to come out of the whole affair was Nicklaus' overheard advice to Garcia about trying to cut down on his laborious preshot routine. Nicklaus related that there was a time in his career when he took too long.
"I learned to play faster," Nicklaus told Garcia.
As for the golf, it clearly pointed out the disparity in the games of the legends compared with today's superstars.
For example, at the par-3 eighth hole Nicklaus fired a 2-iron that stopped 12 feet from the pin. Woods hit a 5-iron that nearly went in.
At one point Trevino said he wasn't going to let Woods outdrive him with a 2-iron. Trevino put all his might into a driver and knocked it just 6 yards past Woods.
And it's not like Trevino is a short hitter, even at age 62.
Although they lost to Woods and Nicklaus, Trevino was impressed with his partner and believes Garcia can one day challenge Woods' dominance.
"Sergio could be a great rival for Tiger, but he has to do it in the next three years," Trevino said. "Sergio spends a lot of time at golf. If he keeps improving, look out. Because the kid is good already."
MORE TIGER: Woods is featured on a pair of Wheaties cereal boxes as part of a promotion, "Drive Like A Champion". One winner will receive a 2003 Buick Rendezvous CXL.
For purchasing the special edition Wheaties cereal boxes customers also get two free Nike golf balls.
WORLD GOLF?: The idea behind the World Golf Championship events -- the Match Play, the NEC Invitational, the American Express Championship and the World Cup -- was to move them around the world.
But next year's schedule is shaping up to be an all-American affair, which sort of defeats the purpose.
The Match Play will return to LaCosta in Carlsbad, Calif., the NEC will go to Firestone in Akron, Ohio, and the American Express, which this year will be in Ireland, is expected to go to an Atlanta-area course. The World Cup will be at Kiawah Island, S.C.
"What's the point of having a world golf tour if all the events are in the U.S," British Open champion and South African Ernie Els asked.
AROUND GOLF: Bob Gilder won for the second straight week on the Senior PGA Tour, defeating John Mahaffey in a playoff. A week earlier he beat Hale Irwin in a playoff. That's the first time since Lee Elder in 1985 that a senior player won in back-to-back weeks in playoffs. ... John Daly leads the PGA Tour in driving distance, averaging some 305 yards a tee shot. But he's not the longest in golf. At least not statistically. Victor Schwamkrug, who plays on the Buy.com Tour, averages 321.4 yards a drive. ... Colin Montgomerie has had a change of heart: He will defend his title at this week's Scandinavian Masters after all. At the British Open Montgomerie said he wouldn't play after several unfavorable reports in British tabloids. "While he is fed up, he is going to play," his agent, Guy Kinnings, said. "He does not want to let the tournament down."
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.