Woods' challenge is in focus

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 19, 2000

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The comparisons once seemed comical, but nobody is laughing anymore. Dare to hold a golfer up to Jack Nicklaus' lofty standards and be figured for a fool. No more.

With each victory, Tiger Woods tests our resolve, tempts us to wonder. Can Tiger be like Jack?

This issue is as real as the beauty of Pebble Beach, where Woods won the U.S. Open on Sunday. It was his 20th PGA Tour victory in less than four years, his third major championship. Those are numbers to notice.

By pummeling a Pebble Beach course that pummeled the rest of the field, Woods has given more than a fleeting notion that he one day could surpass some of the greatest records in the game.

Can Woods one day climb among the greats of all time by winning, say, more than 60 PGA Tour events? Can he approach Nicklaus' record, previously considered unreachable, of 18 professional majors?

The answer is yes -- with a huge asterisk.

Woods can be the greatest of all time, but only if he devotes himself solely to chasing history instead of cash.

At age 24, Woods is young enough and fresh enough to travel the world in pursuit of his dreams. He can play golf for huge appearance fees, make himself and everyone around him fabulously wealthy and do plenty of good for the game in the process.

But Woods is no fool. If he is honest with himself, he'll know eventually there is a heavy price to be paid for such globe-trotting.

Just ask any of the major championship winners from recent years who sought to prosper from their fame. Mark O'Meara, Nick Price, Curtis Strange ... all had difficulty sustaining their high level of success.

They were, of course, further along in their careers. Tiger is different. He has three major championships at such an early age, and he has accumulated the kind of wealth that would allow him to purchase the Monterey Peninsula. Why not just play for trophies?

"Some people play the game for money. Some people play the game for titles in the game," said Nicklaus, when asked about Woods' ability to equal his records. "I think Tiger plays for the titles in the game. I don't think money will affect him. I don't think he has to worry about that. Even at 24, I don't think he can spend what he's made.

"I think he has phenomenal focus. If he keeps that going for a long period of time, he'll break my records and everybody else's. Who knows? Will somebody challenge him? There is always going to be new competition. How will he meet the challenge? I think he'll meet it quite well."

Woods already compares favorably to Nicklaus at similar stages in their careers. Both posted double-digit victories before their 25th birthday (20-17 for Woods) and both had won multiple majors by the same time (3-3 so far).

But Nicklaus is the first to admit he had far fewer outside distractions. Media demands were not nearly as intense. And although Nicklaus certainly sought to better his financial situation, the opportunities were not nearly as abundant as those presented to Woods. Certainly he should be able to get by on the reported $90-million deal from Nike.

The great unknown is Woods' appetite. Can Woods stay hungry? Can he resist the urge to say no to $1-million just for showing up in Germany or Malaysia or some other faraway place where the title means nothing but the toll it takes is undefined? Does he have a choice? Can his agents require him to chase the money (giving them a cut) as payback for the lucrative endorsement deals they have negotiated for him?

This is new territory for anyone who follows golf history. There have been plenty of "next Nicklauses" who came along, only to get sidetracked before they really got started.

Face it, unless a player wins in bunches early in his career, posts a major or two, he can't come close to Nicklaus. The euphoria fades. The Golden Bear won 70 PGA Tour titles and posted at least one victory per year from 1962 to 1978. During that time, he never finished lower than ninth on the money list.

Not only did Nicklaus epitomize greatness, he sustained it for some two decades. He won his first and last majors 18 years apart.

Can Tiger?

Great wealth is assured, but only time will tell if it is in the form of championship hardware.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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