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Major losers are in scary situations

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 21, 2001

There used to be a time Greg Norman entered just about every major championship as the favorite. And when he walked away without the title, either due to some miraculous shot that felled him, a poor final round or simply not having a good week, the reaction was usually the same: He still will win his share.

But eventually, all those opportunities passed. He lost four majors in playoffs and 17 times was in the top five, but he won only two, both of which were British Opens. You look back and wonder what might have been for Norman, who at age 46 was not even eligible for this year's U.S. Open, which ended Monday.

Phil Mickelson and David Duval have an added burden as they chase majors. Like Norman, they are expected to win their share. Unlike Norman, they have a powerful force blocking their path in Tiger Woods. Mickelson, 31, and Duval, 29, have plenty of time. But Woods, 25, will be right there with them.

"I'm sure it's very frustrating for them right now," Nick Price recently said. "They've just got to persevere. They're two extremely good players, and I think it's just a matter of time."

Of course, that was said about Norman. With just four majors a year, and Woods seemingly destined to claim many of them, the opportunities are too few.

Which makes what happened over the weekend in Tulsa, Okla., all the more agonizing. Woods was out of the picture, banished to a tie for 12th, his worst in a major since the 1999 Masters. Yet, neither Mickelson nor Duval could make a move. Mickelson needed to shoot 69 on Sunday to join Retief Goosen and Mark Brooks in a playoff. He shot 75. Duval was five behind the leaders entering the final round, but he shot 74 and finished eight shots back. Price didn't win his first major until he was 35, at the 1992 PGA Championship. But he was not expected to win majors like these guys. And he also didn't go up against one dominant player. After Price won the 1994 PGA, his second straight major, 14 players won the next 14 majors. "It's a tough deal when you play well and you're not winning one," Price said. "That 'best player never to win a major' is the worst tag you can get."

But one Mickelson and Duval must live with, at least for another month, until the British Open rolls around.

STATE AMATEUR: The 84th Florida State Amateur Championshp begins this morning at World Woods Golf Club in Brooksville. The 72-hole stroke-play tournament has a field of 168 players who are Florida residents or members of the Florida State Golf Association with a USGA handicap index of 11.4 or less. Two former champions are in the field: Tampa's Doug LaCrosse (1992) and Sarasota's Mark Leetzow (1995 and '97). Defending champion Justin Biggs is not entered. The tournament will be contested over the Rolling Oaks and Pine Barrens courses at World Woods. The State Amateur dates to 1914, when A.C. Ulmer won the first title at Rocky Point Golf Club.

RYDER CUP: The battle for points is heating up, and Bradenton's Paul Azinger recently has made a big move. With a second-place finish at the Memorial and a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open -- where points are doubled -- Azinger has moved from outside the top 25 to 14th. The top-10 players through the PGA Championship automatically make the team that will play against Europe in September. Captain Curtis Strange has two at-large selections. Stewart Cink, with his third-place finish at the Open, has moved into eighth place. The top five seem pretty safe: Woods, Mickelson, Duval, Davis Love and Mark Calcavecchia. Players receive points only for finishing among the top 10.

Meanwhile, in Europe, where players get points for money earnings in European tour events, the situation is as murky as ever. Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Nick Faldo and Jesper Parnevik are not in the top 10, and captain Sam Torrance has just two at-large selections.

DECISION TIME: A U.S. Open title comes with plenty of perks, including the chance to play the PGA Tour, if Goosen wants to take it. A non-member, Goosen will be exempt on the tour for the next five seasons. "I'm going to stay on the European tour the rest of the season, then decide at the end of the year," said Goosen, a South African who lives outside of London.

Countryman Ernie Els was faced with a similar decision after winning the 1994 U.S. Open and decided to join the tour and play around the world.

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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