He Goes From Ams to the Pros

Asked what he thought about Tiger Woods in 1992, golfer Sandy Lyle responded, “I haven’t played there yet.”

Soon, there will be few on the planet mistaking the millionaire wunderkind from Cypress for a golf course.

The young man who had nothing left to prove as an amateur but has everything to prove as a professional played in the pro-am at the Greater Milwaukee Open Wednesday morning--he was two under--and then met reporters in an official tee-off of Tigermania at Brown Deer Park golf course.

In case you were wondering how a guy who has never finished higher than tied for 22nd in a pro event can be worth a reported $43 million over the next five years--and there are a lot players on the tour included in that group--maybe some of the press organizations represented here this week will give you a hint: People, Time, Newsweek, the Times of London.

These people don’t usually cover the Masters, let alone the Greater Milwaukee Open.

“We’re all looking for ways to evolve beyond the clutter of the 30-second TV spot,” said Wally Uihlein, chairman and CEO of Titleist/Footjoy Worldwide, which will pay Woods a reported $3 million over the next three years for using its balls and clubs. “When was the last time you saw a player win a U.S. Amateur title and end up on Page 1 of USA Today the next morning?”

Uihlein admits that what Titleist and Nike--who reportedly will pay Woods up to $40 million to cover his head and body in a tidal wave of swooshes over the next five years--are doing “goes way beyond what makes sense strictly in golf figures.” But he insists it is sound business acumen when one steps back to view the planetary picture.

“We sell golf equipment, but when a player is on the cover of Newsweek, it’s an incredible reinforcement of brand image,” he said. “And this is the age of globalism. Right now, golf’s fastest-growing market is Southeast Asia, and in that part of the world, Tiger is already an icon.”

Woods, reading first from a prepared statement and sounding very much like a college sophomore giving an oral report, did his best to play down the money angle in a subsequent 30-minute question-and-answer session when he responded very much like a seasoned PGA veteran.

“The dollar amounts have not been decided yet, so currently I’m still broke,” he said, flashing the wide grin that certainly won’t hurt any negotiations. “I haven’t got a penny yet, but hopefully, the amounts you guys are all writing about turn out to be right.”

Woods said he decided to turn pro because he wanted Sunday’s third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship title--”a day I will always remember and treasure”--to be his final round as an amateur and he is confident his game is ready to compete on this level. How confident? His goal this week is “a victory.”

“It was never about the money,” he said.

Maybe not, but it’s an issue on the minds of many of his new peers.

Steve Stricker, a Wisconsin native who has two tour victories this year, was asked if there were players who are hoping Woods will fail.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “The No. 1 player in the world isn’t getting anywhere near that kind of money and there are a lot of guys who can’t understand how a guy who doesn’t even have his card yet can get $40 million. It seems to me these companies are taking an awfully big risk.

“And with endorsement money dwindling, especially with the guys who aren’t right on the top, you wonder what’s left for everyone else.”

Woods, however, says he has been warmly welcomed this week and he’s not worried about what other players privately think of his sudden wealth.

“I have a lot of friends out here already, but I’m sure there might be some animosity,” he said. “That’s part of life in every sport, part of life in every workplace.”

The progression from game to business was inevitable for Woods, but the timing of this decision did not come easily. The biggest battle had to be waged with his father, Earl, who has gone on record as saying he wanted his son to finish college.

“I have made a commitment to my parents and myself to get my degree,” said Woods, who would have been a junior at Stanford this year. “Whether I got it tomorrow or 15 years from now is not important. I made a commitment and I will keep it.”

Earl Woods, wearing swoosh badges on hat, shirt and shoes, said he was “depressed and elated at the same time.”

“It’s a parent’s job to prepare his child for manhood or womanhood, but the parent can’t choose the time he or she takes that step,” he said. “This is something he wanted to do, something that will make him happy, so I will support it.”

Butch Harmon, Woods’ coach, has no doubt Woods has the ability to succeed on the tour and he’s confident the 20-year-old can win enough money in the last two months of the season to earn a card for next year’s tour.

Woods will accept sponsor exemptions to play in seven of the next eight tour events, the Bell Canadian Open Sept. 5-8, the Quad City Classic Sept. 12-15, the B.C. Open Sept. 19-22, the Buick Challenge Sept. 26-29, the Las Vegas Invitational Oct. 2-6, the LaCantera Texas Open Oct. 10-13, and possibly the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic Oct. 17-20, if he chooses to skip one of the previous seven.

That schedule could change if he wins a tournament--which means an automatic two-year exemption--or if he earns enough money to ensure he has earned his 1997 card. He also plans to play in two “second-season” events, the Shark Shootout Nov. 15-17 at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks and the Skins Game Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Rancho La Quinta Country Club in La Quinta, earnings from which do not count on the money list.

“I think he already proved he could win on this level [when he shot 75-66-70-70--281 to tie for 22nd] at the British Open this year,” Harmon said. “And I think you’re going to see a dramatic and rapid improvement now that all he has to do is practice and play golf.

“If he gets it going, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him win here this week. He has absolutely no fear. He’s not afraid to hit any shot under pressure.”

A number of players disagree with Harmon’s assessment of Woods’ performance in the British Open, saying he has yet to prove anything at this level.

And today’s opening round will probably be very telling. In four pro tournaments he has played this year--the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Scottish Open and the British Open--he has had opening rounds of 75, 76, 81 and 75. He failed to make the cut in the Masters and the Scottish Open.

But Earl Woods pities the player who underestimates his son’s ability and intensity.

“Tiger has more athletic ability than any golfer who has ever been great,” he said. “And you do not want to tangle with Tiger on a golf course. It’s like the old West and he’s the black gunslinger, the fastest around. He’s totally ruthless. No quarter asked, none given.

“Off the course, he’s a humanitarian, a better person than golfer. He’s gregarious and fun loving. But on the course, he’ll cut your throat in a heartbeat and then watch you bleed to death.”

The first of many showdowns begins today at 1:36 p.m. local time when Tiger Woods, the pro, tees off on No. 1 at Brown Deer.

* THE ROAR: Tiger Woods’ entry into the big-money world of pro sports is unparalleled. A1