How Tiger Sees His Year--Grrrrrreat!

It’s hard to believe, but there actually are people asking “What’s wrong with Tiger Woods?” After all, he hasn’t won a golf tournament in, what, a couple of months?

Talk about people being victims of their own success . . . in golf, it’s Woods.

A four-time winner in his first full year on the PGA Tour, Woods is now in his 14th week without a win. For most players, that’s about enough time to take a breath, but Woods is different--it’s his longest

period without a victory since he turned pro a little more than 13 months ago. The last tournament he won was the Motorola Western Open the first week of July.

At the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic this week, his first PGA Tour event in six weeks, Woods talked about his year.

“A great year overall,” he said. “I haven’t been playing as good as I would like of late. The last few months, I think, that’s probably due just to the fact that I’m not used to playing this much golf.”

Woods said he failed to correctly spread out his tournaments early in the year. He also said he spent too much time giving one-on-one interviews, a comment that had print reporters scratching their heads because they can’t think of too many, even counting the GQ article. That one sure turned out great.

The Disney is Woods’ 19th PGA Tour event. Counting one event in Thailand (which he won), another in Australia and the Ryder Cup, Woods has played 22 events in 42 weeks.

And he has won only five times, including the Masters? For most players, that’s not a year, that’s a career.

MONTY’S MOUTH

Better get the liniment. Colin Montgomerie backtracked so quickly this week, he may have pulled a muscle.

Yes, the faxes were flying when Montgomerie released a statement that said he regretted remarks he made about Brad Faxon and Woods, among others, that he said were taken out of context.

Montgomerie used the words “alleged comments,” but did not say he was misquoted when a British tabloid newspaper carried a pre-Ryder Cup story in which Montgomerie was quoted as saying:

* “Faxon is going through a divorce and mentally I don’t think he will be with it.”

* Europe had 12 players who could beat Woods.

* If the Ryder Cup came down to a four-foot putt, he’d want Scott Hoch to have to make it.

Montgomerie said he had written to U.S. captain Tom Kite and the American players he mentioned to explain his comments, which isn’t such a bad idea since Montgomerie is probably going to be playing the PGA Tour next year and his popularity level in the locker room isn’t all that high right now.

Fred Funk, incensed over the Faxon reference, called Montgomerie “the jerk of the world.”

Meanwhile, Faxon told the Golf Channel he wasn’t upset with Montgomerie. He blamed the tabloids. “They tried to twist it and make it sound ugly and lethal.”

Woods said he isn’t sure that Montgomerie even made the comments in the first place.

“The British press may have gone over the line on that,” Woods said. “But if he did say those things, he was out of line.”

In his four-page statement, Montgomerie did not use the words apology or apologize.

MORE MONTY’S MOUTH

We’re not sure, but David Feherty, a member of Europe’s 1991 Ryder Cup team and a CBS commentator, seemed to come to Montgomerie’s defense.

“The thing about Monty is he’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. He’s a few French fries short of a Happy Meal,” he said.

TIGER UPDATE

Woods, who leads Davis Love III by 28 points, has a lock on the PGA of America player-of-the-year award with three more events left. Nick Price (68.71 in 58 rounds) leads Woods (68.78 in 68 rounds) in the race for the Vardon Trophy for lowest stroke average. Price needs to complete two more rounds to reach the minimum of 60--and he’ll get them at the Tour Championship.

LPGA: MONEY NEWS

The Nabisco Dinah Shore is increasing its prize money to

$1 million in 1998, which makes it one of only five regular LPGA events with purses of at least $1 million. The others: Sprint Titleholders ($1.2 million), McDonald’s LPGA Championship ($1.2 million), U.S. Women’s Open ($1.2 million) and the du Maurier Classic ($1 million).

Betsy King is the defending champion in the event, which will be played March 26-29 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.

SENIORS: FULL NELSON

Who says playing the Senior PGA Tour isn’t like owning your own money-printing press? We offer you Larry Nelson, who has played in five tournaments and already has won $252,457. That means Nelson has moved from nowhere to No. 51 on the money list to give him at least a shot at finishing in the top 30--and an invitation to make even more in the Senior Tour Championship.

Nelson said it’s a high goal, especially since there are only three more events to try to make the top 30 and he is playing in only two of them.

“But it can be done,” he said. “If you don’t have high goals, you might as well try something else.”

But Nelson is going to try to do it the hard way. He’s skipping this weekend’s tournament in Hawaii, then playing the week after at Sacramento. Nelson also has entered the $1-million Ralphs Senior Classic, Oct. 31-Nov. 2, at Wilshire Country Club--the last event before the Tour Championship at the Dunes in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Nelson turned 50 Sept. 10 and hasn’t won yet, which puts him way behind last year’s new senior, Gil Morgan, who won the Ralphs his second week out.

Nelson, Morgan, Jim Colbert, Raymond Floyd, Gary Player, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Dave Stockton, Graham Marsh and Isao Aoki have entered Ralphs. Arnold Palmer and David Graham have indicated they are playing Wilshire but have not committed.

Hale Irwin hasn’t entered and neither has Johnny Miller. Miller has played only two events since he turned 50 in April and hasn’t been a factor. He tied for 39th at Park City, Utah, in late July and tied for 23rd last weekend at Napa.

THE COREY STORY

This fashion update: Corey Pavin has shaved his mustache. The last time anybody saw Pavin without a mustache, he was in a crib.

Feherty said Pavin reminds him of someone else: “He’s the golfer formerly known as Corey Pavin.”

THE BRAIN COACH

Remember San Diego sports psychologist Jay Brunza, the retired naval officer who worked with Woods during his amateur career and even carried his bag at the Masters and the U.S. Amateur?

Brunza and Woods parted ways not long after Woods turned pro, although Brunza said he and Woods still talk on the telephone every four or five weeks. Brunza now spends three or four days a week every other week at Nevada Las Vegas, where he works in the school’s sports medicine department.

Brunza said he wanted to be more independent and set his own schedule, which wouldn’t happen if he were traveling with Woods.

“He’s in a different world now,” Brunza said. “He’s a prisoner of celebrity. The way it’s gone for him, he’s become part of a big conglomerate. He’s flying solo now. He’s on his own.”

GOOD ADVICE

After finishing second twice this year and with five other second-place finishes in his career, David Duval was proof that nice guys finish second. Then, given a chance to birdie a playoff hole last week at Williamsburg, Va., Duval told himself something as he stood over his putt.

“Knock it in,” Duval said.

He did and he won for the first time. Now that he doesn’t have to talk about it any more, there is no shame in finishing second, he said.

“You know, more often than not, you just got beat, even if you played well,” Duval said. “That’s just the profession. The sooner you can learn that and learn to accept it, the better off you’re going to be.”

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

From the It-Had-to-Happen Department: Frequent fliers on American Airlines can earn miles playing golf. Hack your way to a free trip.

Because of the Ryder Cup, the World Cup promises to be more entertaining than usual. Montgomerie, Woosnam, Per-Ulrik Johansson, Ignacio Garrido, Thomas Bjorn and the scorned Miguel Angel Martin will play, and so will Fred Couples and Love. Couples and Love are four-time defending champions in the event, Nov. 20-23 at Kiawah Island Resort.

The Diners Club field hasn’t been released yet, but the players who already have committed include Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Faxon, Tom Lehman, Hoch, Duffy Waldorf, John Daly, Steve Elkington, Colbert, Bob Murphy, Annika Sorenstam, Michelle McGann, Laura Davies and Nancy Lopez. The event will be played Dec. 11-14 at PGA West.

The Southern California PGA All-Southern California Junior team was announced. Boys: Travis Johnson, 16, Bellflower; Robert Sul, 17, Torrance; David Oh, 16, Cerritos; John Ray Leary, 17, Culver City; James Oh, 15, Lakewood; Jin Park, 17, Fullerton. Girls: Candie Kung, 16, Fountain Valley; Kim Kouwabunpat, 16, Upland; Leilani Bagby, 17, Santa Monica; Young Pak, 14, Cerritos; Hana Kim, 15, Los Angeles; Vivian Phosomran, 16, Long Beach. The SCPGA Junior Golf Assn. also inducted Woods, Steve Pate and Gary McCord into its Hall of Fame.

Tim Hogarth of Chatsworth, the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, is in the field of 264 competing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur, Saturday through Thursday at the Dallas Athletic Club. After two days of stroke play, the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers who advance to match play. An 18-hole championship match is Thursday. John Miller of Bloomington, Ind., is the defending champion.

Money on the Rise

Biggest one-season gains in money on the PGA Tour:

*--*

Golfer Year Money Year Money Difference Billy Mayfair 1994 $158,159 1995 $1,543,192 $1,385,033 Tiger Woods 1996 $790,544 1997 $1,949,920 $1,159,376 Mark Brooks 1995 $366,860 1996 $1,429,396 $1,062,536 Phil Mickelson 1995 $655,777 1996 $1,697,799 $1,042,022 Steve Elkington 1994 $294,943 1995 $1,254,352 $959,409 Tom Lehman 1995 $830,231 1996 $1,780,159 $949,928 Fred Couples 1995 $299,259 1996 $1,248,694 $949,435 Steve Stricker 1995 $438,931 1996 $1,383,739 $944,808 Lee Janzen 1994 $442,588 1995 $1,378,966 $936,378 Peter Jacobsen 1994 $211,762 1995 $1,075,057 $863,295 Mark McCumber 1993 $363,269 1994 $1,208,209 $844,940

*--*