DON'T LOOK BACK

By THOMAS BONK

Feb. 17, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

It’s an exclusive club. The crest is crossed golf clubs, both of them weeping.

Please, come inside. The mood is somber. You will notice that club membership is limited to those who have suffered greatly at the moment they thought they would be celebrating.

The team picture, which isn’t very pretty, shows a shoe with a swoosh stenciled on the heel as it steps on your neck. It hurts. It keeps on hurting. When you get your courtesy car at your next tournament, you notice there are two rearview mirrors.

If it’s any consolation, there are two kinds of golfers on the PGA Tour these days: players who have been beaten by Tiger Woods and players who will be beaten by Tiger Woods.

Both kinds of players think this is not a pleasant experience, which is why many of them have sweaty palms, rapid heartbeats, nervous tics and continually tug at the collars of their shirts.

Ernie Els, who is a club member (Disney Class of ‘99, Mercedes Class of ‘00), knows all about the Woods Factor.

“He’s got that . . . I don’t know what you call it,” Els said. “But he can do it to players.”

Would you call it “intimidation”?

Davis Love III does. He is a club member (Las Vegas Class of ‘96, Tour Championship Class of ‘99) in good standing, which means he has a lot of good company.

“Guys have not played well down the stretch, myself included, and he has been an intimidating player to play with,” Love said.

The Nissan Open begins today at storied Riviera Country Club, where Ben Hogan won the U.S. Open in 1948 to begin the six-tournament winning streak that Woods matched two weeks ago at Pebble Beach.

Phil Mickelson held on Sunday to defeat Woods in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in La Jolla and end Woods’ streak. The streak lasted 5 1/2 months and it covered tournaments in Spain, Hawaii and four states on the mainland.

But that’s not all Woods’ streak covered. It also covered Mickelson, Els, Love, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Els again, Matt Gogel and Vijay Singh.

If there is anything you can say about this group, it is that it is extremely talented and unlucky enough to run up against the dominant player at a time when he was playing the best golf in his life.

And there is a generally held opinion among golfers on what can suck the air right out of your lungs.

“I would say the fact that you see Tiger’s name on the leaderboard, you know what he can do,” Els said. “Sure there are probably some players out there who are intimidated by that.”

Woods, however, isn’t buying the mental domination thing.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” he said. “I think I may have a mental edge on the players as far as down the stretch and dealing with the pressure because I have been there a lot lately. Just like anybody who has played hot and been there so many times.

“They know what their body is going to do down the stretch in a tournament. They know how much adrenaline is going to be in their system, how to deal with hit, what shots they can hit and can’t hit under pressure.”

And Woods has shown he can handle any pressure.

“Whenever he gets it going,” Els said, “he can make six or seven birdies in a row. You have to counter that.”

Or you don’t and you get an invitation to the club. Gogel was welcomed into the club at Pebble Beach. A likable 29-year-old from Denver, Gogel graduated from the Nike Tour in 2000 after winning six times in four years.

In his brief PGA Tour career, Gogel has shown a strong game and bright promise, but nothing happened up to now to prepare him for running up against Woods on the last day at Pebble Beach.

Woods shot a 64--31 on the back. Gogel shot a 71--40 on the back.

Woods began the day seven shots behind and ended it two shots ahead.

A disappointed Gogel tried to say all the right things.

“I’m not the first pro that’s struggled on the back nine at Pebble, won’t be the last,” he said. “Trying to win a golf tournament for the first time, battling the emotions, quite a feat.”

Instead of winning a golf tournament, Gogel underwent initiation rights as No. 6 in Tiger’s streak. Someone asked if it had been Woods’ destiny.

“I don’t know about destiny,” Gogel said. “He is just damned good.”

In order of appearance, here is Tiger’s victory trail:

1--World Golf Championship, NEC Invitational, Aug. 26-29, Firestone Country Club, Akron, Ohio.

Woods made five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on his way to a third-round 62 to lead. On Sunday, Mickelson birdied five of the first seven holes and was within one shot when Woods bogeyed No. 16. Woods birdied the 17th and won by one with a two-putt bogey at the last.

2--National Car Rental Classic at Disney World, Oct. 21-24, Palm and Magnolia courses, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Woods started this way: 66, 66, 66. On the last day, Els caught Woods and they were still tied until the 17th hole. Els hit his 35-foot birdie putt off the green and made bogey. Woods, a group behind, two-putt for par and won by one.

Els has seen enough of Woods to know there is something special going on here.

“I’ve got to say, you only have to look through your own eyes to see how good the guy is,” Els said. “He is a phenomenal player.

“Eventually, we’re going to get kind of tired of talking about him. I’m kind of easy to talk to about Tiger because I regard him as the best player in the world. To me, he’s more of a motivating factor to get better.”

3--Tour Championship, Oct. 28-31, Champions Golf Club, Houston.

Because of Payne Stewart’s funeral, golfers played 27 holes on Saturday. Woods played them in six under for a three-shot lead. Woods’ final-round 69 gave him a four-shot victory over Love.

4--World Golf Championship, American Express Championship, Nov. 4-7, Valderrama Golf Club, Sotogrande, Spain.

Woods was one shot down beginning the final round but made triple bogey at No. 17 with a two-shot lead. Woods finished with a 68 and was ready to finish second when Jimenez made par at No. 17. But Jimenez bogeyed No. 18 and Woods won on the first playoff hole when he made an 18-foot birdie putt.

Jimenez thus became a statistic: He was the guy who lost as Woods became the first player since Johnny Miller in 1974 to win eight PGA Tour events in one year.

5--Mercedes Championships, Jan. 6-9, Kapalua Golf Club, Maui, Hawaii.

Woods and Els were tied through 54 holes and were tied again when Woods bogeyed No. 17. At No. 18, Woods made eagle and so did Els to finish tied. On the first playoff hole, they both made birdie. Woods finally won with a 40-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole.

Els still can’t believe he lost after making an eagle on the 72nd hole and a birdie on the first playoff hole.

“You have to say that in most tournaments, you do that and you’ll win,” Els said. “It’s kind of hard to handle. At that time, Tiger found a way to win.”

6--AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Feb. 3-7, Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills.

You already know this story and it is Love’s feeling that maybe the Woods Mystique got to Gogel. If so, Gogel would not be the first and certainly won’t be the last. In fact, it’s not a unique story line in golf.

“You know, you start wondering, I guess, coming down the stretch, what he is going to do and you lose track of what you are doing,” Love said. “We saw that [at Pebble Beach]. Things started wrong for the guys and Tiger got better and better. He doesn’t have much doubt in his mind that he is going to play well down the stretch.

“He talks about it: ‘Hey, if I’m in a good position, they are going to be basically leaderboard watching.’

“There are definitely names up there that all of us look at that could catch you, and he is definitely the one now.

“You get caught up in somebody else’s game a little bit and you don’t play yours. Jack Nicklaus won a lot of golf tournaments by having his name up there, not by how he played coming down the stretch. And some guys believe more in other people’s games than their own.”

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Stiff Competition

In his six consecutive victories, Tiger Woods held off some top-quality golfers in the final round. A look at the runner-up in each of Woods’ victories. With his world golf ranking.

Tournament: NEC Invitational

Runner-up: Phil Mickelson

Rank: No. 9

Tournament: National Car Rental Classic

Runner-up: Ernie Els

Rank: No. 5 *

Tournament: Tour Championship

Runner-up: Davis Love III

Rank: No. 3

Tournament: WGC-American Express

Runner-up: Miguel Angel Jimenez

Rank: No. 21