Get This Straight: It’s Still a Streak

The Streak, as so artfully performed by Tiger Woods, returns to the golf stage next week at the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Woods will try to carve No. 6 in a row at the point where the Del Monte Forest meets Monterey Bay.

We know that Woods has won the last five PGA Tour tournaments he has entered--the most since Ben Hogan won six in a row in 1948.

We also know Woods is still far short of Byron Nelson’s mark of 11 consecutive victories, a record that long has been considered virtually unassailable.

What we are also finding out is that there are a few critics of Woods’ streak. Their view is that it isn’t really a streak because Woods ended last year with four consecutive wins and carried it over to his victory in the 2000 season-opening Mercedes Championships.

Woods could extend his streak at Pebble Beach, but there are those who believe it also shouldn’t count because he hasn’t played the last three tournaments, thus ending the streak through inactivity.

Dear critics: That’s not the way it’s done.

In baseball, for instance, if a player hits safely in 20 straight games and then sits one out, his streak is intact when he returns to the lineup.

And more pertinent, Nelson took time off during his incredible 11-tournament streak in 1945. He missed two months, from early April to early June, and also took two weeks off in June, plus another week in July.

For his part, Nelson is a huge fan of Woods and says he would pat him on the back if Woods breaks his record--which, by the way, would be at the Masters if Woods follows his projected tournament schedule.

Said Nelson: “I want to thank Tiger Woods for his good play because that makes people remember that I used to play well.

“[If Woods breaks the record] I’d just feel like I’d enjoyed the record for a long period of time and I’d congratulate him for reaching that.”

NOTABLE BEGAY

Here’s hoping that other athletes in trouble with the law copy the way Notah Begay III handled his legal problems.

Begay, 27, pleaded guilty this week to aggravated drunk driving after his car struck another one in the parking lot of a bar in Albuquerque. Begay told the judge he had a previous DUI in Arizona, even though the New Mexico authorities knew nothing about it.

Begay came clean, apologized, assumed full responsibility for the incident and received a 364-day jail sentence--all but seven days suspended.

His jail term is expected to begin Feb. 28. Begay will be in a work-release program while in jail, which means he can work on his golf game or do conditioning work for up to eight hours a day, but has to spend the other 16 hours a day in jail.

Next Monday, Begay will host a free clinic for kids at the Bayonet Golf Course in Monterey. For half of the clinic, Begay will teach kids about the harmful effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

Begay, born in Albuquerque, won two tournaments and $1.25 million in 1999 as a rookie on the PGA Tour.

He was worried that he would lose his principal endorsement deal with Nike, but that won’t be the case. Mike Kelly, director of marketing and communications for Nike Golf, said Begay handled himself well.

“He made himself more human and might even have made himself more of a role model, if anything,” Kelly said.

THE SERGIO-AUGUSTA FACTOR

You may have noticed that among the 99 players who have been invited to play in the Masters, one of them was Australian amateur Aaron Baddeley.

The 18-year-old won the Australian Open, the first amateur to win the event since Bruce Devlin in 1960.

This week, the USGA gave Baddeley a special exemption into the U.S. Open, a somewhat unusual decision that probably was caused by two factors: the Masters and Spain’s Sergio Garcia.

Because the Masters invited Baddeley (the first amateur invitee in 24 years not otherwise exempt), it would naturally lend credence to a similar move by the USGA.

Then there is Garcia.

Last year at the Masters, the 19-year-old Garcia was the first European to be the low amateur at the Masters, then won twice on the European tour, finished second to Woods in a last-day duel at the PGA Championship and posted a 3-1-1 record as the youngest Ryder Cup player ever.

In the meantime, the USGA had not given Garcia an exemption into the U.S. Open.

You know the rest: Garcia reeks star power and the U.S. Open missed a chance to have him in the field at Pinehurst.

Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press said the USGA is a little late getting on board.

Said Ferguson: “If the USGA wants to be like the Masters, then it should eliminate rough and sell pimento cheese sandwiches for $1.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

From Ernie Els, on how to handle jet lag: “When I was really young, I used to have a party on the airline. Now, I try to sleep as much as I can.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK II

Again from Els, on whether he will play the 2001 World Match Play Championships in Australia in January: “It depends on the year I have . . . and the New Year’s Eve party I have.”

HE’LL BREATHE EASIER

There aren’t any water hazards at Riviera Country Club, which should make Jean Van de Velde slightly more comfortable when he plays there during the Nissan Open.

Van de Velde and Paul Lawrie, the player who beat him at the British Open, accepted sponsor’s exemptions into the $3.1-million event that also features international players such as Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and defending champion Els.

Woods is also expected to play, although he never officially commits until the deadline the Friday before the tournament. Casey Martin already has accepted a sponsor’s exemption into the field.

SPLASHDOWN?

Just in time for the British Open, the Old Course Hotel at St. Andrews has finished a remodeling project that includes three suites overlooking the 17th tee.

Of course, the 17th hole at St. Andrews is one of the most famous in golf--the Road Hole. The most direct route to play the 17th is over a corner of the Old Course Hotel, which means that if somebody in one of those three new suites leaves the window open, there’s always a chance of a golf ball landing in the Jacuzzi.

HAVE A BALL

The new battleground in golf equipment is sure to be the golf ball arena, where Callaway Golf unveils its greatly anticipated new golf ball next week at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

For what it’s worth, Nike’s new golf ball is picking up speed. Paul Azinger scored the first win for the new Nike ball at the Sony Open.

BIRDIES, BOGEYS, PARS

Veteran broadcaster Jim McKay will be honored as the recipient of the PGA of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism, April 5, at the Golf Writers Assn. of America awards ceremony at Augusta, Ga.

The Inland Empire Open on the Buy.com Tour, formerly the Nike Tour, is moving from Moreno Valley Golf Club to Empire Lakes Golf Course in Rancho Cucamonga. The $400,000 event will be played Sept. 28-Oct. 1.

Adrian Young of No Doubt and Joe Escalante of the Vandals are producing the Schwing golf tournament, March 19 at Westridge Golf Club in La Habra. The event benefits My Friends Place for homeless youths. Details: (760) 737-6107.

American Golf has teamed with the new Ladies Challenge Tour to help raise $500,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The 19-event tour begins in March. Details: (602) 914-0300.

Volunteers are needed for the LPGA’s $750,000 Los Angeles Women’s Championship, Feb. 11-13, at Wood Ranch Golf Club in Simi Valley. Details: (310) 452-3599.

Dot-com note of the week: the Reno-Tahoe Open is now the Greens.com Open. The new title sponsor of the $3.75-million event is a company that books tee times on the Internet.