UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesdav. October 9. 1996
3B
Tiger Woods living up to his hype
The Associated Press
Welcome Tiger.
'You are no longer the child waiting to take his place among men. You are a professional golfer — and a winner.
So often, reality falls short of expectation, and anticipation outweighs actuality. This man is as good as advertised.
Tiger Woods qualified for the 1997 PGA Tour with his playoff victory against Davis Love III at the Las Vegas Invitational Sunday. It should be just the start.
Yes, the "Hello World" news conference in Milwaukee was pretentious.
Pull your seat belts tight and keep your arms inside the car at all times. We could be heading for a thrilling ride — as exciting as the one Jack Nicklaus took us on from 1962 through 1986 when he won the Masters for the last of his 70 victories.
Woods is not a player or person without flaws. But his talent and composition tantalize with the prospect that he may become the best ever.
Yes, the "There are still some courses I can't play because of the color of my skin" ad for Nike was hyperbole to sell a few sneakers.
And yes, it was unwise to abruptly pull out of the Buick Challenge. It was insensitive to stiff the Haskins Award dinner, where he was to be honored as college golfer of the year.
None of that stuff should make Woods proud.
He has to realize that the financially rewarding thing to do will not always be what's best for his ambition to be the best ever.
There is a voice that whispers: "He can't be this good." But with each passing week the volume of his accomplishments drowns the doubts
Woods has had the most astounding debut since Nicklaus.
Woods has to keep his focus on golfing greatness. It would be easy to become the most hyped underachiever of all time. It also would be easy to become an ungrateful achiever.
there are many wrong turns Woods could take that would lead him simply to great and not to best-ever status.
He finished 60th at the Greater Milwaukee Open after a grueling U.S. Amateur victory. He was 11th at the Canadian Open, fifth at Quad City and third at the B.C. Open before winning
Consider what Woods has done:
at Las Vegas.
Played 17 of 19 rounds as a pro under par. His worst score is 73.
Tiger Woods
Played 342 holes at 63 under par, an average of 67.8.
- Accumulated as many top-three finishes as Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Fred Couples in a full season.
Finished in the top five in three of five tournaments — as many as John Daly has had in the last three years.
Ranked 40th on the PGA Tour money list. Everyone ahead of Woods played at least 10 more tournaments than him — most 20 more.
Had a seven-tournament run to finish in the top 125 and earn his tour card that could end in the top 30 and qualify him for the Tour Championship.
Perhaps most impressive accomplishment is how Woods won at Las Vegas.
A top-20 finish would have earned him enough money for his PGA Tour card. But Tiger Woods is about winning.
He won Sunday by shooting a 64 and moving past 10 players who either were tied with him or ahead of him starting the round, including Love and Couples.
Among those right behind Woods who were unable to mount a similar charge were Phil Mickelson, Lee Janzen, David Duval, Vijay Singh and Paul Azinger.
Woods won with bold shots under pressure, none better than the 9-iron to 20 feet on the playoff hole. Love, hitting after Woods, buried his ball in the back left bunker and was unable to get up-and-down.
As he had in 18 consecutive matches during three years in the U.S. Amateur, Woods applied the pressure and waited for his opponent to crack.
At Las Vegas, he found that even the pros felt the heat. And he showed he was a guy who would be holding some feet to the fire for years to come.
The Tiger Woods Era officially is here.
Phillies interested in hiring Hal McRae
The Associated Press
CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds' general manager Jim Bowden said Monday that he recommended Reds batting coach Hal McRae as a candidate for the Phillies' manager.
McRae's contract with Cincinnati expires Oct. 31. Bowden may be eyeing former Reds player Ken Griffey Sr. as the Reds' next batting coach.
"Hal has tremendous leadership qualities. I highly recommended him," Bowden said he had told Philadelphia Phillies general manager Lee Thomas about MMcRae.
The Phllies reportedly plan to interview McRae on Friday.
McRae, 51, a former Kansas City Royals manager, said he got the urge to manage again after he had filled in for Reds manager Ray Knight three games last month. Knight was sidelined because of kidnave stones.
Bowden said it was possible that McRae could return to the Reds. But the Colorado Rockies said Monday that Griffey had decided not to return as the Rockies' batting coach. There have been reports that Griffey would like to
return to
Cincinnati,
where
he played for the
Reds and lives
during the off-
season.
McRae had a .508 winning percentage as Kansas City's manager from 1991 to 1994.
Phillies president Bill Giles said his team would consider McRae, Detroit Tigers coach Terry Francona and former big-league managers Larry Bowa and Phil Regan for the job vacated when Jim Fregosi was fired.
The Phillies are looking for a manager who can help develop young players. Giles said.
"We're not going to get good overnight," Giles said. "It's going to take a year or two."
McRae served two years with the Reds. Bowden brought McRae to Cincinnati after having worked with him in the Pittsburgh Pirates' player development department.
"Working with young players is a strength for me," McRae said. "If you have a plan and know you're going to take lumps with the younger guys, that's fine."
FOOTBALL
Continued from Page 1B
to Lawrence after the Utah loss was tough
"That's a long plane ride regardless if we won or not, but it seems like forever after you lose." he said.
Mason said he had not liked all the time away from Lawrence.
"I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it sure seems like a long time ago," he said.
Mason said it was tough to complain because there was nothing he or the team could do about the trip.
"Yeah, it's not fun, but what are you going to do?" he said. "That's the way the schedule was made. I didn't like it, but maybe that's the price a team has to pay if they want the television exposure and stuff like that."
Johner said the road games could help the Jayhawks in the future.
"The good thing is we got some
experience on how to play and how to win on the road," he said. "Especially in a town like Norman where the fans can be rough. It was good to go in there and come out with a win on the road."
More than 40,000 fans are expected for Saturday's game, and tickets are still available. The game will not be televised.
Kansas has four home and three road games remaining. All are conference games. After Texas Tech, the Jayhawks have their homecoming game against Colorado on Oct. 19. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m., but it likely will change to 11:30 a.m. to accommodate television
Kansas also has home games Nov. 9 and 16 against Kansas State and Texas respectively.
"Having good crowd support will be a plus for us," senior tight end Jim Moore said. "It always is but especially with the tough home games like we have, we'll need it."
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