AND still they gazed and still the wonder grew ... Paul McGinley was not alone among tournament professionals last weekend when, after watching Tiger Woods on the telecast from Pebble Beach, he found himself musing: "Golf can't be that easy. This must be just a remarkable streak that has to come to an end.
Prospective professional rivals train themselves to think that way, otherwise their confidence would be totally undermined. And in his own quiet way, Mark O'Meara proved last Sunday that Woods could be beaten, but only if standards were raised appreciably.
A highly significant aspect of O'Meara's victory was that, with four 67s, he became the first player to break 70 in each of four rounds at Pebble Beach. And his aggregate of 20 under par was three strokes better than the previous tournament record, set by Peter Jacobsen in 1995.
There is no doubt but that Woods is having an amazing run since finishing in a tie for 60th place on his professional debut at Milwaukee last August. A share of second place last weekend means that he has now had three victories and three other top three finishes in only 11 events.
The most telling statistic, however, concerns the quality of his final rounds. He has never been over 72; nine of his final rounds have been in the sixties and his average over all 11 has been an amazing 67.27 strokes. For the record, his closing efforts were: 68, 68, 72, 66, 64, 67, 66, 68, 65, 72, 64.
Those scores have delivered average earnings of $108,549 per tournament. Which, of course, is of only minor relevance in the context of contracts valued at $60 million. The fact is that without money worries, Woods can compete with enviable freedom, as illustrated by his 267 yard three wood second shot to the 18th at Pebble Beach last Sunday.
When McGinley joined Jack Nicklaus for dinner in Spain a few years ago, the conversation turned to disappointments in golf. "Just remember," said the great man, "that in my career, I've spent almost 90 per cent of my time losing - and I'm the most successful player in the history of the game."
If one looks purely at Nicklaus' US Tour activities, the percentage is somewhat better than that. From 516 US tournaments up to 1990, when he gained senior status, he recorded 70 wins - a success rate of 13.4 per cent. Still, the point is well made. Which means that with three wins out of 11 - a success rate of 27.27 per cent - Woods can comfortably afford the odd failure.
AL GEIBERGER set off yesterday in defence of the LG Championship on the US Seniors' Tour, five days after Miguel Angel Martin captured the Heineken Classic in Perth last Sunday. The connection? Both players have gained the rare distinction of shooting 59 in a tournament.
With six pars, 11 birdies - and an eagle, Geiberger, who is now 59, became immortalised as. "Mr 59" through his exploits in the second round of the Memphis Classic in 1977, albeit with preferred lies. After that, he was plagued by ill health, culminating in the removal of his colon. In 1980, but has since carved out a highly successful career at senior level.
Martin shot 59 in the 1987 South Argentine Open, so emulating the South American achievement of Gary Player who did it in the Brazilian Open in 1974. Sam Snead shot 59 in an unofficial tournament at WhiteWater Springs in 1959, and the most recent was Chip Beck, who carded 13 birdies and no bogeys in the Las Vegas invitational in 1991.
PATTY BERG, a legendary golfing figure and winner of 57 professional tournaments in the US, will be 79 next Thursday. Though she completed the double of the US Amateur and Open titles, she is probably best remembered on this side of the Atlantic for a remarkable match at Wentworth in 1951, when she was a member of a visiting team of US professionals.
Arranged by Brigadier Critchley, father of the Sky television commentator, Bruce, it followed a match in which Berg and her colleagues were beaten comfortably by their British professional counterparts. In his wisdom, the brigadier thought a clash with British male amateurs might produce a closer battle.
Against a side which included Walker Cup representatives Leonard Crawley and Gerald Micklem, the women played level and off the men's tees. At lunch, there were a few jokes at the expense of the two British foursomes pairings who had "only" halved their matches. Glee turned to crushing embarrassment, however, when the women proceeded to win every one of the afternoon's singles.
While growing up in Minneapolis, Berg loved all sports. "But I tore so many dresses and got so many bruises (playing American football) that my mother decided I should get into golf," she recalled. During the course of a brilliant career, she compiled a list of what she saw as the requirements for success.
It is: 1 Believe you have a will to win, not a wish to win; 2. Inspiration; 3 Don't think you really win until you live up to that high thing within you, that makes you do your best, no matter what; 4 Never give up; 5 Desire, dedication and determination; 6 Fighting heart; 7 Strive for perfection; 8 Faith, confidence, courage, spirit and enthusiasm; 9 Self control and patience; 10 Use your mind, concentration, visualisation; 11 Take defeat and bounce back to victory; 12 Take God with you.
IT'S fascinating how one golfing story can lead to another. While reading the piece about Bo Wininger here last week, Limerick's Ivan Morris was reminded of one of his many chats with the veteran American professional, Skip Alexander. Their friendship goes back to the 1960s when Morris was a student at Eikerd College, in Florida, and Skip was professional at Lakewood Country Club nearby.
"I still look him up every year when I go out to Florida and he has a fund of stories," said Morris. "One of them concerned the time that Bo Wininger, in attempting to further his prospects as a professional, challenged Ben Hogan to a money match. Hogan obliged.
"They played for $500 and Hogan won. The next week they played again for $500 and Hogan won again. Then the stake was increased to $1,000. Again Hogan won. Whereupon Wininger asked for a shot a side in the hope of getting some of his money back. The response was a scornful look and the icy comment: `Any man who needs a shot a side has no business being a pro'."
Incidentally, Stewart "Skip" Alexander, whose son Buddy won the US Amateur in 1986, was born in Pennsylvania in 1918. He had a remarkable career, in that between Ryder Cup appearances in 1949 and 1951 he broke both ankles and was badly burned in a lights plane crash. Yet, despite problems gripping the club, he crushed John Panton by 8 and 7 in the 1951 matches at Pinehurst.
IN BRIEF: David Smith of 16B Cherrywood, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, has a golfing date with Christy O'Connor Snr in the Esso Links Pro Am at Portmarnock Hotel and Links next Thursday. In our competition, he correctly answered that O'Connor won the Dunlop Masters on the neighbouring Portmarnock course in 1959... Mount Juliet, much to their delight, have been informed that they are to play host to the Shell Wonderful World of Golf match between Tom Watson and Fred Couples on Sunday, July 13th - not the 14th, as originally announced ... Colm McCarroll, of the famous Derry golfing family, informs me that a new, 54 hole competition, the Mount Errigal Hotel sponsored Donegal Links Classic is to be played at Rosapenna, Portsalon and Ballyliffin on April 15th, 16th and 17th. Further details from Sean MacCormack, Portsalon GC.
TEASER: In strokeplay, a competitor, unable to find his ball in a water hazard, drops another ball behind the hazard under Rule 26-1b and plays it. He then finds his original ball in the hazard. Not being sure of his rights, he plays out both balls under Rule 3-3, opting to score with the original ball. What is the ruling?
ANSWER: When the competitor dropped the ball behind the hazard, that ball became the ball in play. The score with that ball was the competitor's score for the hole. The score with the original ball could not count because that ball was no longer the ball in play. However, the competitor incurs no penalty for playing out with the original ball.
