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SPORTS> Feature and Column
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Second Tiger Slam looms large for Woods
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-02-03 14:15 LOS ANGELES, Feb 2 - As Tiger Woods continues to polish his glittering curriculum vitae, golf fans are licking their lips at the prospect of another so-called 'Tiger Slam'. Six years ago, Woods became the first professional to hold all four majors at the same time by winning his second Masters title at Augusta National. Although his run of four consecutive titles spilled over two seasons, starting with the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, his achievement was arguably the greatest in golfing history. He is now halfway towards repeating the feat. Victories in last year's British Open at Hoylake and the PGA Championship at Medinah lifted his career haul of majors to 12, second only to the 18 piled up by Jack Nicklaus. Should Woods go on to win his fifth green jacket at the Masters in April and then claim his third U.S. Open crown at Oakmont in June, he will have completed an astonishing historic double. Perhaps just as remarkable is that fans the world over are expecting the 31-year-old American to succeed. Ever since he turned professional in late 1996, Woods has made a habit of achieving the unthinkable. He has been driven by 'W's (wins) and his lifelong goal is to eclipse the record 18 majors won by Nicklaus. After clinching his fourth major in a row at the 2001 Masters, Woods sat back and shared his thoughts with the golfing media. WINNING MAJORS "To win four of them in succession, it's hard to believe, really, because there are so many things that go into winning a major championship," he said. "For that matter, any tournament, but more so majors, because you've got to have your game peak at the right time and, on top of that, you've got to have some luck. "To have it happen four straight times, that's awfully nice. Some of the golfing gods are looking down on me the right way." Asked if he regarded his feat as a grand slam, Woods replied: "I've won four. "What do I want to call it? I'll let you guys -- you guys are very creative." The dream of winning of all four professional majors in a calendar year was first lifted into public consciousness by golfing great Arnold Palmer in the early sixties. Ben Hogan and Woods have come the closest, Hogan winning the first three majors of 1953 and Woods the last three of 2000. American amateur Bobby Jones completed the 'Impregnable Quadrilateral' in 1930 by winning the amateur and open championships of Britain and the United States but no professional has yet followed suit. Again, few would bet against Woods becoming the first to do so as he continues to rack up golfing milestones. Victory at last week's Buick Invitational outside San Diego was his seventh in a row on the PGA Tour, and his ninth worldwide in his last 12 starts. |
