Woods returns to origin of Tiger-mania

By Jerry Potter, USA TODAY

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY Tiger Woods smiles on the 14th green during Wednesday's practice round.

Tiger timeline Tiger's record at The Masters 1978 — At age 2 is a guest on The Mike Douglas Show with his father, Earl, and Bob Hope. 1991 — At 15 becomes the youngest to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. 1992 — At 16 plays in the Nissan Open, his first PGA Tour event. 1994 — At 18 becomes the youngest to win the U.S. Amateur Championship 1995 — At 19 plays The Masters, his first major. He makes the cut and finishes 41st. 1996 — After winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur — the first to do so — he turns pro. 1996 — Named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. 1996 — Wins for the first time on the PGA Tour at the Las Vegas Invitational. 1997 — At age 21, breaks The Masters record by shooting a 270. He's the youngest Masters champion and the first of African or Asian heritage to win a major. 1999 — Starts six-tournament winning streak. 2000 — Wins 100th U.S. Open with a record 12-under-par 272, winning by 15 shots. 2000 — Wins the British Open, achieving the career Grand Slam at age 24, a record for youngest. 2000 — Wins the PGA Championship, becoming only the second player to win three majors in the same year. 2000 — Signs an estimated $100 million, 5-year deal with Nike.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Back in the spring of 1997, Fergie, the former Duchess of York, had yet to interview a guy named Tiger on national TV. There was no $100 million endorsement deal, the richest in sports history. And there was no Web site named tigerwoodsisgod.com.

It's funny how things change when you're Tiger Woods, and at 21 you win The Masters by 12 strokes and set 20 tournament records in the process. In two days, Friday afternoon until Monday morning, the amount of requests for his time went from 25 calls a day to 100 a day at the headquarters of IMG, the management group that represents him.

The whole world seemed to open up to Woods, and now he's back at Augusta National Golf Club, where he first gained superstardom.

Although two legendary tamers of Augusta, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, had predicted that Woods would win 10 Masters in his career, few people expected him to win so young, let alone do it in such a dramatic fashion.

Now, after his breathtaking 2000, in which he won the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship, people expect Woods to win The Masters, which begins Thursday, and claim his fourth consecutive victory in a major championship.

"This is The Masters, and it's very special," Woods says, "but I guarantee you, come Sunday night, win or lose, life is going to go on. The sun will come up Monday."

Though Woods' list of accomplishments in the wake of his first Augusta triumph is the stuff of legend, he hasn't won another green jacket since his awe-inspiring victory in '97.

That win propelled him into a stratosphere of celebrity as an athlete rivaled only by Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. That recognition would be a significant change in anyone's life, yet the biggest changes in the determined and focused Woods since '97 are as much in personal development as professional advancement.

"People are excited about what could transpire, and so am I," says Woods, 25. "I'm eager to get out there, have some fun, play and compete. But I've learned it's not life or death."

Worked to revamp his swing

Woods has amassed 26 victories on the PGA Tour, won more than $27 million in prize money and, in one week, can command as much as $2 million in appearance fees just to play in a tournament in Asia, Europe or the Middle East.

Yet much of this would not have been possible had he not had the presence of mind to study tapes of his performance in the '97 Masters. What he saw was a golf swing that neither he nor his teacher, Butch Harmon, thought would hold up under the pressure of tournament golf.

So they rebuilt the whole thing, just like a rank amateur starting over.

• They changed the grip from strong to weak, so Woods wouldn't have a closed face on his club at the top of his backswing.
  
   
• They made his backswing wide and shallow, so he could hit crisp shots with his irons.
  
   
• They fought his basic tendency to take the club back too inside and avoid what Woods calls "getting stuck," a position where one correction is to flip the club with the wrists just before contact. It's an open invitation for an errant shot.
  
   
• Above all, they worked on controlling the speed of his swing, so he could control the distance of his iron shots. That had been a big problem, especially at Augusta National when he played The Masters twice as an amateur. He made the cut the first year and missed the second. But both years he struggled to keep his approach shots on the greens.

The changes were painstakingly slow work. Harmon made him practice for as much as 30 minutes on one tiny movement in the swing. Woods has told friends at times he worked so hard he thought his arms would fall off.

			Tiger's marks set in 1997
			1 — The first player to win the Masters in his first professional appearance. 12 — The largest margin of victory. 16 — Most under par, second nine 21 years, 3 months, 14 days — The youngest champion. 65 — The youngest player to shoot a 65. 200 — The lowest last 54-hole total. 270 — The lowest 72-hole total.

To execute many of the movements of the new swing, Woods had to develop an exercise routine and a diet discipline. He keeps part of the workout a secret, but he has gained 20 pounds of muscle. His training has forced the game's best players to hit the gym if they hope to keep up.

Phil Mickelson, who ended Woods' victory streak at six last year, was asked Tuesday to compare Woods to Bobby Jones, who founded Augusta National after winning the Grand Slam in 1930.

"It's an insult to Tiger to compare his physique to Bobby Jones," Mickelson says. "If I'm not mistaken, Bobby Jones loved to eat pie a la mode. I don't think I've ever seen Tiger eat pie a la mode. Sometimes I think he eats flower petals and leaves off the trees."

Woods' accomplishments and celebrity have drawbacks. He's the focus at every event he plays. Teams of fans surge and beg for autographs at every turn. His Tuesday news conferences are packed with media. He must have told his life story to every newspaper and TV station that covers tournament golf.

"Tiger sacrifices a lot," Mickelson says. "He leads a difficult life. I thank him every time I see him for what he has done for the game. I don't think anyone else would be capable of dealing with what he deals with day in and day out."

Betting on himself at Augusta

Since winning in '97, Woods has tied for eighth, tied for 18th and finished fifth in The Masters. When changes to the course went into effect after his win, some said that The Masters was trying to "Tiger proof" Augusta National from his booming drives. That notion is false, but he has not dominated there like most thought he would.

"I've tried to win," he says. "It just hasn't worked out. That's just part of playing the majors. The key is to keep putting yourself in contention. If I keep doing that for the next 30 years, I'll win my share. And I'll lose my share, too."

Woods finished six strokes in back of winner Vijay Singh last year, and much of the deficit can be traced to an opening-round 75. A double bogey on No. 10 and a triple bogey on No. 12 were the difference.

This year, he says he began preparing for The Masters in January. Friends say that's one reason he didn't win until two weeks ago. He was working on shots that he can use this week, while trying to compete in tournaments.

He has been working on a big draw off the tee that he can use on the par-5 13th hole. If he hits a driver off the tee, he can have an 8-iron into the green. If he plays it safe with a 3-wood off the tee, he'll probably have a 2-iron into the green.

"With the length he has off the tee, he can overpower any golf course," says Darren Clarke, who beat Woods in the 2000 World Match Play Championship. "He has a tremendous advantage as long as he keeps hitting the ball straight."

In addition to the 300-yard drives and deft touch on short shots, Woods has one other thing that makes him unique, according to Mickelson: "He seems to be able to bring out his best game when he wants to. He has done it in four of the last five majors, and this course sets up well for him, as we saw in '97."

As for Tiger, he says he would bet on himself to win Sunday if the odds were 5:4.

"I believe in myself," he says without a hint of doubt in his voice.