AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tiger Woods settled into his chair to size up his chances of winning The Masters for the second time in three years, the tournament that was thought to be his domain for years to come.
Right away, he realized he was no longer the center of attention.
| |  |
| Woods looks forward to a showdown with Duval in a major. |
"How does it feel to be Avis?" came the first question.
No. 1 now belongs to David Duval, whose four victories so far this year have been enough to surpass Woods atop the World Rankings and make him the favorite this week at Augusta National.
"He's playing better, no doubt about it," Woods said. "But I like my chances, too."
As he should. After all, it has only been two years since Woods set The Masters scoring record (270) and proceeded to set the world of golf on fire with booming drives and a charisma not seen on the PGA Tour since Arnold Palmer.
Even Jack Nicklaus predicted Woods might win as many green jackets as he and Palmer combined -- 10.
Funny how three months and four victories, not to mention a 59, can shift the emphasis from Woods to Duval.
"Cool," Woods said. "It's fine. Everybody is going to have their runs and David is having his run right now. It's all part of the game."
But Woods and Duval have become a game within the game, virtually the only two players anyone is talking about in the largest field The Masters has had in 33 years.
Duval won his first two tournaments of the year, the winners-only Mercedes by a whopping nine strokes, then the Bob Hope Classic with the first Sunday 59 in tour history. Woods slowed the
Duval Express by winning in San Diego and nearly winning again a week later.
Back comes Duval, heading into Augusta with victories the last two weeks.
"They're the best two players in the world," said Fred Funk. "David got off to such a great start, and then Tiger kind of answered him. Now David is playing great. Let's see if Tiger can answer the bell again."
More than just the first major championship of the year, The Masters has proven to be a spectacular arena for some of golf's best rivalries.
Byron Nelson and Sam Snead each won memorable playoffs over Ben Hogan, who still managed to win two Masters. The rivalry between Nicklaus and Palmer was born in the U.S. Open but flourished at Augusta, where they won six green jackets between them during a seven-year stretch.
The seeds for another great rivalry could be planted this week among the brilliant azaleas and sloping fairways of Augusta National.
"Is there a little bit of a rivalry between Tiger and David? Yeah, probably," said defending champion Mark O'Meara. "What David has done in the last two years is absolutely incredible. Natural, raw talent. ... I've never seen anybody like Tiger Woods. He's got the most talent of any player I've ever seen.
"He wants to be the man. David wants to be the man. That's good for golf."
The comparisons to a Nicklaus-Palmer rivalry are natural.
Woods is a lot like Palmer, capable of drawing masses to the game with his emotion and a swashbuckling style that can leave a gallery breathless. Tigermania took root at Augusta, the same place where Arnie's Army was born nearly 40 years earlier.
There is nothing fancy about Duval, as a person or a player. Like Nicklaus, his name is becoming a fearsome sight on the scoreboard. He is among the longest hitters, makes all the big putts and has such composure that he rarely makes a mistake when it matters.
"In my best sequence of events ... I felt like you walk to the first tee and you feel like, 'Who's going to finish second this week?' And you can see that with David right now," said Greg Norman. "I think there's one guy now dominating our tour. That's David."
Not that Duval and Woods are the only ones.
Ernie Els beat both of them down the stretch in Los Angeles, is a two-time U.S. Open champion and has a game that can hold up against anyone. Justin Leonard counts the British Open and Players Championship among his four victories, while Phil Mickelson has already won 13 times and is still 28.
That kind of depth is one reason rivalries are hard to come by these days. But what established previous ones was not so much quantity as quality. Palmer and Nicklaus staged their duels in The
Masters and U.S. Open, not the Western Open and the Bob Hope Classic.
"It's difficult to say David and I are the best players in the world and we're going to see each other heading down the stretch on Sunday," Woods said. "What probably will end up happening, if David continues to play well and I win more tournaments, is we will probably play head-to-head eventually.
"Hopefully, it will happen in the majors."
What better place than Augusta, where Woods' dominance is in question and Duval's credentials lack only that first major victory.
"I'd embrace that if it came to pass," Duval said. "The biggest reason you can't say it's a rivalry yet is because he and I haven't come down to the last few holes. Until that comes to pass, it's hard to make a comparison."
