ESPN.com - Golf Online - Sawgrass offers glimpse at Augusta

Associated Press
Thursday, March 22

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Tiger Woods, beware.

If winning the Bay Hill Invitational last week in dramatic and haphazard fashion means Woods is on a roll, it might not be a bad idea to take this week off.

Sure, The Players Championship is one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf -- most players call it a fifth major. It has the strongest and deepest field, its $6 million purse is the richest in the world, and the Stadium Course on the TPC at Sawgrass is brutal.

But from the time it was created in 1974, no one has won The Players Championship and The Masters in the same year.

"That's got to change sooner or later," said Nick Price, who missed the cut at Augusta National in 1993 the year after winning The Players Championship.

Perhaps this might be the year.

Woods arrived around noon Wednesday, later than he has for any other tournament this year. He teed off with Mark O'Meara and David Duval, who withdrew Thursday with a sore right wrist.

What Woods found was unlike anything he has seen this year -- ankle-deep rough that seemed even thicker because of four inches of rain earlier in the week, tight fairways and greens that were severely undulated.

"It will be a good test," Woods said after winning Bay Hill.

The Players Championship is more than just a good test. It figures to be a great tuneup for The Masters because of what is required -- excellent shotmaking, supreme putting and the ability to handle pressure down the stretch.

"If you win here, you know your game is strong," said Greg Norman, the 1994 champion. "And you know it's going to be strong in two weeks."

The Players is the only prestigious tournament missing from Woods' resume.

Along with the career Grand Slam, he also has won the Tour Championship, Pebble Beach and the tournaments of Jack Nicklaus (Memorial), Arnold Palmer (Bay Hill) and Byron Nelson (Nelson Classic).

"This is one of the best fields in golf that is assembled throughout the year, and it's played on a very demanding golf course," Woods said. "That's a nice combination to have. And to finish on top that week would be very satisfying."

The fact no one has won The Players and The Masters in the same year can be attributed to the fact that it's tough to win anywhere, let alone two big tournaments in three weeks, especially when the second tournament is a major.

A closer look at recent history shows that a good week at Sawgrass generally leads to a good week at Augusta. How Woods fares when The Players Championship starts Thursday might be a good indication of how well he is playing.

A year ago, Hal Sutton beat Woods by one stroke to win The Players Championship, missing only one fairway and one green in a final round that required two days to complete. He took that confidence to Augusta, where Sutton had his best Masters ever -- a tie for 10th, after missing nine cuts in a row.

Duval won the Players in 1999, won the next week at Atlanta and was one stroke out of the lead on the back nine Sunday at Augusta before falling out of contention.

In 1998, Justin Leonard rallied from five strokes down to win The Players, then posted his best score (285) and second-best finish (tie for eighth) at The Masters.

"Momentum is momentum," Price said. "If you're playing well, you ought to be able to carry it on to any surface."

The Stadium Course never will be confused with Augusta National, although there were a few azaleas in bloom at Sawgrass. "The real ones, too," Scott Hoch said. "Not the ones up there that they pack in ice."

The Players Championship never will be confused with The Masters.

Woods has a chance to add $1,080,000 to his bank account and a prestigious trophy this week. Given a choice between the two, he would much rather become the first player to own all four majors at the same time, which is what The Masters offers him.

The Players will be a good place to determine the state of his game.

"On this golf course, it's really hard to win it when you're not playing well," Woods said. "The person who's driving the ball the best and really controlling their irons is obviously the person who's going to win, because it's just playing extremely difficult."

Woods won last week by making two impressive birdies after two disastrous tee shots. He won't get away with mistakes like that at Sawgrass, so a victory this week would leave no doubt about the state of his game.

"Winning here, you know your game has stood up to the hardest finish we have in golf," Price said. "You have no option but to hit a good shot."

Divots

Two-time winner Steve Elkington withdrew from the event with a strained back. Elkington also pulled out of the 1998 tournament here.

Lee Westwood says he's ready to leave "on the next flight available" if he gets word his wife is delivering their first child at home in England. Her due date isn't for another two weeks.

Davis Love III likes watching golf on TV on weeks he's not competing. "It's like watching the end of an exciting game in the NCAA tournament," Love said. "You don't have to watch the whole thing, but you want to find out who wins."

Masters champion Vijay Singh is a study in concentration on the golf course and he likes it to stay that way with his playing partner. How does he get that across when paired with some of the tour's big-time talkers? "You kind of answer back in one or two words," Singh said. "And when you do that a few times, they get the message."