Know this about Tiger Woods' drive to become the game's greatest golfer: The swing he used to win the Masters by a record 12 strokes in 1997 has been discarded like an old pair of shoes. In its place is a more compact, tighter swing that focuses on control rather than raw power.
If you're looking for reasons why Tiger Woods has become golf's surest bet and sports' marquee rising star in the last 11 months, there are many.
When he rankled at his own week-to-week inconsistency, Tiger worked with coach Butch Harmon throughout the 1998 and '99 season to revamp his swing. It all started clicking last May, and his roll has rarely been slowed since.
Numerous technical aspects to Tiger's renovations may be best summed up with this phrase: ``My bad shots aren't bad anymore.'' Gone for the most part are those ferocious slashes with short clubs that he wondered where they would land.
``Tiger's not going to beat himself anymore by getting himself into too much trouble,'' Davis Love III said. ``When he first came out here, it seemed like he didn't know his game as well as he does now. I remember talking to Butch Harmon before Tiger turned pro about how much power he had and how good he was. And he kept telling me, `Davis, when he learns to control his irons and control his distances, nobody is going to be able to beat him. And not because I'm teaching him, just because he's that good.'''
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•Tiger on Augusta: "I'm no longer a new face"
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•Tiger at the TPC: "Getting ready for Augusta"
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•Change in Tiger's swing helped his game
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And when shots do go astray, Tiger's underrated short game may be his greatest strength. It seems he's able to get up-and-down from anywhere.
And he's learned a few tricks, too, like how to hit a punch 2-iron 275 yards into the wind, or the knockdown 3-wood. You won't find too many pros with those shots in their bag.
He's changed his eyes, too. LASIK eye surgery last October corrected his severe near-sightedness, and his vision now stands at 20/15. The world, and the hole, seem much bigger to him.
``It's nice to wake up and see the alarm clock without it being fuzzy,'' he said. ``On the course, I'm able to see slopes in greens a lot clearer.''
Tiger hired low-key New Zealander Steve Williams to lug his equipment at last year's Players Championship. A caddie's influence on a mega-talent can be minimal, but it's worth noting that since the two have paired, Tiger has 12 wins worldwide.
``I was surprised at how fast he learned (about me),'' Woods said. ``He's just very positive, and that makes you feel more at ease on the golf course.''
Then there's the sensitive subject of girlfriend Joanna Jagoda, 22. It's difficult not to notice that the closer the two have become, the better Tiger's golf has been. Rumors in tabloids say a marriage is forthcoming, though Woods said that's not true.
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Woods gets instruction from coach Butch Harmon on the driving range after a nine-hole practice round at Pebble Beach.Associated Press Photo
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``He's just more grown-up now,'' friend Mark O'Meara said. ``He's discovered himself more.''
Said Harmon: ``He's comfortable with who he is now.''
Different, too, is his physique. Compare pictures to when he first donned the green jacket to when he raised the Wannamaker Trophy as the PGA champion last August, and you notice the difference. He is no longer a skinny kid able to hit a golf ball three miles, but instead a muscular marvel having added 25 pounds since joining the tour.
``I think you have to find a balance in your life,'' Woods said. ``I think I've done that. I know how much time I need to devote to my game at a tournament site, to my fans, to my sponsors, rest, get away time, alone time. I just have a better understanding of people, of myself. I went from not really anyone knowing me to now everybody knows me. That's kind of a difficult little shock to the system when you're 20.''
Drive of a champion
In a little more than three years since turning professional, Tiger's changed his game, his look and his physique. In the process, he's changing just about everything within golf, from the way it's televised, to the way courses are set up, to the psyche of his competitors.
What hasn't changed about Tiger is his drive. As a boy he posted Jack Nicklaus's feats of 18 major championships on his bedroom wall hoping to one day achieve and surpass them. Nowadays that appears to be more of a formality than fiction.
Tiger does not play golf for today. He plays it for tomorrow. He plays to win, and only to win, and for you to invoke his name when discussing who is the game's greatest player.
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Fast track
After 3 1/2 years on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods is ranked No. 1 in the world and has become golf's all-time leading money winner. Despite his success, Woods still has a ways to go before threatening some of golf's all-time records.
Career victories
Since joining the PGA Tour in the fall of 1996, Woods has won 18 PGA Tour events. He trails all-time leader Sam Snead, who had 14 victories in his first three years on tour.
At this pace:
Averaging 5.14 wins per year, Woods would break Snead's record in 12 1/2 years.
Career Professional Majors
Woods, who won the 1997 Masters and 1999 PGA Championship, trails all-time leader Jack Nicklaus (above) by 16. Nicklaus had three majors in his first three years on tour.
At this pace:
Winning two majors every three years, Woods would need more than 25 years to break Nicklaus' record.
Wins in calendar year:
In 1999, Woods won eight PGA Tour events, which leaves him tied for sixth best for most wins in a calendar year. All-time leader Byron Nelson (above) won 18 events, including 11 in a row, in 1945.
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``What people don't realize is that it's not about Tiger and everyone else,'' said Ben Crenshaw, his Ryder Cup captain last September at Brookline. ``It's about Tiger and himself. He competes to be better than himself at everything he does. That's really what makes him so special.''
Tiger enters his fourth Masters finishing either first or second in his last 10 of 11 tournaments, including a streak of six consecutive wins ended in February. His 18 PGA Tour wins are tied with Greg Norman for the most of anyone currently playing.
He's got the game's best winning percentage, already won more money playing this game than anybody, and the last 13 times he's entered the final round holding the lead, he's won.
``Overall, my mind has always carried me in the game of golf,'' said Woods, the world's No. 1 by the widest margin in history.
``I've always been a great competitor. And there's always times when you're out there and you don't feel that good, you're not playing well, but you hang in there with your mind. Somehow you can get through it and gut it out. That's saved me more than anything else.''
So he's driving the ball long, and with more accuracy than ever. With constant work on his short irons, he now understands their flight and distance. His chipping's so good, some pros think he's surpassed short-game master Phil Mickelson. And his putter, which at times has been Tiger's worst enemy, is more consistent.
``I think he's playing everybody's A game every week,'' said Love, one of 14 players to finish second to Woods. ``Remember when he used to grade himself? He's about an A-minus right now every week, and an A-plus some weeks. I would say he's doing everything a little bit better than everybody else.
``If anybody starts beating you like he does, you start thinking, `Can I beat him?' and he thrives on that. I think he expects that coming down the stretch, he's not only going to play good, but the other guy is not going to play as well as he can because he's trying too hard to keep up.''
Affecting the field
Love, a loser to Woods in four head-to-head meetings, sounds a lot like many of Tiger's competitors. There is a defeatist attitude that creeps into a golfer's mind much like when Nicklaus or Palmer would seize control of a tournament.
``He's driving this tour right now,'' Love said. ``We can't afford to wish him to go away; we've just got to learn how to compete with him.''
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Woods lines up a putt at the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Fla., where he was bogey-free for the final 34 holes and finished 18-under par for a four-stroke victory.Chronicle Staff Photo
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Hal Sutton did at The Players Championship, literally talking himself into believing he would beat Tiger, which he did by a shot. As a wire-to-wire winner, he had to fight off daily press queries about Tiger's presence, once saying ``he is not a god.''
``If you are going to praise him all the time and tell him how great he is and his game is superior to everybody you have ever seen in your life, it doesn't matter how good your (game) is,'' Sutton said before The Players Championship. ``You have just said he is better than you.''
``Before you can beat Tiger you have to believe you can,'' said Mickelson, who held of a Tiger charge in San Diego to stop Woods' win streak at six.
``Tiger's name affects people,'' chaser Colin Montgomerie said. ``He makes people act differently around him.''
So here comes the Tiger Train, pulling into Augusta as the most prohibitive favorite the sport has ever seen.
How do the expectations compare this year as opposed to 1998, when he returned to Augusta National as the defending champion in the midst of Tigermania?
``It might be higher,'' he said.
It's become an upset when Tiger does not win, and even more of an upset when he does not contend.
``I fell like if I go out there and play my game, and play smart, then I figure I've got a chance,'' Woods said. ``That's all I'm asking for.''
Golf's Air Jordan
Tiger's more than just a golfer now, he's an event to behold. Tournaments with Tiger pique the curiosity of the sports fan, not just the avid golf nut. What'd Tiger shoot? Is he leading? Can he win? Who will he surpass this time?
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What they're saying
``I think Tiger is doing something that a lot of people thought couldn't be done. He's making a run at Jack's (Nicklaus) record. There was a very strong belief that Jack had established something during an era when he was so dominant that it was going to be virtually impossible to challenge that kind of record. Tiger's waking up a lot of people.'' - two-time PGA Tour winner Olin Browne
``When you feel like you're playing better than the guy, and he still beats you, you've got to ask yourself a question here and there.'' - two-time U.S. Open champion Ernie Els
``I was amazed, to be quite honest. I don't think I'll be amazed anymore.'' - Matt Gogel, who Tiger caught and passed the final round at Pebble Beach
``I've played enough golf with Tiger that almost anything he does on the golf course would not surprise me. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone go through the ball quite the way he does and with the speed that club head is going through.'' - four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer
``We're all beneficiaries for what he's doing for the game of golf, so, you know, I don't want to say everybody is out to get Tiger. A lot of us are pulling for him and thanking him for what he's doing.'' - Phil Mickelson, whose win in San Diego halted Tiger's streak of six wins
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It's like Chicago Bulls games with and without Michael Jordan. You didn't inquire as to whether they won or lost, but you wanted to know what Jordan did.
Golf history certainly has a Before Tiger and After Tiger demarkation to it. You can tell by the increased television ratings, the spike in participation figures and equipment sales, the differences in tournament purses and television rights fees compared to a decade ago.
``What Tiger's done to bring golf into places of the world that it's never been seen before is absolutely incredible,'' said Mark McCormack, the president and founder of International Management Group, Woods' representatives.
``He's handled himself with great dignity around the world, a great ambassador for all of us. I think when it's all written at the end of the day, the contribution that Tiger Woods has made to golf and to sports is something that perhaps nobody else has ever done.''
The 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 with that old swing, remains golf's highest-rated tournament.
The mid-afternoon San Diego tournament in mid-February, the one Tiger lost to Mickelson, scored a better rating than the primetime NBA All-Star game. Tiger's win at Bay Hill three weeks ago scored more viewers for NBC than its Lakers-Knicks game earlier that day.
And with the PGA Tour's television contract coming up for renewal next spring, look for higher purses on the PGA Tour.
``We should all thank Tiger for what he's done, because he's making all of us out here more money,'' Olin Browne said. ``The tour's richer. The networks are richer. The golfers are richer. Everyone involved is richer because of what's he done.''
Including Tiger himself. Forbes ranked Woods as America's richest athlete in 1999, earning $47 million in PGA Tour earnings and endorsement deals. He made more money than Mel Gibson, Jim Carrey and Michael Jordan.
You'll find Woods pitching credit cards, clothing and cars, not to mention cereal and computer games. And with Jordan retired from basketball and begging off on future endorsements, expect Woods to assume Jordan's spot as sports' one-man corporate conglomerate. You may not understand golf, but you'll know the name Tiger Woods.
``There's a possibility that Tiger could become as well known as anybody in the world of sports, ever,'' said Arnold Palmer, an authority on worldly influence.
This week, he gets another opportunity on the game's grandest stage to add to his young legend.
Changing the game
