Dream matchup
Tiger, Shark meet in their first one-on-one contest
Posted: Saturday December 12, 1998 06:35 PM
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On point: The Americans will have to make a dramatic comeback if Woods' (above) match with Norman is going to mean something AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Forget the overall outcome, the big question for many golf fans following the Presidents Cup was whether Tiger Woods would go head-to-head with Greg Norman in a singles match.
The answer is yes.
Woods asked for it specifically.
The scene reads like a Hollywood script. Two of the game's most exciting players; the reigning world No. 1 vs. the former titleholder recovering from surgery; the foreign aggressor vs. local hero; the seasoned veteran vs. the young gun.
They have never played one-on-one professionally, or even been paired in a solo event.
The only thing missing is the razor-edge finish. The International team needed just two wins out of 12 matches to take the tournament and Woods and Norman were scheduled to tee off behind 10 others pairs, meaning it was highly unlikely the match would be the decider.
After much speculation, the decision came down to Saturday evening's draw by the two team captains.
Knowing Woods was yet to be matched, Internationals captain Peter Thomson waited until the second last selection before nominating Norman for Sunday's 31st match.
U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus was waiting.
"Tiger asked me, he said 'If there's any chance that I can play Norman, I'd like to play him,' " Nicklaus said.
"From the gallery standpoint, from an interest standpoint, I think it's a great match. I think it will be a sensation," Thomson said.
Maruyama, unknown and unbeaten
Relatively unknown outside his home country, Japan's Shigeki Maruyama is the only player to have played matches in all four rounds of the Presidents Cup and won them all.
In contrast, Americans Jim Furyk -- No. 3 on the U.S. PGA Tour list -- and U.S. Tour No. 10 John Huston have both played three out of four rounds and have yet to win a single match.
In fact, none of the Americans have an unblemished record. The best is Fred Couples, in his third Presidents Cup, who is 2-2. All the other Americans have either had only one win, or, at best, one win and a halve.
Four members of the International team -- Australians Greg Norman, Steve Elkington and Stuart Appleby, and Fiji's Vijay Singh -- have three wins in four starts.
Speaking almost no English, Maruyama said the success of the two Japanese players -- Joe Ozaki being the other -- could be explained by their desire to show the world that Japanese golf is of world standard.
Asked if he and Ozaki have magic putters, the almost-always smiling Maruyama said emphatically: "Yes."
Talking no problem
The language barrier proved to be no barrier at all for Maruyama and his Australian foursomes partner Craig Parry.
Despite neither speaking much of the other's language, the Melbourne-born Parry was able to give his partner some local tips about the hot northerly wind that started blowing Friday.
Observing that the Americans had started choosing wrong clubs for the wind, Parry started having a quiet word into Maruyama's ear.
"I hit it were Mr. Parry told me to hit it," Maruyama said. The result was a 3-2 victory over Lee Janzen and Scott Hoch, a result so good that International team captain Peter Thomsom paired them again Saturday.
That day the pupil gave the teacher a lesson after Parry overplayed a shot out of the rough on the par-4 4th, chipping the ball over the green and rolling it 30 feet down.
Maruyama, who has eight Japanese PGA Tour victories and who rarely takes more than one practice swing per shot, sent it straight back up the hill to strike the flag pole. But the ball didn't drop in and the hole was halved.
At the 17th, Maruyama sank a 35-foot birdie putt to square the match against Couples and Woods.
At the 18th, needing to get up and down to halve the alternate-shot match, Parry rammed home a 50-foot birdie chip.
Of Woods and Couples, Parry said: "It's nice to have those scalps."
Blistering Conditions
Walking the more than 3 1/2 miles it takes to go around Royal Melbourne's 18 holes is taking its toll, and not just on Presidents Cup competitors.
Woods' girlfriend, Joanna Jagoda, abandoned the team uniform of sneakers in favor of sandals to watch Woods' foursomes match on Saturday, revealing heavy dressings on the back of both heels from blisters.
No such problems for Barbara Nicklaus, who consoled Jagoda on the seventh hole from the comfort of team captain's Jack Nicklaus' golf cart.
Quote of the day
"Actually we all had a bad meal Thursday night. We're all sick. Nobody feels good, that's the reason we are losing. I wish." -- Justin Leonard, explaining why the U.S. is losing the Presidents Cup.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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