Posted: Mon September 22, 1997
Conventional wisdom holds that it's a mistake to pair two
rookies in the Ryder Cup, but when the rookies are 41-year-old
Scott Hoch, the oldest first-year player in the history of the
event, and 21-year-old Tiger Woods, convention goes out the
window.
Not only do the games of the two men mesh—Woods is the longest
player on Tour, while Hoch is one of the best from 100 yards and
in—but the two also have similar temperaments and styles of
play. Both are aggressive and let nothing bother them.
Woods established himself as a ruthless match-play competitor
during his historic threepeat in the U.S. Amateur from 1994 to
'96. Many of his opponents were beaten before they reached the
1st tee. The key to his success is his supreme confidence, which
leaves the impression that he's not so much interested in
winning as he is in exposing his opponent's weaknesses.
"One-on-one he's a cold-blooded killer," says John Harris, a top
amateur who competed against Woods for six years.
As the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, Woods took part in two
team competitions: the '94 World Amateur Team Championships,
played outside Paris, where four-man sides competed in stroke
play, and the '95 Walker Cup, in Porthcawl, Wales, which was
modeled after the Ryder Cup. Woods bonded well with his
teammates in France, and his 33 on the final nine capped a U.S.
comeback. "He got along famously with everyone," says team
captain Grant Spaeth. "His nickname was Punk Kid."
Woods already has made efforts to ingratiate himself with his
Ryder Cup teammates. He scored points with captain Tom Kite when
he said he didn't care whom he was teamed with. In recent months
Woods has been noticeably warmer to Justin Leonard and Phil
Mickelson, two young guns who were rivals in the past.
Woods does have one blemish on his record: the Walker Cup. It's
not overstating the facts to say that he was responsible for the
U.S.'s losing for only the fourth time since 1922. Playing in
the final singles match on the first day, and needing a victory
to draw his team even against Great Britain and Ireland, Woods
knocked three balls out of bounds, including a shocking hook on
his approach to the final green, to lose one up to Gary
Wolstenholme. The next morning Woods and Harris batted cleanup
in the four foursomes matches and lost 2 and 1 to Padraig
Harrington and Jody Fanagan of Ireland. "Quite frankly, that was
the match that cost us the Walker Cup," says Harris.
Yet Woods still gave a tease of what kind of a potent force he
can be. In the first match of the competition, he and Harris
stomped Stephen Gallagher and Gordon Sherry, then the red-hot
reigning British Amateur champ, 4 and 3, and, says Harris, "it
was a lot worse than the score. We were 4 up after five holes."
With a similar vengeance Woods drilled Wolstenholme 4 and 3 in
their rematch, evening his Walker Cup record at 2-2.
"He brings incredible confidence," says Harris. "You feel it,
and so do guys on the other team. There's nothing that Seve or
anyone can do to shake it. I can't wait to see Tiger in the
Ryder Cup."
Issue date: September 22, 1997
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