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Good as gold Tiger treats London crowd to clinic, Olympic views
LONDON (AP) -- Tiger Woods on Monday got his hands on something he hasn't won and probably never will. Holding a golf clinic at London's Hyde Park, the British and U.S. Open champion, who has also won the Masters and PGA titles, ran into Olympic rowing champions Steven Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent. "This is one thing that I've got that Tiger doesn't," Pinsent said as he pulled his Sydney 2000 gold medal out of his pocket. "Until golf's in the Olympics, you're not going to win one so try this on for size." Cheered on by 5,000 golf fans at the park, Pinsent, who has won three golds to Redgrave's five in five Olympics, hung his latest gold medal around Woods' neck. "I would like to see golf in the Olympics," Woods said. "It would be exciting for all the fans who watch golf. "We have a World Golf Championship now and it would be neat to see the game at the Olympics. It's one of the oldest games and it's unfortunate that it's not an Olympic event." Woods made his short stopover as part of a promotion for American Express and also the Save the Children Fund after tying for fifth place behind Canada's Mike Weir at Valderrama on Sunday. He now heads to Bangkok for this week's Johnnie Walker Classic. On a makeshift driving range, he treated the huge crowd to his full array of shots off the tee as well as his routine of juggling the ball on the club face. Organizers of the clinic had built a small green 177 yards away for Woods to aim at. "I hope this green is better than the 17th at Valderrama," he said. Woods found the water three out of four rounds at the 17th last week and did the same in last year's final round. During a news conference that preceded the clinic, Woods said he didn't believe that U.S. Tour golfers were weakening the sport worldwide by staying home to earn the biggest money. Most of the top Americans ducked the prestigious World Match Play tournament at Wentworth and a weaker than usual U.S. team lost in the first round of the Dunhill Cup at St. Andrews. "I don't think it's just us," he said. "I think that everyone, whether in Europe or America or around the world, we are all looking to make our financial status a little bit better. I think it's human nature." Out on the driving range, Woods took questions from the fans and was asked how he would follow up his amazing season in 2000. "Every year I have played, I have look at the year and I can say I was better at the end of the year than at the beginning," said Woods, who has won nine tournaments this year. So where did he go wrong this year? "At the 17th at Valderrama," he replied.
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