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Seeing the future Friend, laser surgery help Woods reach new heights
Posted: Saturday February 05, 2000 05:24 PM
If Tiger Woods can somehow win at Pebble Beach for his sixth consecutive PGA Tour victory, he would go into next week's Buick Invitational with a better than good chance of making it seven. He is the defending champion, won several world junior age group titles at Torrey Pines, and as he did last year, will again be employing his childhood friend, Bryon Bell, as his caddie. Bell's other victorious week as Woods' looper occurred at the 1996 U.S. Amateur. Other than Byron Nelson on his way to an epic 11 straight victories in 1945, no golfer has ever won seven official PGA Tour events in a row. Woods still hasn't lost an official event since having laser eye surgery last Oct. 1, so it made sense that his latest endorsement deal is with the centers that perform the LASIK procedure. Shortly after his approximately 20-400 vision was corrected to 20-15, an enthused Woods said, "The hole is bigger, the ball is bigger, and the clubs are bigger.'' And, not coincidentally, so are the paychecks. Getting better DalyHold your breath, but John Daly is talking as if his life is on the upswing. In Australia this weekend as an invitee to the Greg Norman Holden Invitational, Daly says he has learned to drink alchohol in relative moderation, is pleased with his recently signed deals to endorse a soft drink and a clothing line, likes the new equipment he is playing since his breakup with Callaway Golf. He is especially looking forward to returning to St. Andrews for the British Open, where he won the championship in 1995. It all sounds good, but the people rooting for him have one piece of advice: One day at a time, John. One master missingThe hottest player in the world besides Woods is Michael Campbell of New Zealand, who is seeking his third straight event victory on Australasian Tour this weekend at Norman's tournament. But despite his recent success, Campbell is still not in the field for the 2000 Masters. Only the top 50 on the official World Ranking get invitations to Augusta, and Campbell is currently 67th. He's got a month to make himself eligible, and his big chance could come in three weeks at the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship, where a couple of wins over highly ranked players would vault him up the list. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jaime Diaz covers the golf beat and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN's Pro Golf Weekly.
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