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No Nelson Criticism of Woods’ streak building; Sorenstam left out
Posted: Sunday February 13, 2000 12:04 PM
Here's the hottest question surrounding Tiger Woods's streak: If he matches Byron Nelson's incredible record of 11 victories in a row, is it as significant a feat as it was when Nelson did it? Critics say no, pointing out that Nelson achieved his feat without skipping one event or playing an unofficial one in between. Woods on the other hand, since winning the NEC Invitational last August, has not only skipped ten official tournaments, but also played in four unofficial events, two of which, the Johnnie Walker and the Williams World Challenge, he did not win. But others say, yes, Woods' streak would be just as impressive, including the PGA Tour which is applying the criteria of "consecutive official events played" to define both streaks. The fact is no one plays 11 straight events anymore as players routinely did in Nelson's day. Nelson often played in exhibitions between tournaments to pick up extra cash. And Nelson's first victory in his streak was the Miami Four Ball, which he won with partner Jug McSpaden. On today's tour, team events are no longer official.
Woods seeing greensHere's a suprising statistic. Tiger Woods has won both tournaments he's entered in 2000 despite ranking just 40th in driving distance. The reason: Kapalua was in windswept Hawaii and Pebble Beach rain soaked Northern California. The conditions limited Tiger's average off the tee to just 274.4 yards. However, he has hit 80 percent of the greens he has played in regulation figures, to lead the tour in that category. Money manIt's the farthest thing from being his goal this weekend, but if Woods outearns Davis Love III by more than $31,000 this weekend, he will have become the PGA Tour's all-time leading money winner in less than four seasons of play.
Sorry SorenstamThe reasons seem silly, but Annika Sorenstam is not in the field at this weekend's Los Angeles Women's Championship. Sorenstam said she notified LPGA officials by car phone on Jan. 6 that she was playing in the event, but did not write down a confirmation number. Later, when the LPGA said it had no record of her official entry, Sorenstam could not produce proof that she called. Despite the protests of several players who wanted Sorenstam added to field, the result is that Sorenstam is sitting out what would have been her 2000 debut. 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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