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Length isn't everything Especially as St. Andrews, where the greens are huge
Take a close look at Tiger Woods' ballstriking statistics at the British Open, and it's easy to wonder why he didn't shoot even lower than a record 19 under par. Woods led in driving distance with an average of 319.8 yards, including a 382-yard rocket on No. 5 in the final round that was the longest measured drive of the championship. At the same time, he hit 80 percent of the fairways, tying him for seventh best. Finally, he and Pierre Fulke each hit the most greens in regulation, 66 out of 72 for an astounding 92 percent. But the Old Course, even in a week without strong wind, had one last line of defense, its huge and hugely mysterious greens. Woods took 125 putts (not counting putts from off the green), which would have been an abysmal total in the United States. But at St. Andrews, he was only four behind the leader, Bob May . Yes, Woods is long. But he'd be just another young blaster on the Buy.Com Tour. While Woods trails only John Daly in driving distance on the PGA Tour, there are eight players on the Buy.Com who outdo his 292.2-yard average. The longest is Stiles Mitchell, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound bull who averages 299 yards off the tee. However, that is still 1.8 yards shorter than Daly.
Always the bridesmaidsBoth Larry Nelson and Dana Quigley have five runner-up finishes on the Senior Tour this year, and with 14 official events left, each has a good chance of matching or surpassing Lee Trevino's record of eight second places set in 1990.
Possession is nine-tenths of the lawBruce Fleisher obviously enjoys being a defending champion. In five title defenses this year, Fleisher has won three times, most recently at the Lightpath Long Island Classic. He has two more title defenses coming up, The Transamerica and the EMC2 Kaanapali Classic.
Climbing the charts with a bulletMichael Clark's victory at the John Deere Classic was also his first top-10 finish on the PGA Tour. That rare accomplishment has been matched recently by two other players, Rich Beem at the 1999 Kemper Insurance Open, and Notah Begay at the 1999 Reno-Tahoe Open.
Chump changeOne last Woods item. He has earned only two checks all year that were for less than $176,000 -- at the Nissan Open and the Advil Western Open. He is averaging more than $440,000 a check in the 13 tournaments he has played. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jaime Diaz covers the golf beat for the magazine and appears each Saturday morning on CNN's "Sports Illustrated Golf Plus" show.
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