The Week Aug. 24-30

In a League of His Own

Tiger Woods looks like Mike these days. Jordan won when he was off too. Woods shot a two-over 37 on the back nine on Sunday and had a three-over 39 coming home in the PGA three weeks ago. That Woods prevailed both times speaks to how much better he's playing than his peers—if peers is the right word—and evokes memories of MJ laid up, sick, in Utah. With Woods, as with Jordan, we are left to wonder, Is he human or just toying with us?

PGA

If Woods, who beat Phil Mickelson by a stroke at the NEC Invitational for his fifth Tour win of the year, paid his caddie, Steve Williams, the standard 10% of his $1 million check, Williams's week was nearly as lucrative as that of Dot-tie Pepper, who earned $105,000 for winning the Oldsmobile Classic....

Jack Nicklaus was 23 years, eight months and 30 days old—exactly the same age as Woods was on Sunday—when he won the 1963 Sahara Invitational for his fifth victory of the season. No one younger has won as often in a year....

Notah Begay, whose first victory, at the inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open, included a course-record 63, is the first Native American to win a Tour event since Rod Curl at the 1974 Colonial.

LPGA

Pepper's victory at Walnut Hills Country Club in East Lansing, Mich., which came by two shots over Kelli Kuehne, was her 16th and moved her to within seven points of induction into the tour's Hall of Fame....

Karrie Webb tied for third and has 18 top 10s in 20 starts in '99....

At the LPGA sectional Q school at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla., U.S. Amateur champ Dorothy Delasin was one of 30 players to advance to the Oct. 19-22 finals in Daytona Beach. Jenny Chuasiriporn, the '98 U.S. Open runner-up, missed the cut but will try again at the second and last sectional qualifier Sept. 7-10 at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif.