Golf Cub

Still, standing over that ugly lie in the 18th fairway, he needed one more miracle. He drew back the fairway wood and swung through, connecting with an awful thud. It was the sound that a weekend duffer hears when he has picked his head up. The ball took one skip on dry land before plunging into the drink. Tiger pulled the bill of his cap down over his eyes. He would finish with his only bogey of the day and a five-under-par 69, three strokes behind O'Grady.

An hour later Tiger sat alone in the parking lot, in the front scat of his father's Mustang, with his head buried in his hands and his thoughts on everybody but himself. What would his parents think? Or his 33-year-old half brother, Kevin, who would have caddied for him in the L.A. Open? He considered Brunza, who was surely thinking about Tiger even while stationed with the Navy in the Middle East. And there was something else.

Earl Woods and Nguyen Phong of the Republic of Vietnam army had fought side by side in 1970 and had saved each other's lives before Phong disappeared. Earl is convinced that his friend is still alive. He looked upon Phong as a man with the strength and the will of a tiger, and he called Phong by that name. When Eldrick was born, Earl nicknamed him Tiger, with the hope that "my son would be as courageous as my friend. I also hoped that someday, somehow, Phong would see the names Tiger and Woods together and make the connection."

These expectations are what Tiger couldn't bear to watch disappear when his ball plunked into the pond at Los Serranos. But he was soon cheered by the argument that if he qualified for the L.A. Open next year, he could still become the youngest golfer to play in a PGA tournament. Bob May, now an Oklahoma State senior, was 16 years, 3 months and 18 days old when he played in the Los Angeles Open in 1985.

Tiger also took solace when he learned that his bid for an eagle on 18 was justified. At the end of the day, John Burckle, the leading money-winner on the 1990 Golden State tour, posted an eight-under 66 to tie O'Grady and gain the second spot in the L.A. Open. Tiger would have needed that eagle to force a playoff.

"Honestly, I felt myself rooting for him," Hinds said. "I was hoping he would get into the tournament so I could watch this awesome kid play against Kite and Crenshaw and those guys. After seeing Tiger play, you can't help but wonder what might have been."

Or what could be.