Woods continues to impress, wins Mercedes’ title
■ PGA: Tiger Woods breaks
the $1 million career
winnings mark with win
The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, Calif. — Tiger
Woods nearly aced the first play
off hole in the rain-shortened
Mercedes Championships to de
feat Tom Lehman and win for the
third time in just nine starts as a
professional.
The $216,000 first prize gave
Woods $1,006,594 in career win
nings, the fastest anyone has got
ten to the $1 million mark by far.
And only Gene Sarazen and Hor
ton Smith won three events at a
younger age than the 21-year-old
Woods.
“It’s a perfect start,” Woods
said about winning the first tour
nament of the new season.
“I go out there trying to win
each and every tournament,”
Woods said.
And at times, it seems like he
might be able to do just that. In his
nine tournaments as a profession
al, he has finished in the top-five
six times.
Asked if he was surprised by
winning a third time so quickly,
Woods shook his head slowly and
said: “No, only because it is what
I set out to do — win every tour
nament.”
The almost unbelievable suc
cess Woods has had in his brief
professional debut at times seems
scripted by a Hollywood
filmwriter making a movie no one
would believe.
He added to his legacy on Sun
day when he stepped onto the
seventh tee at La Costa Resort and
Spa and sent a high, arching 6
iron 186 yards through the rain.
The ball drew ever so slightly
from right to left, plopped onto
the soggy green about 2 feet be
hind the hole and spun back to
within 8 inches from the hole.
“I lost it in the air because of the
clouds and the rain,” Woods said
about his winning shot. “A rain
drop hit me right in the eye when
1 looked up.”
The surprisingly large gallery
huddled under umbrellas in the
cold rain told Woods where the
ball ended up, erupted in a huge
roar, many shaking their heads as
if asking, “What else can this kid
do?”
The sensational shot helped
ease the disappointment of the
highly anticipated washed out fi
nal-round matchup between
Lehman — the player of the year
— and Woods — the rookie of the
year.
Both had finished 54 holes at
14-under-par, five strokes ahead
of Guy Boros, who received third
place money, and six better than
Paul Goydos and Fred Couples.
But a persistent rain made the
course unplayable, and tourna
ment officials decided to make it
a 54-hole event. Woods and
Lehman played No. 7 because it
was the only hole that was
playable. They would have con
tinued playing No. 7 over and
over until a winner was deter
mined.
Lehman hit first and immedi
ately took the pressure off Woods
by hitting his 6-iron into the wa
ter. All Woods needed to do was
put the ball on the green and two
putt.
He did much better than that.
“Tiger hit a great shot,”
Lehman said. “Of course, he had
no pressure on him,” he added,
clearly disgusted with his own
poor shot.
“1 hit it a little high on the club
face,” he said. “The wind caught
it and it went in the water.”
Woods, who said he played
conservatively all week because
he was rusty from lack of compe
tition, got better with each round.
He opened with a 70, followed it
with a 67 and then shot a 65 on
Saturday when he closed with
four consecutive birdies to tie
Lehman and get in the playoff.
Lehman was equally brilliant,
putting together rounds of 66, 67
and 69.
Both players were clearly dis
appointed that Sunday’s antici
pated showdown was washed
out. Friday night, Lehman was
voted player of the year by PGA
Tour members and Woods was
voted rookie of the year.
“I’d rather have played,”
Woods said. “You don’t want
anything given to you. You want
to earn it.”
So far, Woods has earned a re
markable lot in a very short time.
DIVOTS: All but three groups
made it onto the course before
play was suspended. ...Woods
warmed up for the playoff by hit
ting only his 5-iron on the prac
tice tee. He then hit a 6-iron on the
playoff hole. ...A poor weather
forecast removed any chance of
trying to finish the tournament on
Monday. “The chances are so
slim we could play 18 holes to
morrow that is didn’t make sense
to hold people over,” PGA Tour
commissioner Tim Finchem said.
...Ernie Els won $1 million in his
first 28 tournaments, the previous
fastest to that mark. Woods did it
in one-third the time. ...Finchem
walked into the media room dur
ing the rain delay preceded by a
PGA Tour official who whis
pered, “Quick, get the football off
TV.”
Injury gives Graf first-round win; Philippoussis drops out
■ AUSTRALIA: 1995 champ
Andre Agassi and women’s
star Jana Novotna won’t play
in the first Grand Slam
tournament of 1997
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia — Be
leaguered by injuries before it
even began, the Australian Open
got off to a stumbling start Monday
when Steffi Grafs first-round op
ponent twisted her knee after 25
minutes.
Graf led 5-1 in the first set when
Janette Husarova of Slovakia hurt
her left knee changing direction
while rushing the net. After hav
ing her knee wrapped in ice on the
court, Husarova left in a wheel
chair.
The top-seeded Graf, seeking
her fifth Australian Open title, had
such a short workout in the match
that she went directly from center
court to a practice court.
The year’s first Grand Slam
event lost its biggest name, or at
least the one with the most letters
in it and the most appeal to home
town fans, when Mark Philip
poussis withdrew with an arm in
jury on the eve of the tournament.
A year ago, Philippoussis put on
a dazzling show of power tennis to
knock out top-seed Pete Sampras
in the third round. On Sunday,
Philippoussis pulled out of what
looked like the best opening
round match, a center court duel
against Britain’s rising star, Tim
Henman, winner of the tuneup
tournament in Sydney on Satur
day.
The injured-and-out camp is
getting pretty full: defending
women’s champion Monica Seles,
French Open champion Yevgeny
Kafelnikov, Wimbledon champi
on Richard Krajicek, Todd Martin,
Cedric Pioline, Jason Stoltenberg.
The don’t-feel-like-playing
camp already claimed 1995 cham
pion Andre Agassi and Jana
Novotna.
The injured-but-will-try camp
includes Jim Courier, Michael
Stich and Guy Forget.
The Australian still has plenty
of top talent worthy of a major ti
tie, and among those scheduled to
play Monday — assuming they
don’t get hurt on the way to the sta
dium — is defending champion
Boris Becker.
Sampras, the men’s top seed,
had the first day off.
Becker appeared to have the
toughest assignment among the
high ranking men, going against
Carlos Moya. The Spaniard beat
Becker in Paris last fall and
reached the final in Sydney before
losing to Henman on the same
kind of hard, Rebound Ace court
that is used in the Australian
Open.
“He’s not just your typical
Spanish clay courier,” Becker
said. “He’s able to play on a quick
er surface as well, which is going
to make him more dangerous on
this surface. I’ve seen him a few
times playing and he’s no stranger
tome.”
Other featured matches on
opening day include Stich against
Sweden’s Patrik Fredriksson; 15
year-old Anna Kournikova of Rus
sia against No. 12 Amanda Coet
zer; and 1995 champion Mary
Pierce of France against No. 13
Elena Likhovtseva of Russia.
When Becker was healthy last
year — at the start and at the end
— he was one of the most domi
nant players on the tour, beating
all the top five players. He suffered
a freak accident when he injured
his wrist returning a serve at Wim
bledon, but came back strong to
lead the tour with $4 million in
prize money — including a $1.8
million victory in the Grand Slam
Cup.
At 29, Becker knows his time as
a Grand Slam tournament con
tender is getting shorter. He’s al
ready considering retirement in a
few years and would like to notch
another major or two before he
goes. Though ranked only No. 6,
hardly representative of his form,
Becker has no plans to pursue the
No. 1 spot by playing week after
week.
“I was always the one from all
the top players who played the
least,” he said. "I was never play
ing more than 15-16 tournaments.
I have my periods through the year
where I have to take a break. Oth
erwise you’re going to ruin your
body and your mind if you’re
playing nonstop every week.”
Becker gears up for the majors
and certain other big tournaments,
and sits out smaller ones. It’s an
approach he believes has enabled
him to stay near the top and keep
improving over the past few years.
“I think that’s one of my secrets;
why I am coming here for 13 years,
because I always paced myself. I
was never trying to bum myself
out early in the year. I am taking
my breaks when I feel like I need
to.”
Becker’s son, Noah, turns 3 next
Saturday, and that event will be
another hint to Becker that retire
ment is not too far away.
“When he goes to school, when
he has to be in one permanent
place, then I will retire,” Becker
said. “But the injury which I had
last summer showed me that it can
be over any day. I’m turning 30
this year, so I don’t have the fresh
est pair of legs and body. But I’m
still able to produce good tennis
when I’m healthy.”
BOARD VACANCY
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
GAIN EXPERIENCE
BE ON THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS!
Due to the retirement of Jody Watts, there is a vacant
Classified and Management Service Personnel position on the
U of O Bookstore Board of Directors through June 1998.
Applicants must be currently holding a full-time University position
within the category of classified service or management service.
Members attend monthly board meetings and serve on two
committees. Bookstore board members represent students, faculty
and staff of the U of O. Board members are directly involved in
making major policy decisions for the store.
All members receive a $50.00 monthly stipend
for serving on the Board.
All applications are due on
Friday, January 17,1997
Please pick up your application at the
Bookstore administrative office upstairs.
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