Tiger Woods hits out of a sand trap during the final round of the 1998 U.S. Open Golf Championship at the Lake Course of the Olympic Club in San Francisco, Calif., Sunday, June 21, 1998.ASSOCIATED PRESS

Woods looking to be 'major' contender again

Web posted June 22, 1998

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- So much for all that talk about a Grand Slam. These days, Tiger Woods would be happy just to get into contention at a major championship.

Once again, he found little reason to smile Sunday at the U.S. Open.

``I'm disappointed,'' Woods said after taking three straight bogeys early on, then three-putting the 18th from about 8 feet for a 73 that left him at 10-over 290 for the tournament.

``I came here to win, and I just didn't do it.''

Lately, Woods hasn't even come close, a far cry from the expectations of a year ago.

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After he walked off the 18th green at Augusta with a breathtaking, record-breaking win at the Masters last year, even Woods suggested it was possible to win all four majors in the same year.

``Whether it's realistic or not I couldn't really tell you,'' Woods said on the eve of the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional. ``But I think it can be done. Phil Mickelson last year won four times. Well, if you win the right tournaments four times, then you have the Slam.''

What Woods has since his 18-under-par 270 at the Masters is a rather ordinary record in the majors.

Since his Masters win, Woods has played his last 20 rounds in majors at 19-over par. The only time he has broken 70 was a 3-under 67 in the second round of the U.S. Open at Congressional, and a 7-under 64 in the third round of the British Open.

Since that third round at Royal Troon, Woods now has gone 13 straight rounds in the 70s at major championships.

The only major where he was under par through 72 holes was at the Masters. He had four rounds in the 70s, but his 3-under 285 was 15 strokes higher than the previous year.

Woods so thoroughly dominated Augusta in 1997 that Jack Nicklaus said, ``We've got a guy out there who has decided he wants to dominate the game.

``Whether he can do it,'' Nicklaus added, ``we'll have to wait and see.''

Five majors later, the waiting game continues.

Because no other course is more suited to Woods' game than Augusta, with its runway-sized fairways and total absence of rough, it was thought that Woods would struggle at courses that put a premium on driving accuracy.

There's no greater test than a U.S. Open, where 30-yard wide fairways are framed by rough that would make errant tee shots difficult to find without marshals marking them with tiny flags.

But going into the final round at Olympic, Woods was ranked 14th in fairways hit. His worst round was Saturday, when he hit only seven of 14 fairways -- and that was his best round of the tournament, a 1-over 71.

``What I'm impressed with is how well I drove it,'' Woods said. ``I hit four balls today that landed in the fairways and wound up in the deep stuff.''

What has bedeviled Woods lately has been his putter.

The 10-foot birdie putts kept him from winning twice on the PGA Tour earlier this year, and that same length -- usually for par at the U.S. Open -- has stopped rounds cold.

Twice this week, Woods has made double bogey with a four-putt.

``It's just one of those weeks when I haven't been able to put all the pieces together,'' Woods said.

Not that he hasn't tried.

After last season, when Woods won four times and became the first player to surpass $2 million in a season, he has geared himself toward the majors.

At The Players Championship this year, Woods said getting his game to peak for the Masters two weeks away was more important than winning the richest tournament of the year.

``I always go to every event to win, but you also have to look at what are your ultimate goals,'' Woods said. ``My ultimate goals are to win majors.''

No one ever said it would be easy.