Tuesday, September 12
By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN Golf Online
You wondered what more there was for him to accomplish.
|  | | Woods has the most wins in one season on the PGA Tour in 50 years -- and he isn't finished yet. |
Tiger Woods had already captured three major championships, the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to do so. He had won eight PGA Tour events for the second straight year, amassing enough cash to essentially clinch the money title without playing another event.
But Woods did have something to play for at the Canadian Open, a rare "triple crown" that is often overlooked when reviewing golf's greatest achievements.
By capturing the title -- again in dramatic fashion -- Woods joined Lee Trevino as the only players to win the national open titles of Britain, the United States and Canada in the same year.
As impressive as Woods' feat was -- his 6-iron from the bunker on the final hole will go down as one of the shots of the year -- Trevino's was more so. The Merry Mex did it in a period of five weeks.
In 1971, Trevino claimed the U.S. Open title in an 18-hole playoff victory over Jack Nicklaus at Merion Golf Club. Two weeks later, he won the Canadian Open at Quebec's Richeliu Valley Golf & Country Club, defeating Art Wall Jr. in a sudden-death playoff. A week later, it was on to the British Open at Royal Birkdale, where Trevino took the title by one shot over Lu Liang Huan.
The Royal Canadian Golf Association retroactively awarded Trevino a so-called Triple Crown prize, and a $25,000 bonus.
Although the circumstances were far different for Woods -- the Canadian came some two months after he captured the British Open at St. Andrews -- the atmosphere in Canada was that of a major championship.
It was Woods' first appearance since he captured the NEC Invitational and within hours of his commitment, all 150,000 tickets were gone.
Now the golf world can take a collective break. Woods is not scheduled to play again for five weeks, making his return at the Presidents Cup. He will then defend three titles -- the National Car Rental Classic, the Tour Championship and the American Express Invitational.
Woods now has nine victories, the most in any season since Sam Snead won 11 in 1950. And the $14.9 million he has earned in his last 38 tournaments is more than any other player has earned in a career.
Crazy eight
Colin Montgomerie's bid to win an eighth consecutive European Order of Merit will require a big season-ending push.
Montgomerie is currently in fifth place, some 700,000 euros behind leader Darren Clarke. Seven events remain on the European schedule, including the season-ending WGC-American Express Championship.
"Of course we have a number of larger tournaments left," Montgomerie said. "But I'm a long way back and it doesn't affect me the same way as it did. Six and seven were a bonus, if you like. Because I wanted five. Eight would be something else, but it doesn't affect me one way or another."
Pepper hurting
Dottie Pepper, the heart and soul of the U.S. Solheim Cup team, suffered a setback recently, trying to recover from a sore back. Pepper has a degenerating disc that is causing swelling and making it difficult for her to swing a club. Pepper was on medication and said to be improving.
"It's as good as it's been in awhile," she said. "I'm still very confident I'm playing as long as I don't have another relapse."
Pepper is 12-4-1 in Solheim Cup play. The Solheim Cup is next month in Scotland.
Oops
Senior Tour player Dale Douglass was the honorary spokesman for the Colorado Senior Open Golf Championship and had received the Colorado Open Lifetime Achievement Award at the pro-am banquet preceding last weekend's event.
So it was a bit awkward when tournament officials had to disqualify Douglass -- for wearing metal spikes.
Although metal spikes are allowed on the Senior Tour, they are in violation of Colorado Golf Association local rules for its tournaments. Douglass was the only player in the 108-player field wearing metal spikes.
Chip shots
We've not heard much from Casey Martin lately, mainly because he slips farther and farther down the money list -- which means he might not be riding his cart on the PGA Tour much longer. Martin is 172nd on the money list with $123,624. He's more than $150,000 out of the top 125 and will probably need to make about $250,000 the rest of the way in order to keep his fully exempt status.
Donald Trump's new course in West Palm Beach, Fla., Trump International, is reportedly being considered as the site for the 2003 World Match Play Championship. PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., former home of the PGA Seniors' Championship, is also in the running. If either scenario occurs, the Honda Classic in Ft. Lauderdale could lose its dates and
move to the fall.
After losing Ryder as a sponsor, Miami's Doral tournament has hooked up with Genuity. The trouble is agreeing on the proper name. The PGA Tour is trying to get away from two sponsor names and wants it to be called the Genuity Championship. Tournament officials are hoping the tour relents and allows the name Genuity-Doral Championship. If included in the name, Doral will kick in an extra $500,000 to the purse, raising it to $4.5 million. |  |
