Coming off a victory in Atlanta, Tiger Woods returns to defend his 1998 GTE Byron Nelson Classic title. Again the top ranked player in the world, Woods believes his game is more consistent this season even though he only has one PGA tour victory.
"Even though I hadn't won this year until Atlanta, I was sporting the lowest stroke average on tour. I'm shooting good rounds. I'm managing my game well. It's just a matter of getting the right breaks at the right time and winning," said Woods. "I guess you could compare it with Michael (Jordan). MJ goes out and scores 20 points, what's wrong with him. Even though I was finishing in the top ten week after week, I just haven't won."
Pointing his game to peak at the remaining three majors, Woods has fond memories of last year's victory. "I think it was the lowest start I have ever had as a pro. I went 64, 64 and went on to win the tournament. But I guess the fondest memories was sitting next to Byron Nelson and having dinner with him and him telling the stories that he has. That was a pretty special time," Woods recalls.
"He took me under his wing a little bit and shared some thoughts that he has seen over his years and things, some of the pitfalls that are out here on tour. I think it's like one generation talking to another generation and hopefully when I become of age I'll be doing the same thing to another player," Woods continued.
Since his phenomenal start last season, Tiger has noticed some changes to golf. "One, you see more kids out there now than you ever had, see more minorities following it in the galleries and you see these players starting to become more athletic and get in shape, lift weights, do cardio. It's just going to be in amazing in 10, 15, 20 years from now when guys come on tour starting out doing that at a very early age," said Woods.
Looking to the future, Woods believes more athletes will be playing golf and it will have a definite impact. "I mean, if you would see a Michael Jordan coming into the game, the eye/hand coordination, that kind of physical talent playing golf. It would be great to see, amazing to see how far he could hit and the touch he would have. You'll see true athletes coming to golf. They try it and stick with it. Then that's when you'll see a lot of records being broken."
Despite the presence of the stars of the new generation of golf - Justin Leonard, David Duval, Ernie Els - Tiger Woods remains a serious threat to be that great athlete who breaks a lot of records.
1998 GTE Byron Nelson Notes
This will be the 45th GTE Byron Nelson Classic, which, as the Dallas Open,
first was played in 1944. The first Dallas Open, won by Byron Nelson, was
played at Lakewood Country Club. In 1968, the tournament was renamed the
Byron Nelson Golf Classic and moved to Preston Trail Golf Club. The
tournament moved to Las Colinas in 1983.
Tiger Woods is attempting to join Sam Snead (1957-58), Jack Nicklaus
(1970-71) and Tom Watson (1978-79-80) as the only golfers to win
consecutive GTE Byron Nelson Classic titles. Watson won the PGA TOUR
event three consecutive years.
Ernie Els and Tiger Woods share the 72-hole scoring record at the GTE
Byron Nelson Classic. In 1995, Els shot 17-under-par 263 to defeat D.A.
Weibring, Mike Heinen and Robin Freeman by three strokes. Last year, Woods
matched Els’s total in defeating Lee Rinker by two.
The 18-hole scoring record at the Tournament Players Course at Las
Colinas and the Cottonwood Valley Course is 9-under-par 61. In 1993, Billy
Mayfair shot a second-round 61 on the TPC on his way to tying for second
place behind Scott Simpson. Charlie Rymer matched that match in the third
round in 1996 and finished tied for 18th. Ernie Els shot a second-round 61 en
route to his victory in 1995.
The TPC at Las Colinas and the Cottonwood Valley Course ranked as the
29th and 46th most difficult of the 53 courses played on the PGA TOUR in
1996. The TPC played to a stroke average of 69.718, 0.282 under par;
Cottonwood Valley played to a stroke average of 68.896, 1.104 under par.
Don Dowell is the Editor/Publisher of Golf in the SouthWest
(May 12, 1998)©