By Art Spander
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Tiger Woods would stand at a tee, and the imposed silence frequently was shattered by a shout of “You da man,” which in golf he very much was. But seemingly no longer is.
The man in golf now is Rory McIlroy, who, as the newer Tiger, the younger Tiger, has found room at the top of both the PGA Tour and European Tour, who has had the sort of year – five wins, one of those a major, the PGA Championship – Woods used to have.
Not that Tiger was awful. He did have four wins in 2012, three on Tour. Except none was a major. None, indeed, has been a major since the 2008 U.S. Open. And, as Woods agreed Tuesday, “Winning a major takes it to a whole new level.”
Woods figuratively is home this week, at Sherwood Country Club, just into Ventura County from the L.A. County line, where he’s the host – and defending champion, for a fifth time – in the World Challenge, now presented by Northwestern Mutual.
A small-field event, 18 golfers. An elite-field event, with Woods, Masters champ Bubba Watson, U.S. Open champ Webb Simpson, 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell, 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley and various Ryder Cup players. The World Challenge funds the Tiger Woods Foundation and learning center.
So much of the pre-tournament discussions for the World Challenge, which starts Thursday, were on the imminent joint announcement by the USGA and R&A of the probable banning of belly or anchored putters. Simpson uses one, for example, and said he has been practicing with what we would call a normal putter, in which only the hands are in use, not the body.
Still, it’s people who make golf – make every sport – and not equipment. It’s competition. And for this, we return to the game’s ultimate truism: It isn’t how, it’s how many. How many shots did you need? The golfer who requires the fewest wins.
Which McIlroy did last weekend in Dubai. He birdied the last five holes and came in two shots in front of Justin Rose. "I just wanted to finish the season the way I thought it deserved to be finished," said McIlroy.
The question was whether he finished Tiger’s chances of ever overtaking him. McIlroy is 23. The best is ahead. Tiger, in a month, will be 37. Is his best in the rear-view mirror?
“Rory is ranked No. 1 (in the world),” said Woods. “He deserves it . . . He should be very proud of the season he’s had, and I’m sure he’s excited about what next year holds for him as well, coming off a great year like this.”
The words are magnanimous, expected from one champion about another. But deep down, does Tiger think to himself, “I still can beat him, beat anyone”? Is he intent on proving those who belittle him, who degrade him, who make predictions of his demise?
“I needed to get to a point where I was playing a full season,” was Tiger’s response, “and where I was competitive, not where I was missing big chunks of time, which I had been over the past years.
“There were quite a few people out there who said I would never win again. Well, starting at this event, I won four times. That’s not too bad.”
"Not too bad" hardly is the description we once applied to Woods. A victory in the AT&T National in July was the 74th of his career, elevating him into second all-time, one better than Jack Nicklaus and eight behind Sam Snead.
Yet, we know and he knows – because Woods has reiterated the thought so often – without a major, the season is merely “not too bad.”
Nicklaus has 18 major triumphs. For four and half years, since the playoff victory in the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods has been stuck on 14, been stuck answering the unanswerable question of whether he’ll surpass Jack, or even equal Jack.
“Any time you’ve won a major championship, you’ve had a great year,’’ Woods insisted. “There are four guys (McIlroy, Watson. Simpson, Ernie Els) who have had great years this year in my opinion. And any time you get a chance to be part of history and put your name on one of the biggest trophies in our sport, it’s a great year.
“I know how it feels, and it feels incredible. It lasts with you, and that’s something I would like to have happen again.”
But will it? With Tiger slipping back in the final rounds of the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA this year, one wonders what the future holds. The adage is we’re not getting older, we’re getting better, but can a 37-year-old get better?
Tiger invariably had been good enough, until Rory McIlroy stepped forward and very much became Da Man. Silence please.
