Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 26, 1994 TAG: 9410270067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA. LENGTH: Long
Tiger Woods insisted he never thought about the social significance of what he was doing Tuesday. To him, it was just another golf course, another tournament and another victory. He's only 18 and his whole life is ahead of him.
But it was hard not to look back as Woods walked off the final green at Shoal Creek, a winner on the course that forever will be linked with golf's civil rights awakening. If there was any doubt before, this willowy, black teen-ager was proving once and for all that this sport is not for whites only.
``I just went out and wanted to play well,'' the Stanford freshman said after his two-shot victory in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate tournament, helping the Cardinal win the team competition. ``The significance to me is our team won, and I also happen to be the individual champion. That's what we came to do. We play to win.''
Four years ago, Shoal Creek founder Hall Thompson sparked a national furor when he said his all-white country club wouldn't be pressured into accepting blacks before the PGA Championship. Eventually, one black was admitted, and the PGA was forced to re-evaluate the membership policies of clubs around the nation.
Tuesday, while three black activists protested outside the front gate, Thompson spent a good part of the day trailing Woods around the course, probably as amazed as everyone else by the power of the drives, by the touch around the greens. Woods finished with a 25-foot birdie putt up a steep incline for a three-round, 10-under-par total of 206.
``You're a great player,'' Thompson said to Woods as he walked off No. 18 following a 5-under 67. ``I'm proud of you. You're superb.''
Entering the day three shots behind Auburn's Ian Steel, Woods overcame that deficit before they made the turn in front of the colonial-style clubhouse. But Stanford teammate William Yanagisawa made a charge, finishing at 208 with his second straight 68 to put the pressure on Woods heading to the final two holes.
At the par-5 17, Woods' distance off the tee allowed him to go for the green in two shots, and he wound up on the left fringe about 50 feet away from the hole. His first putt had nearly perfect speed, rolling just past the cup about 2 feet away. His tap-in was dead-eye perfect.
At No. 18, a downhill par-4, Woods' second shot rolled into a valley on the steeply sloped green. ``Go Tiger Woods!'' someone yelled from a house nestled a few hundred yards away amid the trees blazing with fall colors. When the putt snaked up the incline and dropped in the hole for another birdie, Woods raised his putter to those faraway fans.
``I hit the ball exactly the same way as I did the first two rounds,'' said Woods, who this year became the first black to win the U.S. Amateur and confirmed his status as the sport's rising star. ``It's just that more putts fell today.''
He makes this bedeviling game sound so easy. When asked about trying to reach the green in two at No. 11, the other par-5 on the back nine, Woods seemed befuddled.
``Why not?'' he asked. ``It was in my range, so I decided to go for it.''
Woods' 2-iron sailed over a creek and onto the green. The other two golfers in his group, including Steel, laid up short of the water.
Afterward, the Auburn golfer admitted it was tough to cope with the Tiger factor, especially with up to 100 people following their group around the course. College tournaments, including this one, usually draw only a handful of spectators.
``I knew most of the people out there were watching Tiger,'' said Steel, who struggled to a 73 in the final round but still finished tied for third with a 209. ``It's always tough when you have one of the best amateurs in the world playing with you. You can't really block it out. He's always going to be there.''
Woods has now played in two college tournaments with Stanford - and won them both. Add him to the four returning seniors from the school's 1994 national championship team and it's hard to see anyone beating the Cardinal this season.
Even against a strong field at Shoal Creek that included the last four NCAA team champions, it was no contest. Stanford blew everyone away, finishing with an 18-under 846 - 27 shots better than runner-up Auburn.
``It's not only Tiger, it's the whole team,'' said John Daly, who was on hand to help coach Arkansas, his alma mater, during his sabbatical from the PGA Tour. ``They've got everything. Stanford is better with the short game than any team I've ever seen.''
As Woods and his teammates left for home, the imposing black gate that separates Shoal Creek from the rest of the world closed behind them. But maybe, just maybe, the Tiger made a little dent in it.
by CNB