by John Shearer
posted December 19, 2009
Since his Nov. 27 wreck, professional golfer Tiger Woods has been constantly in the news as a result of accusations of marital infidelity and his decision to take some time off from golf.
When he played in two top amateur golf tournaments at the Honors Course in Ooltewah back in the 1990s, he drew the attention of Chattanoogans simply for his golf skills.
He played in both the U.S. Amateur in 1991 as a 15-year-old and then won the NCAA individual title in 1996 as a 20-year-old sophomore at Stanford.
When he arrived in Chattanooga for the U.S. Amateur, he was already well known for his golfing talent, as he had been featured on numerous television shows as a golfing boy wonder. He had also become the first black to win the U.S. Junior Amateur that year and had been the youngest golfer ever to win the prestigious Insurance Youth Classic in 1990 as a 14-year-old.
Despite the impressive resume, most thought he was a little too young to win the U.S. Amateur that year against a field that included Phil Mickelson, David Duval, winner Mitch Voges, and Gary Nicklaus, whose famous parents, Jack and Barbara Nicklaus, followed their son around the Honors Course.
As Chattanooga Times sports writer Buck Johnson remarked that week regarding Woods, “His time is probably two or three years away.”
Those would be prophetic words, as Woods would win the first of three straight U.S. Amateurs in 1994.
Handicapping Woods at the 1991 U.S. Amateur in Chattanooga was not only his age, but also the fact that he had traveled from playing in the Canon Cup in Colorado the day before and received little sleep before his first round.
He also did not have time to play a practice round, although his caddy and half brother, Kevin Woods, had walked the course.
The then-Cypress, Calif., resident teed off at 8:42 a.m. on No. 10 at the Honors Course during the first round on that Tuesday, Aug. 20, and was playing with Jeff Stavroff from Ohio and John Grace from Texas.
He finished with a 78.
After his round, he did not go into the media room. But he did tell Chris Dortch of the Times as he was making a quick departure, “I played on adrenaline today. I wish I could have had a practice round.”
He added, however, that he did not regret playing in the Canon Cup because his West junior team had beaten the East.
The 78 pretty much doomed Woods. He shot a 74 the next day at Cleveland Country Club, which was also a host club for the tournament, and missed advancing to match play by four strokes.
Chattanoogan Wes Brown, who ran the Moccasin Bend Golf Club for a number of years, remembered in a 2006 interview that Woods’ family had rented motel rooms for the week, so they ended up playing a number of area courses, including The Farm in Dalton, Ga., and Moccasin Bend.
For the Moccasin Bend round, Mr. Brown joined Woods, his half brother, and his late father, Earl Woods, a Vietnam War veteran and pioneering black baseball player at Kansas State.
“He had a nifty 68 and birdied the last three holes,” Mr. Brown remembered of Tiger at the time. “His father was a fine individual and so was his half brother.”
When Woods came back for the NCAA five years later, he was without a doubt the favorite to win. In fact, he was already starting to exceed even the already-high expectations placed on him as a youngster.
As a result, he was the main focus of the local media.
In an interview with Mr. Dortch before the 1996 tournament, he said he understood that his achievements as a son of a black father and Asian mother might make people of all races drawn to both him and the sport of golf.
“It’s a privilege,” he said, citing the values that his father taught him. “Not too many people get a chance to become role models. I’ve been able to give a lot of clinics for kids from inner cities.”
While in Chattanooga for the tournament, he gave at least one of his clinics for underprivileged youngsters.
He also put on a clinic during the tournament simply by his play, at least during the first three days.
After starting with a 3-under 69 to trail Pat Perez of eventual team champion Arizona State by one stroke on the opening day on May 29, he shot a competitive course record 67 the second day to lead by three strokes. He birdied every par 5 at the Honors Course, the same successful strategy that would later help him win a few Masters tournaments.
His margin was stretched to an amazing nine strokes the next day with a 68.
However, the Pete Dye-designed Honors Course would humble Woods in his final round, just as it did in his first round at the course five years earlier.
He skied to an 80, but still won the tournament.
The word while he was in Chattanooga was that he might turn pro soon and forego his final two years of eligibility at Stanford. One prognosticator was estimating he could make up to $25 million over the next five years if he paid attention to marketing.
After winning his third U.S. Amateur in dramatic fashion a few months after the Chattanooga tournament, Woods did turn pro.
And the next spring as a 21-year-old, he won his first major – the Masters – by a runaway score after a slow start.
He was on his way to amazing success in the sport.
He was also about to have to learn how to deal with the temptations that fame and wealth bring.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net
| Dining Out | Business | Movies | Focus | About Us |
| Church | Living Well | Memories | Outdoors | Real Estate | Student Scene | Travel |
