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The Battalion Page 3 * Monday, June 17, 2002
Woods halfway to Grand Slam with Open win
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP)
— A runaway winner again in the
U.S. Open, Tiger Woods is
halfway home to the Grand Slam
and still miles ahead of anyone
trying to stop him.
Challenged only briefly by
two of his biggest rivals. Woods
became the First player since Jack
Nicklaus in 1972 to capture the
first two major championships of
the year with a three-stroke victo
ry Sunday at Bethpage Black.
Next stop on his incredible
ride: The British Open in
Muirfield, five weeks away.
“1 just want to celebrate this
one,” Woods said. “None of them
are easy, but this one was real
tough.”
He made it harder with three-
putt bogeys on his first two holes
that quickly cut his lead to two
shots. But Woods was rock-solid
the rest of the way and simply
couldn’t be stopped — not by
Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia or
even a 49-minute rain delay that
threatened to put off the
inevitable until Monday.
The only sour note
bogeys on two of his final three
holes for a 2-over 72, the first
time he has won a major with a
final round over par.
He still finished three strokes
ahead of Mickelson, who is now
0-for-40 in the majors but hardly
felt like a loser.
“It’s certainly a difficult chal
lenge, five back to the best player
in the world,” Mickelson said
after closing with a 70.
Woods already has won his
own version of the slam. A
year ago, he became the first
player to win four straight pro
fessional majors, although
purists have argued it must be
done in a calendar year.
Don’t bet against him.
“I would like to win the slam,”
he said. “I’ve done it before.
Hopefully, I can do it again.”
The question
remains: Can
anyone stop
him?
His greatest
asset, as always,
is his mental
toughness, a les
son his father
taught him long
ago.
“I told him, ’I
promise you one
thing: You’ll
never meet
another person
as tough as
you,”’ Earl Woods said during a
telephone interview from his
hotel room near the course. “He
hasn’t. And he won’t.”
At 26, Woods won his eighth
major championship and now has
claimed seven of the last 11 —
unprecedented in golf’s four
biggest events.
It was the first
time the U.S.
Open was played
on a truly public
golf course, but
the Black Course
at Bethpage State
Park certainly
held its own.
Woods was the
only player to
break par over 72
holes, finishing at
3-under 277.
Perhaps when
the New Yorkers
get their course back next week
and pay $39 greens fees on the
weekend, they’ll have an even
greater appreciation of how
good this guy is.
“It’s awesome, winning your
national title and, on top of that,
on a public course in front of
these fans,” Woods said.
He has played only 22 majors
as a pro, and five of those eight
victories have come by at least
three strokes.
Mickelson and Garcia each
got to within two strokes at times,
but not for long.
Woods simply gave them no
chance. He missed only two fair
ways in the final round and putted
for birdie on 17 out of 18 holes.
Mickelson showed plenty of
heart, but it wasn’t enough — not
with Woods in the lead and on top
of his game.
Mickelson closed to within
two strokes of the lead with a
two-putt birdie from the fringe on
the par-5 13th to reach 2-under
par.
Woods answered. He reached
the 13th green with a 2-iron
from 263 yards and narrowly
missed the eagle putt. Still, his
three-stroke lead was restored,
and Mickelson made it easier
for him with bogeys on the 16th
and 17th holes.
It was Mickelson’s seventh
top-3 finish in a major, tying him
with Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper
with the most among players who
have never won one.
Jeff Maggert had a 72 and fin
ished third at 282, although he
was never a factor.
Garcia was the only other
player to make a run at Woods.
He got to within two strokes
after Woods three-putted the first
two holes, and stayed on his heels
until the 22-year-old Spaniard
See Open on page 4
I would like to
win the slam. Vve
done it before.
Hopefully, I can
do it again.
— Tiger Woods
U.S. Open champion
Juiced muscles, big salaries killing pro baseball
T he death of base
ball is rapidly
approaching, and
recent statements by two
fomier players about
rampant steroid use
among major league ath
letes might just be the nail in the
coffin for the sport that was once
“America’s Pastime.”
Already facing falling attendance,
team contraction anci an impending
player strike, the comments of for
mer all-stars Jose Canseco and Ken
Caminiti have brought into question
the integrity of the game, which
might push the business of baseball
into bankruptcy among American
sports fans.
The real question is not how
many players are using, which *
Caminiti and
Canseco place at 50
to 85 percent of MLB
players, but who
should be blamed for
the use of illegal sub
stances by players?
While the final decision to take
the drugs rests with the individual
players, do not ignore the benefits
these players might attain if they can
find just enough edge over their
competition to reach the elite status
among major league stars.
Owners such as the Texas Rangers’
Tom Hicks have written increasingly
higher payroll checks to players in an
attempt to boost ticket and merchan
dising sales, driving up the desire of
baseball players to be noticed as an
asset to a major league franchise.
Hicks signed all-star shortstop
Alex Rodriguez to an absurd 10-
year, $252 million dollar contract
before last season and Yankees’
owner George Steinbrenner shocked
no one when his team, which holds
the league’s highest payroll, bought
another trip to the World Series.
How can the players be blamed
for taking drugs to increase their
performance when one year with an
eight-figure salary could set their
families’ financial future and get
them a World Series championship
to boot?
Not many people would turn
away from the opportunity to make
eight figures for taking some pills or
a shot once a day.
However, players and owners
alike must face the reality that base
ball needs to rethink the direction
the game is going.
Players must wake up and realize
that the average salary among major
league athletes is close to $2.4 mil
lion per year for playing a game as a
career. The Players’ Union must
agree to random drug testing even if
it means nobody will be chasing the
home run record next year and even
if it prevents any player from receiv
ing eight-digit salaries.
Owners must stop offering record
setting contracts to players until they
agree to accept random steroid test
ing. In what has become more busi
ness than sport, it is the only way to
prevent these high dollar investments
See Steroids on page 4
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