ESPN.com - Golf Online - Masters 2000 - Woods is on everyone's mind

By Jimmy Roberts
Special to ESPN Golf Online
Thursday, April 6

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- So here we stand on the doorstep of an historic year in golf, when the Opens --both British and U.S. -- will be at storied venues (St. Andrews and Pebble Beach). The defending Masters champion is one of only 14 men ever to have won the tournament more than once, and he was one of the lead players in perhaps the most dramatic sporting moment of 1999 -- the Ryder Cup.


	Tiger Woods is the clear-cut favorite at Augusta.

And what is it everybody is pre-occupied with as we head to Augusta? Not so much what, but whom. Who else?

Two of the first three questions Jose Maria Olazabal faced at his pre-Masters telephone press conference in February were about Tiger Woods.

People are starting to get prickly. Olazabal was gracious, but others haven't been quite so tolerant.

Two weeks ago at The Players Championship, Hal Sutton shot a first-round 69 on a difficult day to take the lead and then tromped into the press room. Within five minutes the talk turned to Tiger.

"I was wondering what the over and under was on how long it was going to take someone to ask me that question," Sutton grumbled. "Actually it went over. I couldn't believe it went that long. It never crossed my mind what Tiger was doing,"? "I find it difficult just to manage my own game, much less worry about what somebody else is doing."

Understand that Sutton is one of the most cooperative, giving players when it comes to the media. Primarily, he just doesn't think it helps a golfer's confidence -- or chances -- when all anybody wants to talk about is another golfer. But there's something else.

These are the best players in the world. At every level of their growth in this game, they have been the focus of attention. Think of how good you have to be just to get to the PGA Tour. Now back that off a level and imagine how big a star that player was in college or junior golf. No one can convince me that the current state of affairs isn't a little bit about bruised egos.

This isn't the first time we've seen this. Three years ago, after Woods won The Masters, he made his return at the Byron Nelson Classic in May, which he subsequently won. His legend was just starting to build, and so much of the early-round focus centered on Woods.

Player after player gave angry or curt responses when questioned on the subject. Woods didn't make things any better by saying he didn't have his "A" game, thus rubbing salt in the wound. But he was young and didn't really know any better.

Back then, Woods was an outsider who had really yet to prove himself worthy -- over the long haul -- of all the lavish praise he was attracting. Now, he's one of the boys, and so this chorus of criticism can really only mean one thing: The issue must really sting.

Oh, by the way, if anybody else wins, it will be a huge upset.

Around Augusta
A couple of other players and things to watch:

Jack Nicklaus. Last year was the first Masters in which he didn't compete since 1958. He's won six times, missed all of three cuts, and finished in the top-10 22 times. In 1998, with a bad hip, at the age of 58, he shot a final-round 68 and finished sixth. Two years later he has a new hip and, regardless of how he's playing coming in, he has to be thought of as a factor.

Greg Norman. In discussions with many players, about one thing there seems to be almost unanimous agreement. Norman is still one of the most physically talented players in the world. I could be wrong about this, but I've felt that over the past few years in most cases, when it came to tournament golf, the flame had cooled. There is one place where it still burns white hot: Augusta National.

The field. No longer is it so that if you win a PGA Tour event you're in the field. Many players seem unhappy about the switch to top 50 in the World Rnkingsas a criteria instead.

"It's like giving away a yellow coat instead of a green coat," said Tom Lehman. "The tradition is that it's a green coat. The tradition is that Gene Sarazan made a double eagle. The tradition is that you win a tournament, you get in. So don't change the tradition."


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