Golf fans were waiting for the showdown: Tiger Woods vs. David Duval. Thousands of spectators were going to sit at the 18th hole of the 2001 PGA Grand Slam and marvel as Woods drained one more golden eagle-the stroke that
Golf fans were waiting for the showdown: Tiger Woods vs. David Duval.
Thousands of spectators were going to sit at the 18th hole of the 2001 PGA Grand Slam and marvel as Woods drained one more golden eagle-the stroke that would ultimately down golf pal, Duval, by the slight margin of a six-foot putt.
Nearly 55-percent of golf journalists and industry representatives thought this would happen, although not so specifically. In a recent poll, those golf enthusiasts said Woods would out duel Duval and win an unprecedented fourth consecutive Grand Slam title.
Wait, aren’t there four contestents putting for the Grand Slam prize?
If industry pros somehow forgot about U.S Open Champion Retief Goosen and PGA Champion David Toms, they were surely reminded in yesterday’s first round of Grand Slam play.
Goosen led the round with a 6-under par 66, while Toms trailed Woods’ 5-under performance by a stroke.
Duval, who many thought would challenge Woods as Vijay Singh did only a year ago, shot a miserable 78 in what he described as “a day he would like to forget.” Duval said he’d be hitting the golf course later in the afternoon to get himself back on track. But he will have to have a perfect day, tomorrow to catch up with the pack.
Goosen, who admitted he wasn’t strong in par-five holes, said he was happy with how he performed on Tuesday.
“I was 4-under on the par-fives, so I didn’t play them too bad today. Maybe I am just not driving straight enough on the par five, but today I missed three of the fairways on the par five and had two fours and a three. I suppose you could say I got a bit lucky, today.”
Woods wasn’t so lucky. He missed the fairway off the drive 12 times.
On the seventh hole, Duval missed the course all together.
Toms, who never won a major championship until his PGA Championship victory, was also pleased with his peformance, which mirrored an impressive 2001 season for the LSU graduate.
“Just to sum it of, I’ve had kind of a dream season,” said Toms. “I’ve been a successful tour player. I guess you could call me that. But until this year, I never done anything extra special, never even been close to playing in this golf tournament.”
Tomorrow, golf fans get two new faces to watch a showdown at Poipu. Although the two commented it would be difficult to beat Woods in 36, especially if the wind picks up, even they didn’t feel they pulled out their best golf in the first round
Toms, who shot 1-over on the back nine, said he needed a stronger performance to walk away with the title.
Goosen agreed.
“I was not hitting the ball all that well myself at the tee, today,” said Goosen. “I missed quite alot of fairways. but I think tomorrow, I might be a little bit better on the golf course than I did today.”
