Triumphant World Cup partner David Duval yesterday accorded due deference to Tiger Woods and his current dominance at the end of another remarkable season. "Unless he misses cuts for the next two straight years, he's going to stay ranked number one in the world," said Duval expansively.
He went on: "His winning percentage is amazing and all you can do is commend Tiger for his efforts." This humble outpouring was by way of dodging a straight answer as to whether the heroes of Buenos Aires would be back in action when the World Cup goes to the Taiheiyo Club, Gotemba, Japan, next November.
Duval stated the obvious by adding: "It's up to Tiger to pick his partner." And the giver of the gift was typically non-committal, saying: "I would love to team up with David, if everything works out. We'll see what happens."
Indeed we will. But everybody concerned with the new format, which gave fresh emphasis to the concept of playing partners, will be hoping that Woods and Duval can do for the tournament what compatriots Fred Couples and Davis Love did in four successive US victories from 1992 to 1995.
Meanwhile, it seems there is no way of putting even a modest dent in the Woods coffers. Last Thursday, he was fined $100,000 dollars by the American Screen Actors Guild for shooting a non-union Buick commercial during its six-month strike against advertisers. But he would have been greatly relieved, no doubt, to learn that 50 per cent of the fine was suspended, on the understanding there would not be a repetition.
Three days earlier, Woods pledged $500,000 for construction of an outdoor pavilion at Target House, a temporary residence for families of patients treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. By the time last Sunday's Buenos Aires pay-off of $500,000 is lodged to his account, the difference will hardly be noticeable.
Against that background, it comes as something of a surprise that there is, in fact, one area of his life he would gladly change. "The only thing I wish is that we lived in Star Trek days, which means we could be beamed anywhere," he said.
But even Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise, couldn't claim such international prominence at the end of an eight-week tour of duty which saw the world number one go from Virginia to Florida to Georgia to Spain to Thailand (via London's Hyde Park) to Hawaii to California and finally to South America.
"It's taken its toll - I'm a little worn out," Woods admitted, before boarding the private jet which took him back home for a well-earned rest.
The lay-off will extend sufficiently long for him to miss the Andersen Consulting World Matchplay in Melbourne on January 3rd-7th, when an old rival, Darren Clarke, will be defending the title.
Out of 26 tournament appearances this year, Woods has had 12 wins - 13 if one includes the Presidents Cup triumph - five seconds and 23 top-10 finishes. All of which earned him an astonishing Stf£7.3 million. In fact he is now the biggest money-winner in golf history with more than Stg£16 million amassed in little more than four years.
Meanwhile, a measure of Padraig Harrington's advancement during the last 12 months is reflected in the line-up for the US Masters next April 5th to 8th. Having scraped into a debut appearance last April, when he performed admirably for a share of 19th place, Harrington qualifies on two counts this time around.
By finishing tied fifth in the US Open at Pebble Beech last June, he gains one of eight exemptions for that event. And as the current, 24th-ranked player in the world, he easily gets among the top-50 who gain Masters exemptions.
In this context, it is interesting to note that he is now more highly qualified than Clarke, as far as next year's "major" championships are concerned. But, naturally, with a current world ranking of 12th, the Tyroneman will have no difficulty in being accorded exempt status.
