It was about this time 12 months ago that Tiger Woods began what has since become a stunning dominance of tournament golf. As far as would-be rivals were concerned, fallibility ended on August 22nd 1999, when victory in the USPGA Championship was followed by a share of 37th place for the relatively modest reward of $12,480 in the Sprint International at Castle Pines.
From there, in an extremely active wind-down to the 1999 season, Woods proceeded to win the NEC Invitational, the Disney Tournament, the US Tour
Championship, the American Express Championship, the PGA Grand Slam of Golf and both the individual and team awards in the World Cup. And from 13 US Tour events this year, he has won six, including his third and fourth major titles.
Against that background, it seems reasonable that he should adorn the current cover of Time magazine. Certainly, the timing was rather convenient, coming as it does between the Republic and Democratic presidential conventions. Yet it happens to be the first time he has been alone on Time's cover, having been part of a montage of "influential" Americans after his 1997 US Masters win.
Normally, his tournament plans are not revealed until the deadline for entry on the Friday before the event. But there are exceptions, such as this weekend's Buick Open in Michigan where he is honouring a General Motors contract which will contribute to endorsement earnings of $42 million this year, $7 million more than the next highest sportsman who happens to be his friend, Michael Jordan.
Then he defends the USPGA Championship at Valhalla next week, followed by the defence of the NEC at Firestone. And on August 28th, he plays Sergio Garcia in a nationally televised exhibition match at Bighorn GC in Palm Desert.
After that, Woods' tournament activities are expected to be light until the President's Cup in Virginia on October 19th to 22nd. But there will be other demands on his time. Like a Curtis Strange charity event on September 11th, a Tiger Woods Foundation clinic in Virginia on September 24th and 25th and Tiger Jam III.
Tiger Jam what? Let it be known to all of you erstwhile cats that Grammy Award-winning artists, Christina Aguilera, LeAnn Rimes and Seal are expected to attract an attendance of more than 9,500 to this concert in Las Vegas on October 7th. Funds go to the Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF) and children's charities based in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, Woods continues to spread his wings as a truly international player. He has agreed to lead the US team with a yet-to-be-named partner in defence of the World Cup in Buenos Aires on December 7th to 10th - his first visit to South America.
It seems that Mark O'Meara, his partner in Kuala Lumpur last November, will not necessarily be an automatic choice for the change to a foursomes format. Woods is said to be also considering former world number two David Duval for whom he had special words of consolation after the British Open at St Andrews last month.
We can take it that the young Mr Woods will make the correct choice, given that he hasn't put a foot wrong in any of his other golfing decisions of late.
Quote: "I wanted to be the best fighter in the world, like Muhammad Ali. People thought I was crazy." One-time Mexican lightweight hope, Esteban Toledo, who has now won $1.5 million on the US Tour.
