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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Goosen leads Grand Slam

By Bill Kwon
Special to The Advertiser

PO'IPU BAY, Kaua'i — With a Tiger right on your tail, you worry.

Tiger Woods must have extraordinary vision as he tracks a 300-yard drive down the 16th fairway.

Associated Press

Retief Goosen leads Tiger Woods by one stroke going into today's final round of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. But the U.S. Open champion isn't betting against Woods winning the $1 million event involving the winners of golf's four majors for an unprecedented fourth straight time.

For good reason.

"He has an advantage on any course. Doesn't matter where we play," said the 32-year-old South African, who is playing here for the first time after winning his first major. But, especially at Po'ipu Bay Golf Course, which has become Tiger's personal playground.

Goosen shot a bogey-free 66 that included an eagle at the par-5 sixth hole, when he holed out a 25-yard pitch. Only a bogey at the ninth hole kept Woods, who won the Masters to qualify for the PGA Grand Slam for the fifth straight year, from a share of the lead.

David Toms, who won the PGA Championship, was two back of Goosen with a 68, while British Open winner David Duval, who also made a major breakthrough this year, struggled to a 4-over-par 76.

"I played poorly. I'm glad the day was over," said Duval, virtually out of contention in the 36-hole event after double-bogeying the fifth and seventh holes. He also bogeyed the par-5 18th, which always feels like a double bogey.

For the other three champions, today is final day in the quest for the $400,000 top prize. Second place is worth $250,000 and third $200,000.

At least Duval is assured of $150,000.

Woods was happy with his 67, considering he wasn't driving the ball well.

"I hit, I think, one fairway through 13 holes and was somehow under par," said Woods. "To end up 5-under-par ... (I) was pretty happy."

He made the shot of the day at the sixth hole, even though it was Goosen who eagled it.

With the help of a couple of bounces on the cart path, Woods ended up with a 379-yard drive that ended up in the right rough. He had 196 yards to the green but found a tree in the way. He shaped a low 6-iron around it to within six feet of the flag.

"The ball was sitting up, so at least I had a chance to play it," Woods said. "It came out absolutely perfect. That was as good as I could possibly hope for from that lie."

U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen slams a 3-iron toward the green on the par-3, 209-yard third hole at Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course.

Associated Press

The only bummer was that missed the eagle putt.

"I yipped it," said Woods, who came within inches of sinking a 50-foot eagle putt at the par-5 finishing hole, which he posted eagle-eagle to beat Vijay Singh in a playoff last year.

Playing in warm conditions under sunny skies with the trades at a minimum, the four champions — the first PGA Grand Slam since 1997 that didn't include an alternate or two — scorched the friendlier front nine for a combined 15 birdies and the eagle by Goosen, who along with Toms made the turn at 31.

But it was a different story on the longer back nine.

The four were asked about the difference and Toms volunteered to answer, saying he was the most qualified since he shot 5-under on the front and 1-over coming in.

He blamed it on the difficult pin placements — mostly back and left.

"The scoring opportunities really were not there coming in and I think you could see that by the way we played," Toms said.

A double-bogey at the par-3 11th cooled off Toms, who recovered with birdies at 14 and 15 before making a bad swing at another par-3, the 17th, that led to a bogey.

But just being able to play in the PGA Grand Slam — the culmination of what he calls a "dream" 2001 season — is reward enough, according to the 34-year-old native Louisianan, who wants to hurry back home to watch the LSU-Arkansas football game Friday.

The same goes for Goosen, who says the smart money is still on Tiger in today's 18-hole final. More so, if the trades pick up, says Goosen.