Woods' 61 at Po'ipu Bay best by a pro in Hawai'i

By Bill Kwon

I still can't get over Tiger Woods' 11-under-par 61 when he won his fifth straight PGA Grand Slam title at the Po'ipu Bay Resort Golf Club last week on Kaua'i. To me, it's the greatest round of golf played locally by a PGA professional.

TOP: Tiger Woods surprised even himself with a round of 11-under-par 61 during the final round of the Grand Slam of Golf at Po'ipu Bay Resort Golf Club last week. Fellow Grand Slam participant, Davis Love, III, called it, "one of the better rounds I've seen in a long time." ABOVE: David Duval also had one of the best rounds by a professional on a Hawai'i course with a 10-under 63 at Kapalua's Plantation Course during the 1999 Mercedes Championships. Associated Press library photos

"I was surprised at some of the shots," he said.

Woods has posted two previous competitive 61s in an already brilliant career. But when asked to compare his latest 61 that made Justin Leonard, Davis Love III and Rich Beem look as though they belonged in another league, Woods said he never played any better.

"Every shot I hit was in the middle of the (club) face," said Woods, who gave the other three major champions a how-to golf clinic by hitting pure shot after pure shot.

"I hit just a lot of good shots, got on a roll and it just kept going. That's when you know things are going right. It's a lot of fun when everything works like that."

"I'm just glad I was part of it so I could watch Tiger shoot 61," said Beem. "That was the highlight of my day."

One of Tiger's shots that left the reigning PGA champion in awe came at the 384-yard, par-4 13th. After a 3-wood off the tee, Woods hit a 9-iron from 136 yards to within a foot of the pin.

"That shot was ridiculously so good, you can't believe it," said Beem, who told himself, "There's no way."

"Enjoyed watching Tiger's round," added Love. "It was one of the better rounds I've seen in a long time."

Well, nearly nine years at least.

That was in the 1994 United Airlines Hawaiian Open when Love shot a sensational 12-under-par 60 in the second round at the Waialae Country Club.

It's still Love's career low round.

Twelve under beats 11-under any time, you say. So why do I think Woods' 61 should rank higher than Love's 60?

For one, Waialae's a lot easier golf course than Po'ipu Bay.

Also, Woods was on target on every shot and the longest of his 11 birdie putts was 20 feet. His closest brush with bogey was a 4-foot putt for par at the par-3 17th hole.

Love eagled three of the par-5s and sank a 50-foot birdie "bomb" at the par-3 17th in his remarkable round which will probably never be surpassed now that Waialae is a par-70 for the Sony Open in Hawai'i, which replaced the Hawaiian Open.

Finally, Woods' 61 made his drive for five a runaway success as he also set tournament records for low front nine (30), lowest 36-hole score (127) and margin of victory (14 strokes).

Love's magical 60 wasn't good enough to win as he played the final two rounds in two-under to finish second by one stroke to Brett Ogle.

It was a g'day for Ogle, but a g'night soon after. It was the last tournament the injury-plagued Australian ever won. Love, on the other hand, is ranked third on the all-time money list behind Woods and Phil Mickelson with $20 million in earnings.

Kapalua's par-73 Plantation Course is the site of the next three best single rounds of golf locally — tournament record 10-under-par 63s by Mike Weir and Duval in the Mercedes Championships and by Steve Pate in the 1997 Lincoln-Mercury Kapalua International, an unofficial PGA event in its 16th and final year. The event's last winner? Davis Love III.

Duval's 63 came in the second round and he went on to win the tournament by nine strokes.

"I hit it close and made the putts. You don't just putt well and shoot 10-under-par, you have to hit it well also," said Duval, who went on to shoot a PGA record-tying 59 in the final round of the Bob Hope Classic for back-to-back victories.

Weir's 63 rocketed him to the first-round lead in this year's Mercedes Championships, but he finished tied for 14th, watching Sergio Garcia beat David Toms in a playoff.

Tiger: 'We'll see'

For the fifth straight year, Woods was dutifully asked if he would play in the Sony Open the week following the Mercedes Championships.

For the fifth straight year, Woods said, "We'll see."

Woods — who will host this week's Target World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif. — Beem and Leonard are eligible for the winners-only 2003 Mercedes Championships Jan. 9-12 at Kapalua, Maui.

Taking a cue from Woods, Love also said, "We'll see." Not having won a tournament in 2002, Love hadn't planned on playing in the Sony Open. He had figured to begin the 2003 season at the Bob Hope Classic.

"Now I'm more on the fence," said Love. "The Hope's kind of late to be starting the year."

Even if Woods or Love skips the Sony Open, the 2003 field is expected to be the best yet at Waialae with Beem, Leonard, Garcia, British Open champion Ernie Els and Tour Championship winner Vijay Singh set to join defending champion Jerry Kelly.

Bill Kwon can be reached at bkwon@aloha.net