The New York Times-20080127-As Woods Pulls From the Pack- Golf-s Next Generation Is Waiting

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As Woods Pulls From the Pack, Golf's Next Generation Is Waiting

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Somewhere out there, a young boy has cut and pasted all Tiger Woods's records and career milestones. Rather than taping them to a wall by his bed, as Woods did when he was a child dreaming about beating Jack Nicklaus, this young golfer has set them up as the screensaver on his laptop and his cellphone. Every time he checks his e-mail or makes a call, he will think again about beating Tiger.

That may be the best answer to this question: who will emerge to supplant Tiger Woods, 32, as the world's No. 1 golfer? The usual answer is that we have not yet heard his name, or, if we have, it has not rung a bell.

With the arrival of the new season, scrutiny begins anew on another crop of 20-somethings, because the only thing golf fans like more than a dominant player is a rival who may have what it takes to topple him. Jason Day, 20, a tough-minded and talented Australian, and Anthony Kim, 22, an American with confidence that is as easy to see as his big silver belt buckles, are two for whom the bell may toll.

Last month, Day created a mini media-frenzy when he said he wanted to take down Tiger and become the No. 1 player in the world. The wisdom of his remarks was questioned by commentators, golf pundits and his fellow Australian professionals John Senden and Nick O'Hern. Jumping to Day's defense was Rory Sabbatini, the South African who also has made it clear he has no problem challenging Woods.

Personally, I think Jason Day is a phenomenal talent, Sabbatini told Brent Read of The Australian. I think he is going to be one of the fiercest competitors in years to come.

Would you want to raise a kid saying, 'Hey, listen, you can be No. 2, you can't be No. 1'?

Last week at Torrey Pines, Day put some context around his remarks, saying: I didn't want to create too much attention. It was just me -- I want to take down Tiger. He's the No. 1 guy in the world. If it takes me 5 years or 20 years, I've got goals that I want to achieve. Who doesn't want to become the No. 1 golfer in the world?

Some guys might be out here just to make some money, but I've always dreamed and it's always been my goal since I was a little kid that I want to become the No. 1 golfer in the world. That's probably the same as Tiger when he was in my spot.

It certainly is. Cut to the Woods who arrived at the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open for his first pro tournament. Curtis Strange, who briefly stood astride the golf world with successive United States Open victories in 1988-89, asked the young Woods on ABC-TV what his tournament goals were. When Woods replied that he went to every tournament with the intention of winning, Strange, a future Hall of Famer, condescendingly said, You'll learn.

Well, we all know who learned what. By the time Woods was Kim's age, he had won six tournaments, including his first of four Masters. Woods's friend Mark O'Meara said last weekend at the Bob HopeChrysler Classic that Kim, who tied for fourth there, had a swing that may be better than Woods's was at 22. But as O'Meara well knows, the swing is not the thing.

Challengers like Kim would do well to adopt Woods's mind-set if they ever hope to approach his achievements. By age 25, it is too late.

The promising 25-year-olds Hunter Mahan and Sean O'Hair, who each have won once on the PGA Tour, must consider that by the time Woods entered his 24th year, he had 15 tour victories and was about to embark on what some consider the single greatest season in golf history: nine victories, including the United States Open, the British Open and the P.G.A. Championship. The next spring, he won the Masters.

These numbers explain why potential challengers from Woods's generation have been tested and found lacking. The closest any active player comes to Woods's 61 PGA Tour victories is 32, by 37-year-old Phil Mickelson. Next is 44-year-old Vijay Singh, with 31.

Woods is set to win his fourth straight Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, finishing the third round Saturday with an eight-stroke lead over Stewart Cink. If he wins, he will tie Arnold Palmer for fourth on the career list with 62 victories. Mickelson, Singh and Davis Love III, who has 19 victories, are the only active tour players who are fewer than 45 behind Woods. Ernie Els, 38, would be next closest with 15 titles.

Sergio Garcia? Once known as El Nino, the 19-year-old who bounded up the fairway at the P.G.A. at Medinah, leaping to follow a shot he hoped would lead him to victory over Woods, Garcia is 28. Slowed to a walk, he has six tour victories, no majors. Trevor Immelman, who made the South African national team at 17, is 28 with one tour title.

He is out there somewhere. We may not have heard his name. David Lutterus, 22; Dustin Johnson, 23; Alejandro Canizares, 24? All are rookies. Could it be Day or Kim? Every winter, the questions arise. Woods has generally answered them all by the fall.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: Jason Day, 20, above, from Australia, and Anthony Kim, 22, at right, a Korean-American, are trying to unseat 32-year-old Tiger Woods as the world's top-ranked golfer. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY, ABOVE, GETTY IMAGES; ASSOCIATED PRESS) (pg.D1)