Tiger Woods

The International: Final Round Notebook

By David R. Holland, Regional Staff Writer

CASTLE ROCK, CO - Was it a runny nose and cough that sent Tiger Woods home to Florida on Saturday, missing the 54-hole cut for the final round of The International at Castle Pines? Maybe.

Most likely it was just the result of his grueling schedule during last week's major championship win at the PGA in Medinah. He was already worn out when he finished his round last Sunday and then he faced hours of media attention, which he accomplished with his usual smile.

When he arrived in Colorado he flew on to Aspen on Tuesday for a charity golf event. His body had to be feeling it.

"I maybe got two hours of sleep on Friday night and came out here to play on Saturday," Woods said. "It's hard enough walking up the hills and breathing this thin air. I got a cold a couple of days ago and my body has been through a lot. I'm just worn out."

Saturday he was in good shape to make the cut when he reached the 18th tee. But his drive scooted behind the ropes, in the woods. He took a one-stroke penalty drop from an unplayable lie and his next shot found the sand in the left bunker. The sand shot came to rest on the far-side fringe and he two-putted for the disastrous double bogey and minus-three points. That was it. He was headed home too early for the mind-boggling crowds that followed him all day.

"In hindsight I probably shouldn't have played this week," Wood said. "But you have to honor your commitments."

He won't be home long. Woods is scheduled to play in next week's WGC-NEC Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.

THE DUCK HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED

	David Toms

Going in to The International's final round, David Toms was the wire-to-wire leader. Who is this off-season duck hunter anyway?

For one thing he had a heck of a junior career -- Word Junior Champion and PGA National Junior Champion.

"I was All-American in college (LSU) at the same time as Phil Mickelson, Billy Mayfair, and Bob Estes. I'm just a typical PGA Tour pro that just does his business," he said. "I don't necessarily like to be in the limelight -- I just want to do my thing and practice hard, work hard and keep my love for the game."

Playing in the last group on the last day didn't mean the spotlight was on Toms on Sunday. "I realize the gallery will pay more attention to Sergio Garcia and David Duval. On Saturday playing with Duval every time we walked up to the green the attention was on Duval," Toms said.

"That's fine. In a few weeks he will be playing on the Ryder Cup and I am going to be pulling for him. I like playing with Duval because he is a great player and exciting to watch. Saturday on the 14th tee I told him he was making me swing too hard because he was hitting it too far, but I understand that. You have to accomplish things before you are going to be a fan favorite," Toms said.

As far as duck hunting? "My wife says I go too much. I went just about every day in the off-season, maybe that was too much," he said.

POWER SERGE

	Sergio Garcia

Another way to be an instant fan favorite is to have a magnetic personality and world-class talent at age 19. Sergio Garcia, at 5-foot-8, 150 pounds, uses a steel-shafted driver when all the guys around him are playing with the latest technology. He is still pounding the ball out there as far as the longest hitters on tour.

"I think I hit it long because I am really confident," Garcia said. "That's the first thing. To hit it long you have to strike the ball right and you have to swing with a lot of speed. That's what my swing is all about. I am not very tall and I don't have a lot of muscles, but I get my speed on the downswing and that gives me some more yards."

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
AND THE PGA TOUR

Sun Microsystems' computerized scoring system, used in this week's International, could just make some deceased Depression-era sportswriters turn over to take a look.

• Toms Claims Wire-to-Wire Victory • Sergio Garcia Makes Golf Fun Again • Complete Coverage from The International • Past articles by David R. Holland

High school football is harder to cover than the PGA Tour. First off, you have to keep your own play-by-play. As you are doing that you have a separate sheet to keep track of the statistics -- first downs, rushing yardage, passing attempts and completions, punts, fumbles.

And just when you are ready to write or call in your story from a rickety 10 X 10-foot press box in the Central Texas home of the Hutto Hippos or the Itasca Wampus Cats, the maintenance man turns the lights out and expects you to high-tail it.

On the PGA Tour there's the interview room where all the contenders come in after their rounds to chat with the media. Shoot, you don't even have to take notes, the tournament staff will do that for you, type them up and bring them to your seat. That's been done for years.

	Castle Pines

But now there are Sun Microsystems computers with the latest info within eyesight that will tell you everything you want to know in real-time. There's an up-to-the-minute leader board.

Just highlight David Toms name and there's everything you would want to know about the 5-foot-10, 160-pounder from Shreveport, LA. Even the older tour writers were able to figure it out.

There is also everything you would want to know about the golf course, including 3D audio-videos of each hole and statistics galore.

At Castle Pines this week 125 terminals were placed at the 15th, 16th and 18th holes and between the ninth and 18th fairways. They were also in the media room, in corporate tents and in homes.

This was the first time the system has been used and the plan is to take the scoring system to the Internet next year after trying it out on an "intranet". So using the system at The International was an in-house dry run. It was a big success.