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Daily Newspaper and Travel Guide
for Pecos Country of West Texas
Sports
Tuesday, December 28, 1999
Woods named top athlete of `99
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 1999 -- The next time Tiger Woods says that he only
plays to win, pay close attention.
After working for nearly 18 months to get comfortable with his new swing,
Woods unleashed one of the most dominant golf seasons in the second half
of the 20th century and left his peers wondering how much better he can
get.
He won nine of his last 13 tournaments and earned $7.6 million worldwide.
Perhaps the best statement of his supremacy is this: Woods won more PGA
Tour events in the final five months of the season (6) than any other player
won in an entire season this decade.
On Monday, Woods was named The Associated Press Male Athlete of the
Year in a close vote over Lance Armstrong.
"It's great to be selected, very humbling to be part of that," said
Woods, who won the award for the second time in three years. "A lot of
great athletes have won this award."
Woods received 29 first-place votes and 144 points from AP member newspapers
and broadcast outlets. Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win
the Tour de France, had 31 first-place votes and finished with 130 points.
Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox finished
third with 45 points, followed by John Elway and Heisman Trophy winner
Ron Dayne.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Andre Agassi, Tim Duncan, Payne Stewart,
Sammy Sosa and quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner, who tied for
10th.
The U.S. women's World Cup soccer team was named the AP Female Athletes
of the Year last week and also won for story of the year.
Woods became only the seventh man - and second golfer - to win AP Athlete
of the Year twice since it began in 1931. The others were Don Budge, Byron
Nelson, Sandy Koufax, Carl Lewis, Joe Montana and Michael Jordan.
Jordan is the only three-time winner. Woods, who turns 24 on Thursday,
figures to have at least 20 more years to match or surpass Jordan. At this
rate, the only thing capable of stopping him is a career-threatening injury
or loss of desire.
"He's not even close to how good he can get," Davis Love III said after
finishing second to Woods in the Tour Championship. "He's going to be good
for a long, long time."
Woods won this award for what he did in a short period of time.
Heading into the PGA Championship, the final major of the year, David
Duval was still No. 1 in the world rankings. But Woods won at Medinah for
his second major, then really separated himself from the rest of the sport.
He won five of his final six PGA Tour events, including the final four,
the best streak since Ben Hogan won four straight tour events in 1953.
His eight PGA Tour victories were the most since Johnny Miller in 1974.
"I exceeded my own expectations," Woods said. "I thought I could possibly
win seven times. It goes to show that hard work sometimes pays off."
That work started after his phenomenal season in 1997, when Woods became
the youngest Masters champion in record fashion, won four other tournaments
and was the AP Male Athlete of the Year.
Why change after that? Woods insisted there were too many flaws in his
swing. He was either winning big or out of contention, and he sought a
swing that would keep his name on the leader board every day, every week.
It all came together after his post-Masters layoff, and the results
were staggering. Including the World Cup of Golf, a two-man team event
where Woods' score alone was good enough for a U.S. victory, he won nine
of his final 13 events of the year. He finished lower than seventh just
once.
"What I have a hard time believing is what a high level he has played
at," Phil Mickelson said. "Normally, of all the guys in the field, a couple
will get hot and go low. And it's been Tiger every single week."
Such dominance is rare in golf.
Rec department hoop sign-ups continue
PECOS, Dec. 28, 1999 -- Registration will continue for the next two weeks
for the Reeves County Community Sports and Recreation Department's men's
basketball league, while youth league sign-ups will run from now through
the end of January.
Registration forms for the men's league can be picked up at the RCCRD
office at the old Pecos High School gym between now and Jan. 7. The office
is open weekdays between 5 and 9 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Registration times for the PeeWee Basketball Leagues are also from 5
and 9 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays at the RCCRD office.
The games will begin after the high school basketball seasons end in February.
The PeeWee leagues are open to boys and girls ages 5 through 10 with
a deadline to sign up of Jan. 28. Recreation Department director Nora Geron
said anyone who signs up before Jan. 7 will receive five weeks of ball
handling and basic fundamentals before they start playing in regular games.
For further information on either league, call the recreation department
at 447-9776.
Pecos Enterprise
York M. "Smokey" Briggs, Publisher
Division of Buckner News Alliance, Inc.
324 S. Cedar St., Pecos, TX 79772
Phone 915-445-5475, FAX 915-445-4321
e-mail news@pecos.net
Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium.
Copyright 1999 by Pecos Enterprise
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