Woods gets another shot at finishing Grand Slam
Web posted
Monday, April 11, 2005
A sweep of all four majors in a calendar year has never been achieved since the Masters Tournament started in 1934, and Woods is the only golfer who can pull it off this year.
Next up is the U.S. Open, which will be held June 16-19 at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina. When the event was last held there in 1999, Woods tied for third and challenged for the lead late in the final round. Payne Stewart made a putt on the final hole to nip Phil Mickelson by one stroke.
After that, the third major is the British Open, which will be contested July 14-17 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. In 2000, Woods won by eight shots over Thomas Bjorn and Ernie Els as he completed the career Grand Slam.
The final major of the year is the PGA Championship. For the first time in the event's history, it will be held at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., on Aug. 11-14.
The Lower Course at Baltusrol has been the site of numerous U.S. Opens, and the past two times the course yielded record scores of 272. Jack Nicklaus won there in 1980, and Lee Janzen held off Stewart in 1993.
Woods has never played in a professional event at Baltusrol.
Only two golfers have won three professional majors in a calendar year. Ben Hogan was the first, winning the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open in 1953.
Woods pulled off a Triple Crown of his own in 2000, taking the U.S. Open, British Open and PGA in succession. He completed the "Tiger Slam'' by winning the 2001 Masters and is the only person to win all four in succession.
2005 MAJORS
A look at the rest of the majors for the 2005 season:
U.S. Open: at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club No. 2, Pinehurst, N.C., 7,217 yards, par 70.
Defending champion: Retief Goosen.
British Open: at the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland, 7,115 yards, par 72.
Defending champion: Todd Hamilton.
PGA Championship: at Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course, Springfield, N.J., 7,376 yards, par 70.
Defending champion: Vijay Singh.
