May 13, 1997|By Don Markus | Don Markus,SUN STAFF
The question is being asked in tournament offices of PGA Tour events all over the country. Fans call in, trying to see if tickets are available. Reporters call up, trying to see if the event is worth covering. The only people not calling are the other players, and perhaps they are afraid to ask.
"Everyone wants to know, 'Is Tiger coming?' " said Jim Wisler, tournament director for the Memorial Tournament, scheduled later this month at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. "I've probably been asked that more in the last month than any other question in my life -- ever."
Ever since Tiger Woods won the Masters last month, the question has been asked about golf's 21-year-old megastar. And, unfortunately for those running the past four tour events, the answer has been "no." That will change this week, when Woods returns to the tour at the Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas.
His much-anticipated return after a month's absence has stirred tremendous interest in the Nelson. The event is sold out for the first time in its 30-year history. Media interest rivals that of some of the tour's glamour tournaments. CNN will broadcast Woods' pre-tournament news conference today live at 1 p.m.
Trying to figure out how to deal with this sudden phenomenon has taken on a life of its own. Eric Fredricksen, tournament director for the recently completed Houston Open, started what he called "Operation Tiger" in preparation for a possible appearance there two weeks ago.
Fredricksen said he called Hughes Norton, Woods' agent at the Cleveland-based International Management Group, after reading that the player was going to take a month off after his 12-shot, history-making victory at Augusta National. It meant that Woods would miss Houston. But Fredricksen made his pitch anyway.
"Hughes said, 'If he comes back any sooner, he'll be in Houston,' " Fredricksen said last week. "They went as far as to book some rooms at a local hotel. But the Thursday before the tournament, we found out that Tiger was still in California with his father and he wasn't coming."
There went Charles Barkley's plan to hang out with Woods on the golf course during the day and invite him to a couple of Houston Rockets playoff games at night. There went former Houston Astros pitcher Doug Drabek's invitation for Woods to stay in his mansion for the week.
There went Operation Tiger.
"Tiger adds about 10,000 to 18,000 people a day, so you still have to make the arrangements for extra security, marshaling, concession stands and portable toilets," Fredricksen said. "You want the fans to have a quality experience. You don't want it to become a mob scene."
Fredricksen and other tournament directors would like to see the PGA Tour change its long-standing policy of allowing players to have until 6 p.m. Friday before the next tournament in order to commit. The problem has been there with other popular players in recent years, most notably Greg Norman, but nothing quite matches the hysteria surrounding Woods.
"You're sitting on pins and needles all week, and it gets pretty nerve-racking," said Frank Houseman, tournament director for the Nelson.
Woods' practice of not announcing his schedule stems from what happened last year, shortly after he turned pro. After saying he would play in the Buick Challenge in Pine Mountain, Ga., Woods abruptly pulled out, citing fatigue. He also missed a dinner at which he was to be honored as the college golfer of the year. And that was when things were still relatively quiet, before he had won the first of four pro tournaments.
Partly by design, and partly the result of his father's undergoing heart-bypass surgery earlier this year, Woods played in six of 13 events before the Masters. Aside from this week, Woods is expected to play next week at the Colonial in nearby Fort Worth and at the Memorial in preparation for next month's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda.
Longtime Kemper Open director Ben Brundred Jr. said he is happy that the quality of the field this year won't be judged on whether or not Woods plays. In fact, with a field that might rival that of only The Players Championship, Brundred said he isn't quite sure whether the TPC at Avenel could handle the crush. Though he will pick up a reported $350,000 for a one-day event outside Pittsburgh earlier that week, Woods isn't expected to play the Kemper, which comes a week before the Open.
"If there was ever a year we don't need him, it's this year," Brundred said. "I'm not sure we're equipped since we're not fenced in. I'd rather let Tigermania die down a little bit."
Brundred said that even the remote possibility of Woods' playing there has helped boost pre-tournament ticket sales 70 percent ahead of where they were at this time last year. Yet when the Kemper goes back to a less-attractive date next year, Brundred isn't sure to what extreme he would go to get Woods.
