Tiger Woods in the Philippines

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Monday, January 19, 1998
Tiger wows golfers, fans and a president
By J. Raul Alibutud, Sports Editor

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga--Economic crisis? What economic crisis? Tiger
Woods was in town and money flowed yesterday at the Mimosa Golf and
Country Club.

Woods reportedly earned close to P28 million for playing a round of
golf yesterday, a round he easily won against the likes of the
Philippines' Felix Casas, Taiwan's Chang Tse-Peng, and South Korea's
Kang Wook-Soon.

But ask anyone on the 2,000-strong gallery that followed Woods around
the par-72 7,303-yard Mimosa Mountainview course, people who paid
P10,000 for the privilege of walking seven kilometers under the
burning sun with Tiger, and they will say it was worth every centavo.

Ramon Isberto, spokesperson for major sponsor Smart Communications
Inc. said he could "neither confirm nor deny" the amount paid for
Woods' appearance fee, a figure reportedly between $500,000 to
$700,000.

Fun in winning

The 22-year-old Woods, the top-ranking golfer in the world, said he
just wanted to have fun on the golf course but, boy, he sure wanted to
win.

Fighting jet lag and unfamiliarity with the course, Woods struggled at
first but eventually found his form to score a one-under par 71 to win
the Smart--Mimosa Tiger Challenged by three strokes over the
Philippines' Felix Casas. The two other Asian pros, Chang and Kang,
finished with a 75 and an 80, respectively.

Woods started off poorly with bogeys on the first and third holes. He
was only able to avoid another bogey on the second hole when he
chipped in from off the green to save par. The 22-year-old 1997 US PGA
Player of the Year then strung up three birdies on holes 4, 7, and 10
against another bogey on the sixth to climb back to even par after 10
holes.

Casas lost his focus and posted bogeys on holes 3, 6, and 7 to make
the turn at 38, two strokes behind Woods' 36. The Filipino turned in
three more birdies on the back nine but he also struggled with two
more bogeys.

Good swing

Casas said he played a good first five holes but then he made a
mistake by trying to match Woods' distance off the tee causing him to
make a costly mistake on the seventh hole.

Woods scored two more birdies on Holes 14 and 18 against another bogey
on the 17th for the final score.

The other two Asian pros went to pieces early. Chang finished the
first nine in 40 while Korean Kang Wook-Soon had a 41. Chang managed
to recover at finish to end up with a 3-over 75 but Kang's misfortunes
continued on the longer back nine. The Korean finished with 80, eight
over par.

"Good swing. Good heart. Good putt." That was how Chang summed up
Woods' game. Chang said that the greens were very "tricky." "They
killed me," he added.

Good heart

Woods was in the country less than 24 hours. He planed in late
Saturday and he left yesterday just after sunset.

Earlier, Woods conducted a golf clinic for several junior golfers, all
of whom were awed by Woods, the youngest US Masters champion, and the
leading money-winner on the US Tour last year.

"Golf is a microcosm of life," declared Woods. "Work hard on your game
but work hard on your studies too," he added.

Woods' father, Earl, author of the book, Training a Tiger, said "You
only get out of golf what you put in it. You have to work hard on your
game."

At the same time, he said that golf shouldn't be taken too seriously.
"It is just a game. It is not life or death."

Giddy golfers

Earl Woods told the golfers' parents to allow their children to have
fun while playing.

A giddy Elsa Arriola, a member of the Philippine team to the
Asia-Pacific junior tournament at the Orchard last year, said: "I am
very excited and proud to be here." Another jungolfer, Reb Bareng said
Woods' presence made her too nervous to hit her swing correctly.

Even President Fidel Ramos wavered under Woods' scrutiny. On his first
swing, Ramos launched a wicked hook.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," said Ramos, provoking a round of
laughter from the assembled crowd. Ramos then proceeded to do better
on his succeeding swings.

At least half of the jungolfers, however, including five-year-old
Joshua Luis Uy, were disappointed as Woods was forced to cut short the
clinic because time was running short.

Winning the longest drive contest on the seventh hole was five-time
Philippine Amateur Ladies Open champion Jennifer Rosales. She
outdistanced seven other golfers, all male, for the honor.