Last Call: On Tiger's Tail
York, Byron
LAST CALL by Byron York On Tiger's Tail il 'D GIVE ANYTHING IN THE WORLD FOR a mulligan," professional golfer Tom Lehman said after hooking his ball into the water on the next-to-last hole of the...
...That didn't happen...
...Many factors are behind the game's new popularity—among them the enthusiasms of aging boomers like Clinton—but of course the greatest single factor is the arrival of Tiger Woods...
...Arid things weren't going to change just because the tournament was held in the shadow of the White House...
...The whole scene was painful to watch...
...FOR BILL CLINTON, TIGER WOODS is a juicy target...
...A few months ago, the lame-duck president decided to build his legacy on an initiative to bring the races closer together...
...If, God forbid, Clinton were allowed to run again, he'd probably ask Tiger to be his running mate...
...Clinton invite me before the Masters...
...WOODS WASN'T THE ONLY ONE TO GIVE President Mulligan the brush-off during Open week...
...Woods asked...
...BILL CLINTON'S VISIT TO THE OPEN —the first held in the Washington area since 1964—came amid a much-discussed revival of interest in golf...
...After all, it's the national championship and the president would be on hand...
...Open...
...Maybe it's because Tiger can spot a huckster when he sees one...
...What better prop than Tiger Woods...
...Clinton was foiled again...
...I had planned my vacation," Tiger told reporters a few weeks later...
...Then, on the final day of the Open, Clinton and daughter Chelsea headed out to Congressional to watch the last few holes...
...It was his third close encounter with the championship, and his third loss...
...The United States Golf Association, which runs the tournament, also got into the act...
...So the White House rushed out an invitation and even offered Tiger a plane ride to Shea if he needed it...
...No doubt the Clintonistas were licking their chops...
...When Clinton visited NBC's broadcast booth (some viewers turned the volume down when the president rather ineptly tried his hand at commentary), announcers Johnny Miller and Dick Engberg asked if he might award the trophy to the new champion...
...Ai 86 August 1997 • The American Spectator...
...Perhaps Tiger and the president might stroll out to the White House putting green for a little lesson—with the photo pool informed well in advance, of course...
...But again, no interest from Woods...
...Go FORWARD A COUPLE OF MONTHS...
...And the Open brought Tigermania to the nation's capital...
...A few players noticed...
...LAST CALL by Byron York On Tiger's Tail il 'D GIVE ANYTHING IN THE WORLD FOR a mulligan," professional golfer Tom Lehman said after hooking his ball into the water on the next-to-last hole of the U.S...
...It wasn't going to happen...
...WHY THE SNUBS...
...With the Open coming to Congressional, there was lots of talk about a possible Woods visit to the White House...
...But Tiger made his putt, kept his head down, and moved on...
...If he wanted me there, I think it would have been best if he would have asked me before, with all the other athletes who were involved...
...For the week leading up to the tournament, the Post and the local TV stations were all Tiger, all the time...
...Before the tournament, a few sports writers had speculated that perhaps Clinton would present the trophy to the winner on Sunday...
...No nod, no smile, no acknowledgment at all...
...IT WAS NEVER EVEN AN OPTION," says a USGA spokeswoman contacted by TAS...
...He was headed to Mexico with some friends and seemed distinctly unfazed by the call from the White House...
...And of course millions of people were watching—among them a certain high-ranking government official sometimes known as President Mulligan...
...He's multi-racial, wholesome, and hot, hot, hot...
...defending Open champion Steve Jones doffed his cap...
...Clinton said he would like to, but hadn't been asked...
...it seemed to make sense...
...Go back to the day after he won the Masters...
...But nearly lost amid the breathless Tiger bulletins was the underreported story of the week—a new episode in the continuing mind game between golf's new superstar and the nation's First Golfer...
...The spokeswoman says the president of the USGA, not the president of the USA, gets the honor of presenting the Open trophy...
...perhaps he has no use for someone with Clinton's history...
...It was already set...
...There was only one problem...
...What a photo-op: the widow of baseball's breaker of the color-barrier alongside the new ethnically diverse superstar of golf: brought to you by Bill Clinton...
...Tournament officials hastily constructed a tent near the 16th green, where the president would have a perfect view as the top contenders played through...
...Woods turned the White House down...
...So Bill Clinton hopped back into the motorcade for the ride home, still unable to exploit Tiger and the golf boom for political points, but no doubt planning new ways to try...
...Why didn't Mr...
...But young Woods is having none of it...
...Whatever the reason, Bill Clinton's dream photo-op is still on hold...
...Or maybe Woods is just too busy...
...The best Clinton could muster was a drop-in from fading superstar Greg Norman, which of course reminded everyone of how Clinton banged up his knee late one night after drinks at the golfer's Florida home...
...As soon as I won, he invited me...
...With that one shot, Lehman's hopes for the greatest title in golf sank into the pond next to Congressional Country Club's 17th green...
...All of a sudden the White House wanted Tiger to appear with Clinton at Shea Stadium for a Jackie Robinson 5oth anniversary ceremony...
...MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE Woods's revered father is a former Green Beret...
Vol. 30 • August 1997 • No. 8
