Biglin: Sunday For The Ages

Final Round Could Be Best In Majors' History

Mike Biglin, Sports Editor
April 8, 2001, 4:41 p.m. EDT

Tiger Woods already has five Majors in his trophy case, and Sunday he guns for a record fourth in a row.

And it's looking to be the most exciting of the bunch.

While it's going to have go a long way to beat the exhilerating extra-holes victory he had in the PGA Championship back in August, the stage is sure set for it.

The big reason is the star-studded cast that has assembled on the leaderboard.

Sorry, don't mean to knock Bob May, but he was a relative unknown when he and Tiger battled over the final round and three-hole playoff at the PGA. And for the bulk of that final Sunday at Valhalla, it was a Woods-May showdown, with no one else in contention.

But Tiger goes into Sunday with his top nemesis in his group and just one stroke behind, with five others within three strokes of the lead.

CBS must've paid the devil for this set-up.

Just look and see who tees off after 2 o'clock Sunday, and who will get the bulk of the TV time. At 2:05, former Masters champ Jose Maria Olazabal is paired with former PGA champ Lee Janzen -- both at 7-under par. While five strokes should be a little too much to overcome, the sweet-putting Olazabal is someone who could post a score to shoot for an hour before Tiger hits 18.

At 2:15, another fantastic putter, Brad Faxon (7-under), is joined by Kirk Triplett (-8). And at 2:25, Rocco Mediate -- who fired the lowest round on Saturday, a 66, to move to 8-under -- will play with big-hitting Angel Cabrera.

The Argentian held the lead Saturday for several holes, until he blew up over the final four holes and dropped to 9-under. But if he can play smarter while still hitting big and making putts, Cabrera is a legitimate threat to Tiger.

Still, it's the final three pairings that present the most intrigue.

At 2:35, Ernie Els -- a runner-up in three of last year's majors, including the Masters -- tees off with a rehabbed and resurgent David Duval, with both at 9-under. If the former World No. 1 can stay out of the water on 13, you can't count him out.

At 2:45, it's a pair of Cinderella stories -- or should we say Gator stories. Young Chris DiMarco, playing in his first Masters, held the lead after the first two rounds, but was cooled by Tiger and his huge gallery Saturday. Still, DiMarco's even-par 72 has him at 10-under and in striking distance and with a shot to be the first rookie to win the Masters since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

His playing partner will be fellow University of Florida alum Mark Calcavecchia. The 40-year-old, who had a poor 2000 season, has surged back into the fold after breaking the PGA Tour's scoring record in Phoenix earlier this year.

Calcavecchia also has a chance to erase bad memories of Augusta. In 1988, he was poised for a Sunday playoff until Sandy Lyle made birdie from a fairway bunker on the 18th to win.

In spite of those big names and great storylines, all eyes will be focused on final pairing of the day, pitting the top two ranked players in the world -- Woods and Phil Mickelson.

And while Mickelson was the one who stopped Tiger's PGA Tour winning streak last year in San Diego, and ended Woods' amazing string of 19 tournaments where he turned a 54-hole lead into a victory at the Tour Championship in November, the sweet-swinging lefty has never won a major, nor has never beaten Woods while paired with him.

But that fact doesn't seem to intimidate Mickelson, who said after Saturday's round that he wanted to be paired with Woods.

Well, Phil, you got your wish -- along with the rest of the golf world. It may just be the most watched final round in Majors history.

Probably the most exciting ever, too.

Mike Biglin is a national sports editor out of Boston. He can be emailed at mbiglin@thebostonchannel.com

Copyright 2001 by ClickOnDetroit.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.