Tiger and Buick drive through the decade together - By Vartan Kupelian
Ten years later, there are subtle changes to the profile. He’s not a kid anymore, and it’s hard to believe now that he ever was because from the moment he arrived in 1996 as professional golf ’s signature star, he was always larger than life.
Every shot mattered on the final day of tournament play, since 12 different players who had a share of the lead could've walked away with it all. But, the 2006 Buick Invitational ended in a surprise three-way playoff, leaving Tiger Woods as the four-time record champion. In a suspenseful competition, he succeeded over two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and Australian rookie Nathan Green.
He never lacked confidence but even that component of his personality has reached new heights. It is reflected in his
manner and his gait and, today more than ever, his smile. There
is no smugness to it, just an appreciation and understanding
of who he is, what he does and how he does it. The smile
doesn’t say, “I do it better than anybody else.” It doesn’t have to.
Anybody who knows golf knows that. Even people who don’t
know golf know it.
Tiger Woods, just like his golf swing, continues to evolve. It’s hard to believe that he’s 30 now – that kid who took professional golf by storm in the late summer and fall of 1996 when he turned professional after an unprecedented third straight U.S. Amateur championship. It’s hard to believe he is now a hardened veteran of a decade of PGA TOUR seasons.
Thirty years old. Ten years as a professional golfer. Where does the time go? And yet there are some things that never change.
For Woods, who has made the passage from phenom to icon, the constant in every equation is the competitive instinct. It is what has allowed him to survive the pitfalls which often derail phenoms well before they fulfill the promise.
It’s not about the money for Woods.
“It’s very simple. Money has never been a priority or a catalyst in my life,” he said. “The only time I was actually worried about money was when I turned pro. I was just trying to get my card, get on the PGA TOUR. As far as contracts and all of that stuff, it doesn’t make me happy. What makes me happy is my family, playing golf, doing activities I enjoy doing – that’s what makes me happy. Money has never been a motivator.”
It’s about competing and achieving.
“I set goals all the time,” he said. “Constantly. That’s all I do.”
“What an ambassador he’s been for Buick,”... “He’s great
with the press, great with the Buick and General Motors people, and the clinics we do with him have been great. He’s very nice to do that and does a great job. I enjoy watching him interact as a person and as the icon he has become.”
~ Mike Mattucci, Tournament Director of the Buick Open
On a golf course. On the basketball court. At the ping pong table. Just win, baby. And Woods continues to win at an unparalleled pace. With two more major victories in 2005 in the Masters and British Open – to say nothing about the two near-misses – he won 10 major championships in his 20s. That’s eight shy of the record held by Jack Nicklaus. Draw your own conclusions.
“If you look at most guys’ careers, it looks like their peak years are in their 30’s,” Woods said. “Hopefully that will be the case for me. Hopefully my 30’s will be better than my 20’s. To have that happen would be pretty neat.”
“Obviously winning major championships is what I want to do for the rest of my career. If I play the way I know I can play I think I can get there,” Woods said. “I have a lot of work ahead of me, and a lot of things I need to do to make myself peak at the right times and get all the things coming together.”
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Coming together. It could be the buzz phrase in Woods’ relationship with Buick. It began in 1999, on the eve of Woods’ greatest conquests. Buick’s timing was uncanny in signing Woods to an initial five-year contract as its global spokesperson. It was soon after that Woods’ career reached the next gear and he won seven of 11 major championships, including four straight beginning with the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. That triumph was followed, in succession, by the British Open on the Old Course at St. Andrews, the PGA Championship and, finally, the 2001 Masters Tournament.
In 2004, Woods inked a second five-year deal through 2009 to represent Buick. The relationship, professional and personal, has flourished on many fronts. Typical of Woods’ golden touch, his promotions on behalf of Buick and its new products have been enormous successes, and more are coming. It is a relationship nurtured by parties to the point where now there is a unique comfort level.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Woods said. “Shooting the commercials … the par 3 Tiger Trap feature … I’ve enjoyed my partnership with Buick and I look forward to continuing my association with Buick for a long time, if they’ll have me.” To see Woods interact with and around Buick folks during those commercial shoots is a clear indication that he means what he says.
“It’s hard to let your guard down around a lot of people you don’t know,” Woods said. “People I know and I trust, you can say things, you can do things, you can have interaction that you can’t have with most people. That’s why people have a hard time getting to know me. I don’t allow them in. I allow them in only to a certain extent. My family and my friends, the people that I trust … trust is earned. That takes time. It’s not a given. Once you’ve earned my trust, I’ll do anything for you. (Trust) doesn’t happen overnight. Certain people I trust and I respect.”
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Rewind to a Buick commercial shoot. It is a typical gathering of Woods, Buick executives and crew members at an allday photo shoot. There is a break in the action while waiting for the director to shout, “Lights, cameras, action!” Larry Peck, marketing manager for Buick Golf, picks up the story. “We’re at Universal Studios and there’s a little down time,” Peck said. “There’s a ping pong table for diversion. One of the creative guys on the set says to Tiger, ‘Let’s play.’ “Tiger loses the first game. Just about that time, the director calls everybody to the set. Tiger says, ‘No, we’ve got to play again.’ He lost and he’s not leaving. They play again, Tiger wins. Director says, ‘OK, come on now. Everybody on the set.’ Tiger says, ‘We can’t quit, it’s even. We’ve got to break the tie.’ They play again and Tiger wins.
“It’s his competitive nature.” During those commercial shoots, Woods takes comfort in the environment. It’s not the person inside the ropes that galleries world-wide see.
“He will fraternize with everybody, tell jokes, have fun,” Peck said. “If there’s an amusement ride, he’ll do that. He’s such a normal guy that you forget who he is, that he’s a legend. That he’s Babe Ruth. When you’re with him, he’s a regular guy.”
“If you look at most guys’ careers, it looks like their peak years are in their 30’s,”... “Hopefully that will be the case for me. Hopefully my 30’s will be better than my 20’s. To have that happen would be pretty neat.”
It is the same comfort level he experiences when he plays at a Buick-sponsored PGA TOUR event. The Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in LaJolla, California, and the Buick Open at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club in Grand Blanc, Michigan, are among Woods’ favorites stops. The feeling is mutual.
“If you want a field to attract fans, he is that person,”
said Tom Wilson, executive director of the Century Club
and tournament director of the Buick Invitational.
Woods first played the Invitational at Torrey Pines in
1998, finishing third, and won it for the first time a year
later. Those were the Tigermania days, when everybody
wanted a glimpse of Woods.
“He was the first what I’d call ‘rock star’ on the PGA TOUR,” Wilson said. “He had that kind of status. It’s a little different now. A lot of people now have had the opportunity to see him play in person. Tigermania isn’t there but he’s still the guy.”
Mike Mattucci, tournament director of the Buick Open, marvels at Woods’ list of accomplishments before the age of 30, including reaching double figures in major championship trophies.
“What an ambassador he’s been for Buick,” Mattucci said. “He’s great with the press, great with the Buick and General Motors people, and the clinics we do with him have been great. He’s very nice to do that and does a great job. I enjoy watching him interact as a person and as the icon he has become.
“The whole atmosphere changes when he’s around. His presence makes a huge difference with the number of people who come out and that translates into revenue at the gate, revenue in concessions, increase of charitable donations – he’s certainly a large part of that.
“I don’t see him letting up at all. He still seems extremely passionate and intense as ever. It doesn’t matter what golf tournament he’s playing in.”
Woods’ promotional activities away from the course for Buick have been a success by any measure. Commercials featuring Woods have highlighted major new Buick introductions like the Rendezvous and Rainier. Dealerbased promotions like Tiger Trap, referenced by Woods, have surpassed expectations in terms of public acceptance and participation. There will be more in 2006, and beyond.
“We plan to use him even more promotionally as we go forward,” Peck said.
The 2006 promotion is called, “When Tiger Wins, You Could Win.” Each time Woods wins on the PGA TOUR in 2006, the car he drives for the week at the tournament site – it will always be a black Lucerne – will go to a random fan who registers for the promotion at www.Buick.com. Buick is the official car of the PGA TOUR.
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On the subject of comfort level and familiar environments, Woods entered the 2006 PGA TOUR season with both peaking. His swing, the subject of so much debate over the years, is locked and loaded after a couple of years of nurturing. He won six times in 21 starts in 2005 and, quite remarkably, had 12 top three finishes, which may be the most amazing achievement of all. In the process, he won his seventh Player of the Year award. Woods knows golf is fickle. It’s a lesson he has learned again and again going back to his childhood. Yet, he has no doubts about the state of his game. He knows it’s at a crest and all the work has paid off.
He sees a parallel in the changes he’s made in his swing to the evolution of the game itself over the past decade. Golf is now a game of power more than finesse. “Golf has evolved,” Woods said. “In essence, it’s evolved in the fact that we’re able to hit the ball greater distances … I think technology now has spread out the guys a little bit more with the added physical strength of guys, guys getting to the gym and really working on becoming stronger and more flexible, able to get a lot more speed. Add to that technology, in the shaft and heads.”
Tiger Woods has evolved, too. In body and in mind. “That’s the whole reason why I made the changes, to relieve some stress on my body parts that were taking a pounding,” he said. “The end result is I’ve relieved some stress there … (and) I’ve been more healthy and feeling better day to day, which is just great.
“But starting in my 30’s now on tour is infinitely different than when I first came out. I didn’t know what to expect on tour. I hadn’t been on tour. The majority of the sites I played when I first turned pro, I hadn’t played any. So to play in these events the first time, not knowing where to stay, little things … don’t know any of the guys because no one my age was on tour. There was a distinct age difference. Some of the guys, I just couldn’t relate what they were going through and they couldn’t relate to what I was going through. “Now that I’ve been on tour, it makes it so much easier than it used to be.”
That can’t possibly be a comforting thought for those trying to chase an older, wiser and better Tiger Woods.
Woods’ golf game, combined with his celebrity, drives the PGA Tour these days. For the man who means so much to Buick, that’s entirely as it should be.