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| |  Tuesday, 18 July, 2000, 13:29 GMT Tiger vs the record books  Tiger Woods with coach Butch Harmon at St Andrews Winning the 129th Open would mean yet another entry in the record books for American golf phenomenon Tiger Woods. At 24, and in only his 15th Major as a professional, Woods can become the youngest ever player to complete a career Grand Slam. He would be only the fifth to have won The Open, US Open, US Masters and US PGA after legends Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus - and the first for 34 years. But Woods, who has already won more than $19m in prize money, has been setting new standards in his sport ever since childhood. When he announced his arrival on the world stage by winning the 1997 US Masters by a record 12 strokes, he was already a golfing sensation. Hat-trick As a two-year-old he appeared on television putting with Bob Hope, and a year later carded 48 for nine holes. At 15, he was the youngest ever US Junior champion. He became the first player to capture the title twice, and then sealed a hat-trick in 1993.
Trailing by six strokes after 13, he fought back to defeat Trip Keuhane, and went on to claim the title on two more occasions. While still an amateur he made the cut at both the 1995 Masters and The Open at St Andrews. The following year he briefly led the US Open, and equalled the lowest Open Championship total for an amateur with 281 to tie for 22nd. Coveted When the inevitable happened and he turned professional, a host of sponsors were beating a path to his door for his coveted signature. Nike won the race for a reported �25m five-year deal, but his first start in the professional ranks did not bear the hallmarks of a future champion.
In just his fifth professional match he claimed his first title, the Las Vegas Invitational, and has never looked back. In 1997, aged just 21, he became the youngest-ever player to become US Masters champion. His 18-under-par total gave him the largest-ever winning margin of 12 strokes. He finished fourth on the PGA tour in 1998, with three titles and the following year claimed his second major - the PGA Championship. An amazing 1999 saw him win 11 tournaments, with top-10 finishes in five more. Extinguished Any hope his rivals had of Woods developing a Y2K bug as the new millennium dawned were soon extinguished as he claimed five titles in 13 starts.
His was the biggest winning margin (15 shots), he was the first player to lead from start to finish, and he equalled the championship record of 272 shared by Jack Nicklaus and Lee Janzen. It was also his 20th American PGA Tour victory, making him the youngest ever to win so often so quickly. Jack Nicklaus' benchmark of 18 majors looks more attainable every year. "This issue is not whether he's playing great golf now," Nicklaus said. "It's how long he's going to be able to do that. How long will he keep the desire? How long will he be able to keep his health? "Only time will tell, but I would be delighted to have Tiger break my records." | | 
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