ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT Tiger Woods
Now that his personal life seems in order, his wobbly knees are fi nally healthy and he’s back to being the best player in the world, how can you not pick him to win his fourth U.S. Open title, and the fi rst since that memorable 90-hole victory over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines in 2008? Even before the Masters, Woods had already won three events and six of his previous 20 starts, regaining the No. 1 ranking in the world from his friend and South Florida neighbor, Rory McIlroy. “It’s been a long process,” Woods said before capturing the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. “To gradu- ally work my way back, that’s something I’m proud of.” Woods, now 37, is in his 17th season on the PGA Tour and, with 77 career wins, seems a mortal lock to break Sam Snead’s record of 82 while he also pursues the Jack Nicklaus Holy Grail of 18 major championships.
Rory McIlroy
T e 23-year-old Irish lad got off to a dreadful start to the 2013 season, includ- ing a controversial walk off the course with a sore wis- dom tooth at the Honda Classic that was the fi rst public blemish on an oth- erwise spotless record of golf civility — on and off the course. McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional with a record 16-under score,
fi nally seemed to fi nd himself at the WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral. He posted a 65 in the fi nal round and fi nished tied for eighth place, and he’s been nipping at Woods’s No. 1 heels over the last two months. McIlroy said he has learned plenty since his Honda meltdown: “T at when the going gets tough, I’ve got to stick in there a bit more and I’ve got to grind it out. T ere’s no excuse for quitting.”
Adam Scott
T e 32-year-old Australian’s dramatic sudden-death Mas- ters victory over Argentina’s Angel Cabrera in April fi nally validated all those longtime predictions that Scott someday would be a major championship winner, perhaps even multiple majors. Scott was considered the next coming of Tiger Woods when, as a 20-year-old, he secured his European Tour card for 2001 after only eight starts. He had the same coach as Woods — Butch Harmon — and his swing has always been considered one of the more picture-perfect moves in all of golf. He has won nine times on the PGA Tour, eight times on the European circuit, and has multiple wins elsewhere around the world. In early 2011, he decided to switch to a belly putter, a move that has paid off handsomely ever since. In 2012, he fi nished 15th or better in each of the four major cham- pionships, and has consistently been in the top ten in the world rankings over the last two years.
>
>
OPPOSITE:
ISTOCK.COM; THIS PAGE: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
>
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36