WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Only a few steps removed from Slammin’ Sammy’s clubhouse, the slumping Tiger Woods still considered himself in hot pursuit of Snead’s 82-win mark.
And Bubba Watson, just days removed from his eighth career PGA victory, stood focused on a more modest goal of 10.
They’ll be the top draws when the Greenbrier Classic opens Thursday, with its rain-softened Old White Course looking inviting as ever.
“We’re just going to have to make a bunch of birdies,” said Woods, who hasn’t carded many this season. Through six starts the world’s most recognizable golfer is merely a blip in the world rankings, buried down there at 220th.
Since finishing 17th at the Masters, Woods tied for 69th at The Players Championship, limped in 71st at the Memorial and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. He hasn’t hoisted a trophy in 18 events dating back to August 2013.
At 39 and beset by a series of injuries, Woods may never regain the combination of power, touch and fearlessness that made him unbeatable at his peak. He certainly sounds like a guy expecting a glorious bounce-back.
“I’ve done this before. I’ve gone through stretches like this,” Woods said, referencing a 30-tournament span from 1997 through 1998 in which he won only once. “It wasn’t very good. I wasn’t really contending to win tournaments—I was trying to make cuts.
“But ’99 turned out OK and so did 2000.”
OK to the tune of 17 victories during a transformative two-year stretch that launched him into the game’s stratosphere. Now he returns to the Greenbrier a 79-time PGA winner taking aim at Snead.
“I would love to break his record,” Woods said Wednesday. “That’s one of the hallowed records in our sport. Hopefully I can get that done in the near future.”
Woods arrived at the 2012 Greenbrier fresh off winning the AT&T National only to miss the cut. This time he rolls into the West Virginia mountains a combined 30 over par in his last two tournaments.
“Look for a little better playing,” he said.
Watson, by comparison, couldn’t have played much better than he did at last weekend’s Travelers, where he finished 16-under and prevailed in a playoff.
After coasting through Wednesday’s pro-am alongside his wife, Angie, New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and former NBA coach Mike D’antoni, Watson admitted he needed time to recover from his winning weekend.
“I’m spent,” he said. “You know, that much pressure, that much energy spent trying to get into the playoff, stay in the playoff, produce in the playoff, I’m tired and worn out. Mentally the energy level is just not there.”
Having a vacation home at the Greenbrier and familiarity with the course could help replenish Watson, who climbed to No. 3 in the world rankings. Yet even in his prime at age 36, he isn’t concerned with scaling his legacy.
“My whole goal on the PGA Tour was getting 10 wins. I thought that goal was unreachable, so I thought that was a good goal for myself. Now that I have eight, it scares me because I have a chance.
“No, I don’t think bigger. I haven’t got to my first goal yet. … I am two away from winning that. Somehow, if it’s possible to hold a trophy for the 10th time, yes I’ll change my goal to 15 or whatever.”