fwmm
3B
SPORTS/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, January 16, 1997
Woods wins third professional golf tournament m nme
Goes over $1 million mark
after beating Tom Lehman
Continued from IB
no pressure on him,” he added,
clearly disgusted with his own
poor shot. “I hit it a little hi^ on
the dub face. The wind cau^t it
and it went in the water.”
Woods, who said he played con
servatively all week because he
was rusty lack of competi
tion, got better with each round.
He opened with a 70, foDowed it
with a 67 and then shot a 65 on
Saturday when he dosed with
four consecutive birdies to tie
Lehman and get in the playoff.
Lehman was equally briUiant,
putting together roimds of 66,67
and 69.
Both players were clearly dis
appointed that Simda/s antid-
pated showdown was washed
out. Friday night, Lehman was
voted player of the year by PGA
Tbur members and Woods was
voted rookie of the year.
Td rather have played,”
Track is Cavs’ claim to fame
Woods said. “You don’t want any
thing given to you. You want to
earn it.”
Woods’ sensational shot helped
ease the disappointment of the
highly antidpated but washed-
out final-roimd matchup. And it
gave Woods yet another opportu-
nily to show his remarkable abil
ity to rise to any challenge.
“I go out there trying to win
each and every tournament,”
Woods said. And at times it
seems like he might be able to do
just that. In his nine tourna
ments as a professional, he has
finished six times in the top five.
Asked if he was smprised by
winning a third time so quickly.
Woods shook his head slowly
and said: “No, only because it is
what I set out to do — win eveiy
tournament.”
At times it seems like the only
thing Woods can’t control is the
weather. He never saw his win
ning shot.
“I lost it in the air because of
the clouds and the rain,” Woods
said. “A rain drop hit me right in
the eye when I looked up.”
'The surprisingly large gallery
huddled under umbrellas in the
cold rain told Woods where the
ball ended up, erupting in a
huge roar, many shaking their
heads as if asking, “What else
can this kid do?”
Woods’ next chance to strut his
stuff will be at the Phoenix Open
in two weeks.
Continued from 1B
enough at North Rowan to
have attracted many athletes,
blessed with lots of talent, who
set lofty goals, and are willing
to work hard enough to
achieve those goals. Without a
combination of those three
things, we don’t get it done.”
Amazingly, the Cavaliers’
reputation has gotten around,
and this small community is
making large strides in track.
North has won nine Rowan
County titles in a row, five con
ference championships, eight
invitational titles, two section
al titles and seven regional
titles. The Cavaliers also won
state indoor titles in 1990 and
‘91, and three outdoor titles in
1994, 1995 and 1996. Steele,
who has been coach for 11
years, has coached 78 individ
ual athletes who have won
state titles, three All-
Americans, two honorable
mention All-Americans and
won the Sportsmanship Award
three times in the 1990s.
Athletic achievements are
not the main focus of Steele’s
teachings, though. He has a
keen awareness of the bridge
between track and field.
“Your success in the class
room is very important,” he
said. “Hopefully, many of our
athletes will use their track
and field talents to further
their education. The NCAA
regulations have made it more
difficult to qualify for an ath
letic grant. So, therefore, ath
letes must study and prepare
themselves to take the ACT or
the SAT from the time they
enter the ninth grade.”
North’s success is the result
of many individuals, Steele
said. Not only do athletes con
tribute, the community has a
hand in making the Cavaliers
among the best.
“A lot of hard work goes into
what we do,” he said.
Drink Coca-Cola and Enter the
“There has been an effort to
finance this program, parents
have been great, and together,
we put a lot of pride into this
track and field program.”
Hornets quietly improved team
Defense has played a major
role in Charlotte’s turnaround
Continued from 1B
play has become infectious.
“It’s a collective mind set
that everybody wants to play
defense, you know quickly,
first and foremost, not like,
‘Oh damn, we got to play
defense’ but everyone wants to
play defense and they’re enjoy
ing it,” Mason said.
The Hornets are enjoying it
so much, they roared off to the
best start in franchise history
at 12-9, before a tough 87-82
loss in Chicago on Dec. 14.
Despite some bumpy spots
where players have had public
exchanges with Cowens over
decisions and personnel,
they’re still enthusiastic.
“We’re looking forward to
doing a lot of firsts here, you
know this team has really
come together, the cama
raderie is good, the mental
aspect is good and we believe
in the defense and that’s
what’s going to do it for us,”
said Mason, who has blown up
at Cowens as well as his team
mates.
The Hornets are above .500,
despite spending nearly two
weeks away from home, on a
grueling seven-game road trip
followed by a five-game West
Coast trip. Playing on the road
helped the team bond, says
center Vlade Divac.
“I think that road trip of two
weeks helped us to know each
other, to see what’s going on
here,” he said. “Basically we
know our goal, how far we can
go. We have no fear of playing
against the best teams in the
league.”
Charlotte has played solid
basketball of late, posting wins
over first-division teams like
Seattle, New York, Detroit and
Indiana. They also have wins
over the L.A. Lakers and
Washington. Veteran forward
Dell Curry was surprised to
learn the Hornets were off to
the best start in franchise his
tory but knows there’s room to
improve.
“You always feel you can play
better and have a better record
but with our schedule,” he
said. You have to be pretty
much pleased with what we’ve
done so far and putting in a
new system with new players,
so I think we’re happy with it
but you always make room for
improvement.”
Center Matt Geiger, who has
been sidelined with a bad
back, feels great about the
Hornets quick start. It’s not
too early to start talking play
offs in the very competitive
Eastern Conference, so the
Hornets will need every win
they can get.
“It definitely puts you in a
position to establish yourself,
which is something you want
to do,” Geiger said.
“You want to try and get in
the playoff hunt early and stay
in there all season and try and
maneuver your way as high as
you can, so it’s good to get a
good start.”
The Hornets could be even
better, if they hadn’t blown
leads and lost at the L.A.
Clippers and come up flat in
Toronto. If Muggsy Bogues’
injured knee allows him to
contribute and Geiger’s
absence is minimized, the
Hornets could improve their
standing in the East.
“When you win you have fun,
ijio, question,’! laughed Diyac. ^
Panthers prepare for next year
Continued from page IB
choices were injured for much
of the year, both should be
healthy in time for the start of
next season. Not only would
that give them a fresh start,
but it would add depth to the
Panthers’ growing youth
movement.
“It will be like having two
drafts in one year,” Capers
said.
'The Panthers will need all
the help they can get. 'Their
success this season will trans
late into a tougher schedule for
1997, including regular-season
games with the Cowboys and
Packers.
“I know that we’ll be back,”
Capers said.
PHOTO/WADE NASH
Carolina receiver Willie Green, (left) trying to defend against Green
Bay comerback Tyrone Williams, retook his starting position from
injured rooke Muhsin Muhammad late in the season.