Woods still on pace to break Nicklaus’ Masters record

Published 11:15 pm Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer — who between them won 10 Masters titles — played a practice round at Augusta National in 1996 with 20-year-old Tiger Woods and predicted that Woods would win more green jackets than both of them combined.

Woods won four times in nine years, but now has gone four years without winning the Masters, the longest drought of his career.

What does that mean? Not much.

Nicklaus won the Masters three times in his first five years, then went five years before he won his fourth green jacket. He had five Masters after his 14th year as a pro (Woods is in his 13th year).

Woods is still on track to break Nicklaus’ record at Augusta National, but that prediction of 10 is not looking as good as it once did.

Lee turns pro

Danny Lee, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, announced Tuesday he’s turning pro.

Along with becoming the youngest U.S. Amateur champion in history, the 18-year-old Lee also became the youngest winner on the European Tour when he captured the Johnnie Walker Classic in February against a field that included Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas.

“I’m very proud of what I accomplished as an amateur, but it felt like the time was right to challenge myself at a higher level,” he said.

Lee plans to make his pro debut next week at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

By turning pro, he is giving up his exemptions to the U.S. Open and British Open.

Lee is allowed seven sponsor exemptions to try to earn enough money to avoid qualifying school. He also plans to play at Quail Hollow, the Byron Nelson Championship, Colonial, the Memorial and the AT&T National.

Boo’s hat trick

Boo Weekley is the two-time defending champion at the Verizon Heritage, which tees off today in Hilton Head, S.C. It’s the only event he has won on the PGA Tour.

If he wins this week, Weekley would join some obscure company.

According to Dave Lancer of the PGA Tour, the last player to make the same tournament his first three victories on the PGA Tour was Leonard Gullett, who captured the Wisconsin PGA in 1929, 1933 and 1934.

That doesn’t include winners of the majors before the PGA was formed in 1916.

Ryder Cup points

The first Ryder Cup points for the U.S. team were awarded at the Masters, with Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell leading the way with 660 points each. Points toward the 2010 team are awarded only at majors this year.

Divots

Phil Mickelson finished one shot ahead of Tiger Woods at the Masters, the first time he had done that in a major since the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. … By winning the 2009 Masters, Angel Cabrera joined Gary Player as the only foreign-born players to win the Masters and U.S. Open.