Steady influx of young talent has Tiger Woods feeling old at 26

MIAMI -- Tiger Woods marched through a maze of hallways to the locker room Wednesday until there was no more carpet. Golf spikes and a marble floor are not a good mix, so he took small steps with great caution, walking like an old man.

That must be how Woods feels this week in the Genuity Championship.

The last time he played at Doral was in 1998, when Woods was 22 and no one else in golf was nearly that young. His peers were Justin Leonard (25) and David Duval (26).

Youth is no longer a novelty on the PGA Tour.

Sergio Garcia is 22 and already in his fourth season, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup credentials and one close call in a major championship. He was asked whether he still considers himself one of the youngsters.

"I left my cane out there," Garcia joked.

A young crowd

Charles Howell III is 22. Players voted him the PGA Tour rookie of the year after he earned over $1.5 million, despite starting the 2001 season without full playing privileges. He has made 22 consecutive cuts on tour, second only to Woods.

David Gossett is 22. The former U.S. Amateur champion won the John Deere Classic last year playing on a sponsor's exemption, the first guy to do that since Woods in 1996.

Matt Kuchar is 23. Another former U.S. Amateur champion, he also started last year without status and earned his card with a tie for third in the Air Canada Championship and a tie for second in the Texas Open.

And don't forget about the youngest of them all at Doral this week. Ty Tryon is 17, still a junior in high school and already famous for becoming the youngest player in history to earn his PGA Tour at qualifying school.

By the sound of it, Woods is almost washed up at the ripe old age of 26.

"I do feel old," he said.

But he is not surprised. Woods figured this rush of talent was coming. He saw it when he was leaving the junior amateur ranks and headed to college, and he expects more to follow.

Strong classes usually come in bunches.

Tom Watson, Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins, who have 60 tour victories and a dozen majors among them, all turned profession in 1971. Another strong class emerged about 10 years later with Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, John Cook and Scott Hoch.

Leonard, Duval and Phil Mickelson arrived in the early '90s.

"It usually comes in spurts, guys about the same age coming out," Woods said. "It's interesting, because guys my age are just now getting on tour -- Rory (Sabbatini), I played against him in college, and Chris Riley. Those guys are my age."

Woods figures it won't be long before there is another batch of promising young stars.

"You're going to see kids at a younger age, because the kids doing it now are showing that it can be done," he said. "I just hope they're mature enough to handle it."

Howell, Gossett, Kuchar and Tryon are the young pups who will be in the field when the Genuity Championship starts today.

Next generation

"The next generation is here," said Paul Azinger, whose PGA Tour career began when some of these guys were still in diapers. "Jack Nicklaus once said that Tiger's challenge will come from a bunch of guys no one has heard of yet. They're just now showing up."

It is not fair to say Woods is responsible for this sudden explosion in youth because these youngsters started playing before Woods even went to college.

The more natural challenge -- and perhaps more realistic -- is among themselves.

"I've known David Gossett since I was 9," Howell said. "We've been trying to beat each other's brains in for 12 years now. And that will probably continue."

They all are part of one of the strongest fields Doral has put together in recent years, boosted by the presence of Woods. He tied for ninth on the Blue Monster in 1998, but hasn't returned because of his busy West Coast schedule.

This year, however, Woods skipped the Nissan Open to get over a nagging cold and wanted to add another tournament.

"Just happened to work out perfectly," he said.

Now all he has to do is work out the kinks. He has not seriously contended this year, although he tied for fifth in the Buick Invitational three weeks ago after being one 6-foot putt away from missing the cut.

"Pieces are starting to come together," Woods said. "It's pretty neat to see progress being made. This is the beauty of why I practice so hard."