Witness: Earl Woods

EVENT: Father-son talk
DATE: June 19

"After the U.S. Open, Tiger came to see me in Southern
California. I hadn't been at Pebble Beach, and there were all
sorts of stories about how dead I was. We were playing golf at
Big Canyon in Newport Beach. We were by ourselves.

"I asked him, 'Do you want me to be around more?' I hadn't been
going to too many tournaments. I wanted to know if he needed me
at them.

"And he said, 'I'll be all right, Pop.'

"Those words hit me. He was saying, 'I'm grown-up.' He was
declaring his freedom. It meant I had done my job."

B/W PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPH BY BRIAN LANKER

263
TIGER'S TOTAL NUMBER OF STROKES UNDER PAR THIS YEAR. NEXT BEST
WAS STEVE FLESCH AT 225 UNDER.

7.5
NBC's average overnight rating for the weekend telecast of the
U.S. Open, the championship's highest rating since overnights
were established in 1975.