Associated Press
Sunday, August 20

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Tiger Woods' errant drive in the PGA Championship playoff was almost caught by a sycamore, not a fan.

The drive on the par-5 18th hole was a hook that disappeared from the television cameras for a few moments. It appeared that a fan batted it and chased it down a hill.

"That was all gravity and Mother Nature," said hole marshal Tim Gilpin.

Gilpin said Woods' drive hit a sycamore tree and dropped nearly straight down onto a cart path and bounced so high it hit into the tree again. When it dropped again, the ball caught the cart path and shot down a hill onto trampled dirt.

"Everybody was around it, but nobody touched it," Gilpin said.

Fan interference could have forced Woods to drop his ball into an even worse place.

Woods put his second shot in the rough, hit his third into a bunker, and blasted out to set up his winning tap-in.





ESPN.com: Help | Advertiser Info | Contact Us | Tools | Site Map | Jobs at ESPN.com
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Ventures. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site.