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Ali, Jordan and now Tiger
Published: 8/21/2006 8:11 AM
Last Modified: 8/21/2006 8:11 AM

There have been three transcendent sports figures in my lifetime. Muhammad Ali was that person when I was a child. I loved Mickey Mantle and he was my sports hero. But Ali was this figure that was bigger than life. Then, as a young adult, there was Michael Jordan. He made basketball a worldwide sport. Now, it is Tiger Woods. His stardom reaches far beyond the world of sports. Just like Ali and Jordan before him, there are few places on earth where Woods could walk unnoticed. His victory on Sunday in the PGA Championship just added to what is already a remarkable career. He now has 12 major championships, just six shy of the 18 Jack Nicklaus. There was a time when people thought no one would ever approach the Nicklaus record. There's no longer any doubt about Woods. He'll win more than 18 major championships. When he passes Nicklaus and how many he can win will make for terrific theater over the next 20 years (if he plays on the regular tour until 50, as most golfers). There's been nothing normal about Tiger's career. He came out on tour late in the summer of 1996. He played in seven tournaments, winning twice, to reach the PGA TOUR Championship at Southern Hills Country Club. I was there for the final two stops before he arrived in Tulsa that fall. I was guy at his press conferences in San Antonio (Texas Open) and Orland (Disney Classic) asking if he thought he would make it Tulsa. To do so, he'd have to finish in the top 30 on the money list for the year – an unbelievable feat considering he played in just seven tournament. He used to call me the guy from Tulsa. For years after that rookie year, he still remembered I was the guy from Tulsa. I doubt he still remembers. But those were a fun couple of weeks. He was young but there was a feeling around him. You knew it was a just a matter of time before he became that towering figure in sports. Now, it is just a matter of time before he owns every record in sports.


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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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