Tiger Tames PGA Tour

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida: When Tiger Woods turned pro after winning his third consecutive U.S. Amateur title in August, his goal was simply win finish high enough to avoid having to go to PGA qualifying school. Two months later, after winning his second tournament at the Disney Classic, the 20-year-old phenom has a shot at $1 million in earnings if he finishes in the top two at the season-ending Tour Championship beginning Thursday. After debuting with a 60th-place finish at the Milwaukee Open, Woods finished 11th at the Canadian Open. Since then, he has placed fifth, third, first, third and first, becoming the first golfer to record five consecutive top-five finishes since Curtis Strange in 1982. "He's the shot in the arm the tour needs," said Payne Stewart, who finished one stroke behind Woods at Disney. "He's going to be out here a long time, and y'all are going to be writing about him for a long time." Woods, who overcame illness as well as a competitive field at Disney, had mixed emotions following the win. Taylor Smith, a 29-year-old tour rookie, was disqualified for using an illegal putter after tying Woods on the 18th. "It's gratifying, very satisfying, but I have mixed emotions because of what Taylor did," Woods said. "I feel like I should be in a playoff right now. I feel bad for him because he played his heart out the last round. I've never heard of anything like this." -->