He’ll Try for Third Consecutive Amateur Title, but Will He Then Turn Pro and Go for Lion’s Share?

All right, let’s synchronize our watches.

Fairly soon, possibly even by the end of this week, the world of professional golf actually may get the words it has been waiting to hear for so very long.

Eldrick “Tiger” Woods will say he is turning pro.

Then the merchants of golf will get their turn to speak. They will say something like, “Gentlemen, start your cash registers.”

Better get ready. The U.S. Amateur begins today at a place in Cornelius, Ore., called Pumpkin Ridge, where Woods may be planning a little trick or treat of his own.

Since he already has won the U.S. Amateur two times running--and not even Bobby Jones did that--Woods may just go ahead and say the Amateur has been a fun coming-out party for the pros if he wins it a third time.

Or Woods may decide that he can be a millionaire later and return for his junior year at Stanford, where he can continue to study economics. That’s something he can practice soon enough.

Woods said Sunday that he’s moving ever closer to a decision about whether to turn pro.

“I think I’ll start thinking about that and actually start talking about that after this event,” he said. “Then I’ll sit down and talk about my future plans.”

Agents, players, media and product manufacturers are practically sucking the air out of golf balls in anticipation.

You can understand why. Some club-maker probably is already prepared to sign Tiger to an endorsement deal to play something like, well, Tiger woods?

The media would be in its usual frenzy. Television announcers will feel free to say things like “Tiger is really striping the ball today.”

And agents, man, is one of them going to make a ton or what? Vinny Giles, who represents such players as Davis Love III, Tom Kite and Lanny Wadkins, said Woods could easily make $5 million a year for five years in endorsements. But that could be just the tip of the Tiger tale. If Woods aligns himself with a corporation that isn’t golf-related, he then doubles that figure as easily as a tap-in birdie.

“Tiger could be the Michael Jordan of golf,” Giles said.

Right now, Woods is just a skinny kid from Cypress who just happens to have the prettiest golf swing in world, or close to it.

Woods is the most famous, most accomplished, most photographed and most pursued amateur golfer since Jones. And at the golden age of 20, Woods seems to have taken off in flat-out pursuit of golf history.

If Woods wins his third consecutive amateur, it would be a record. And if he does win again, Woods will have won United States Golf Assn. championships in six consecutive years.

Jones, who had USGA titles in eight consecutive years, is the only other golfer in USGA history with more consecutive years with victories than Woods.

Right now, it’s sort of crowded out there. There were 5,538 entries for the U.S. Amateur and 312 made it into the field. The stroke play format for today and Tuesday reduces the field to the low 64, who begin match play Thursday. The 36-hole championship match is Sunday.

Of course, Woods has been in the last two.

He won his first U.S. Amateur at age 18 on the TPC Sawgrass course at Ponde Vedra, Fla., the headquarters for the PGA Tour. Wonder if anybody was watching?

He shot 65 on the first day of qualifying, came from three holes down with five holes to play to win in the third round of match play, and in the championship round, came from six holes down and four down at the 18-hole break to win in dramatic fashion.

He knocked a ball to within three feet of the water on the fringe of the island 17th green, then made a 14-foot putt and went on to close out the greatest comeback in the 100-year-history of the Amateur.

Last year at Newport Country Club in Newport, R.I., Woods won again. Now, he can be the first three-peater.

“It’s kind of interesting, because the only thing I’m here to do is try and win,” Woods said Sunday. “That’s the only thing I’m caught up in.”

The really big factors will come later, but not much later. Woods has accepted sponsors’ exemptions and entered two PGA Tour events, the Greater Milwaukee Open Aug. 29-Sept. 1 and the Quad City Classic Sept. 12-15, which will take place before school begins at Stanford.

By then, he may be playing as a professional. It’s sort of a sticky situation, though. Woods would need to finish in the top 130 on the money list to earn a PGA Tour card for 1997. If he won, he would also earn a two-year exemption, but a victory seems unlikely, because as good as Woods is, he hasn’t blown away the competition in the pros.

In 17 professional tournaments, Woods’ best finish is a tie for 22nd at the British Open at Lytham St. Annes, where he had a second-round 66.

Woods has missed nine cuts, had 31 of 42 rounds over par and put up a scoring average of 73.79.

But Woods played many of those events at 16, 17 and 18 years old. Not only is it difficult to jump in and play four or five tournaments a year, when you’re talking U.S. Open and a British Open and a Masters, that’s a pretty difficult assignment for anyone, even for an economics major from Stanford.

There is some recent precedent for what Woods may decide. Justin Leonard turned pro at 22 and made $140,413 in 1994, good enough for No. 126 on the money list, a PGA Tour card and no qualifying school.

But Leonard left the University of Texas after winning the NCAA championship in the spring, which means he had a lot more time than Woods would leave himself.

Meanwhile, while history waits to be made out on the Oregon Tiger trail, the accolades continue to roll in.

Tom Watson said Woods is the most important young golfer in the last 50 years. Nick Price said he can’t think of anyone with a brighter future in golf. Greg Norman said Woods could win the Masters, and soon. Jack Nicklaus said Woods reminds him of him.

Just tell us soon, Tiger, what you’re going to do. All is ready and everyone is waiting.

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96th U.S. Amateur

* WHEN: Monday through Sunday.

* WHERE: Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek Courses at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Cornelius, Ore., near Portland.

* FORMAT: 312 golfers play two days of medal play to determine which 64 players advance to match play competition, concluding with a 36-hole final on Sunday. A player needs to win six matches to be champion.

* WHO CAN PLAY: Amateur golfers with a USGA-certified handicap of 3.4 or less are eligible for local qualifying.

* DEFENDING CHAMPION: Tiger Woods, who is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles.

* TV COVERAGE: ESPN, Wednesday 1-3 p.m. PDT, Thursday noon-2 p.m., Friday 1-3 p.m.; NBC, Saturday 1-3 p.m., Sunday 1-3 p.m.