Tiger Woods to the Inter-Ac Tournament: A Golf Odyssey

   The planets aligned just so Tuesday and a summer breeze blew into Delco along with a certain 14-time major golf champion by the name of Tiger Woods. You may have heard of him.
   What made it a perfect day for somebody covering golf at the Daily Times, though, was that once the Woods press conference at Aronimink Golf Club was over, you could sneak down Goshen Road, hook a right at Providence and check out some of the best young talent in Delco at the Inter-Ac Tournament hosted by Malvern Prep at White Manor Country Club.
    OK, Tiger first. There was a Tiger transition going on right before our eyes at Aronimink as he hyped the second and final edition of the AT&T National at Aronimink, which concludes on the eve of the Fourth of July.
   It was an upbeat Tiger who greeted the media Tuesday. He doesn't think the sore knee and Achillies that chased him off the golf course at the TPC Sawgrass after nine holes of The Players Championship will keep him out of action for much longer.
    And yes, he still plans to be competitive in tournaments and majors.
    But he evoked names like Jay Haas and Ray Floyd and, of course, the great Jack Nicklaus as he talked about how he might start winning golf tournaments again.
   Woods seems to know he's no longer going to win by just bashing the golf course into submission.
   "I can't hit the ball, in relative terms, as far as the rest of the guys on the Tour can," Woods said. "It's a different ball game. A lot of it isn't even off the tee. You have guys that have 150 to the hole and they're hitting wedge in. Ten years ago, most guys needed 8-iron to hit it 150 yards.
   "But look at guys like Jay Haas and Ray Floyd, late in their careers. The would win tournaments because they could pick apart the golf course. They knew where you could hit and where you couldn't hit. Look at Jack, he was the longest of his generation, but he proved you could be long and still play a cerebral game. You can have a power game and still play a strong mental game."
   Imagine the most physically dominating golfer of all time turning into a cagey veteran. It might start to happen the next time you see him tee it up.
    And don't think for one second that he's not keeping track of major championships and where he stands as he tries to chase down the Golden Bear's record 18 major wins.
   "I've had what, 14 in 15 years," Woods said. "Jack got his 18 over 24 or 23years. It takes time and I still have plenty of time. And I still get excited about playing golf and playing in major championships."
   Hmm, a couple of majors between now and June 2013 and maybe Tiger will be taking aim at history when he arrives at Merion Golf Club for the U.S. Open. There's been a little history there, including Bobby Jones completing what passed for the Grand Slam in 1930 and Ben Hogam coming all the way back from nearly dying in a head-on crash with a bus to win the 1950 Open. 
   Or Tiger may still be desperately seeking that 15th major. It should be big doings in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township either way.
   Then it was off to White Manor to cover some kids who have known nothing except Tiger Woods being the best golfer their whole lives.
   Malvern Prep ninth-grader Michael Davis evoked memories of a Malvern star of the fairly recent past, Billy Stewart, as Davis birdied the last three holes at White Manor for a 2-under 69 and a six-shot victory.
   I got to watch Davis for a few holes as he played alongside Haverford School sophomore Scott Jaster and Episcopal sophomore Sean Fahey. On the back nine, I stuck with Haverford School ninth-grader Cole Berman, who was paired by Episcopal senior Bobby Svigals.
    It felt like summertime at White Manor and it looked like the games of all these kids were heating up just in time for the summer tournaments to come.
    As they gathered for the awards ceremony following the tournament, the Inter-Ac players were complimented by White Manor head pro Mark Levine for their behavior on the course.
    It was well-deserved as all the players I saw were on their best behavior. And, for the most part, they played pretty quickly. Nice players and nice kids with supportive coaches and a few moms and dads.
   Yeah, seeing Tiger Woods up close and personal is pretty interesting. But covering the Inter-Ac Tournament wasn't a bad way to spend the rest of a perfect day for golf.
Overbrook, Llanerch moving up
   I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Merion Golf Club's top team had won the Philadelphia Cup after taking the top tier of the Women's Golf Association of Philadelphia Team Matches.
   Well, the top teams at Overbrook G.C. and Llanerch C.C. had pretty nice springs as well and, as a result, will move up a notch when the 2012 Team Matches come around.
   After going 5-0 in the Fourth Cup, Overbrook blanked Riverton C.C.'s top team to move up to the Third Cup. Overbrook's lineup for the challenge match included Emily Endres, a state qualifier at Radnor who just completed her senior season at Lehigh, Mary Beth Schell, Kathy Wiley, Karen McFadden, Amy Renninger, Jamie Susanin, who will be a junior on the Radnor golf team in the fall, and Kate Loftus.
    Llanerch's top team went 5-0 to capture the Sixth Cup and then knocked off Gulph Mills G.C.'s second team to move up to the Fifth Cup. The Llanerch lineup for the challenge match included Mary Jo McWilliams, Carol Wlotko, Colleen Marsini, Arlene Del Pizzo, Judy McCormick, Kimberle Swanson and Theresa Liney.