You wouldn't think that a guy who has outplayed Tiger Woods in three tournaments would be worried much about his golf game, but Chip Spratlin of Gray, Tn., near Johnson City, is getting ready to go all out to get better in 2002.

Spratlin has played in several regional tournaments around East Tennessee during the last couple of years, but he is gearing up to try to make a go of it on the Buy.Com tour this spring.

An All-American golfer at Auburn University, Spratlin has seen what Tiger has done in the past few years and can reflect on the fact that only a few years ago he was putting Mr. Woods in the shade somewhat regularly.

Spratlin won the NCAA championship in 1995, a tournament in which the estimable Tiger finished in the second half of the top 10. Spratlin also played against Tiger and the Stanford University golf team in several other collegiate events.

"I played with him in a tournament at Dalton, Ga., and in a tournament at Phoenix, Ariz., when we were both in college. I had a lower score than him in each round...I think I shot a 73 and he had a 78 in the final round at Phoenix,'' said Spratlin.

Tiger has become a part of Spratlin's permanent history, physically, too.

"I saved the leader board from the 1995 NCAA championship final round. The board is about five feet by five feet. It showed the names and scoring for about the top 25 players. I was on top and Tiger was somewhere around sixth.''

Spratlin said his parents now have the board framed in their home in Johnson City.

Some have said that Tiger's loss in the 1995 NCAA hacked him off enough that he decided to come back to school so he could have another shot at winning an NCAA golf title (which he did). So, perhaps except for Spratlin, El Tigre might have started collecting pro golf millions a year earlier than he did.

Spratlin said that at the time he was playing with Tiger he could see that he had a world of talent and potential, but he was much less intimidating then.

"Sure, he could kill it off the tee and was perhaps the best putter I ever saw, but he was a little inconsistent then. Right now, I probably might be a little intimidated by him. I probably would be like a lot of guys, standing around watching him swing and not concentrating on my game as I should.''

Spratlin has had a checkered start to his own pro career.

He played on the Canadian PGA Tour in 1995 after leaving Auburn. His best finish was a tie for 13th and the Payless Open and a tie for 21st at the Telus Edmonton Open. He finished 41st on the Canadian Tour money list in 1996.

He also played some on the Powerbilt Tour and has been a Monday qualifier for several Buy.Com events the last couple of years. His best finish was a 20th place (worth $1,950) at the Huntsville, Ala., Open.

But he got married a little over a year ago (no kids yet, but two labrador retrievers, who shag balls for him) and he wants to go all out to see if he can cut it on the Buy.Com tour in 2002.

He has no automatic exemption for any tournaments, so he's going to try the Monday qualifying route each week.

"I'm going to see how that goes. If I do reasonably well I will probably stick to that from about March through the summer. If I don't do well, I will probably be back in East Tennessee, playing tournaments around here. I'm going to try to play in 3-4 Hooters Tour events before I hit the Buy.Com tour."

Spratlin says he is primarily concerned about his short game and will be working hard to improve his chipping and putting before hitting the pro circuits.

"I have been shooting a lot of 70s and 71s, but you really need a round or two in the 65-66-67 range to really make any money on the tours. I probably will play around here as much as possible this winter and then spend a couple of weeks in Florida working on my game before I get going this spring.''

But many must feel that anybody who can beat Tiger Woods three times has to have the stuff it takes to get the job done just about anywhere.

This story was published on 28 May 2002.