Sunday, June 18, 2000
Woods is fearless, and it shows
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Tiger Woods makes the rest of the field feel like what's the use. He has been playing the United States Open alone for three days. No one scores the way he
does. No one attacks the course the way he does. No one has offered even a pretense of contending. No one will. The Open is closed.
“There's 156 of the best players in the world here” Miguel Angel Jimenez had said, complaining about the attention paid Woods.
To which we reply, “There are?”
They are the warmup band, the opening act, the motorcade surrounding Tiger's limo. They are his entourage.
On Saturday, Woods played in the final pairing, with Thomas Bjorn. Or was it Bjorn Thomas? The Dane started the round six shots behind; after two holes, his deficit was eight. Walking to the 8th tee, Woods was the only player under par; he had an eight-shot lead.
I watched him for nine holes Saturday. It was all that time al lowed. That's OK. You can guess how it turns out. We all can.
“In the 60s, you had Palmer,” Ernie Els said. “In the 70s, Nicklaus. In the 80s, let's put Watson. (Woods) is probably the most recognizable sportsman on the planet.” And the most dominant.
Put it this way: In the world's most demanding golf tournament, Woods made a
triple bogey and a bogey in his first nine holes Saturday and increased his lead by three strokes.
During those nine holes, he made some ridiculously good shots, into the roaring mouth of a 30 mph wind. There was the third shot at the par-5 6th. The ball was in deep rough, just above a bunker. Woods had his right foot jammed into the lip of the sand, his left about 3 feet above his right, planted in the grass.
He had 50 yards to the cup. It was a shot for a contortionist, with a minor in magic. Woods blasted the wedge to 10 feet, then made the putt for birdie. At that point, the rest of the field threw up its hands and started to laugh.
He is playing the same course they are, but not the same way. Woods doesn't buy the twin mantras of patience and caution that until now have been assumed at Opens. You're not supposed to attack a U.S. Open course. You take what the defense gives you.
Unless you're Woods, in which case you take what you want. Conventional Open strategy doesn't apply. Tiger just lets it rip. Standing on the 18th tee Saturday morning, finishing his delayed second round and lording over a seven-shot lead, Woods hit his driver as hard as he could. This was not the Open play. But Woods is not an Open player.
He hasn't tempered his fearlessness to account for the Open's rough or this Open's harder, faster greens. He's still playing like he's at Normandy in June 1944.
At age 24, he hasn't failed enough to know fear. He has barely failed at all. Woods plays with the nerve of a child.
On Friday, he didn't tee off until 4:40. On Saturday, he played 24 holes, teeing off at 6:30a.m. and again at 3:19. The Open is nerve-jangling enough without playing at odd times, in fits and starts. It didn't faze Woods. He used the late start Friday to watch the tournament on TV, seeking insight on the best places to land his shots.
If he wins today — if Woods can withstand the furious charge of, say, Miguel Angel Jimenez — it will be Woods' 12th title in his last 21 tournaments. “Woods wins” is starting to sound redundant.
Eventually, he will need a rival to define his greatness. A Joe Frazier, a Sammy Sosa. A Tom Watson to his Jack Nicklaus, a Bjorn Borg to his John McEnroe. At some point, running alone stops being compelling.
For now, it's best to sit back and enjoy the view.
“You always want to see how far you are behind him,” noted Sergio Garcia. Often, the view requires binoculars. But it is spectacular.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at (513) 768-8454.
U.S. Open coverage from Associated Press
Local golf coverage at Cincinnati.com/golf
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