Woods stalking his opponents in a major is among the most compelling sights in all of sports
U.S. Open preview: Eye of the Tiger
I've been lucky to cover some amazing sports events in my time. I was there for Wide Right, No Goal and Home Run Throwback. I saw Christian Laettner's shot that stunned Kentucky and Magic Johnson's baby hook that beat the Celtics. I watched Kerri Strug nail the vault on a sprained ankle to beat the Russians. I was in the left-field seats at SkyDome, just above the spot where the ball landed, when Joe Carter hit the home run to win the '93 World Series.
Still, there is nothing that gets me so excited as a chance to cover Tiger Woods at a U.S. Open. Maybe it's because I began playing golf around the time that Woods started dominating the sport. You gain a greater appreciation for the world's best players when you've struggled to play this maddening and addictive game at a modestly proficient level.
But really, it's about Woods' place in history. It has taken several years for the notion to take residence in my brain, but I consider Woods not only the best golfer in the world but the greatest competitor in sports history. I hesitate to use the word "athlete," because there are pockets of bias out there against golfers as athletes. It's an argument for another time.
Woods is a sporting phenomenon, a singular exhibit of what makes sports so compelling. He has an unmatched combination of physical ability, competitive will, golfing imagination and grace under pressure. Every time I go to cover him, I'm riding a wave of sheer anticipation and joy, a sense that something new and astonishing might occur.
It has been more than 12 years since Woods won his first major, winning the Masters in a record score in 1997. He has been analyzed, criticized and lionized. Somehow, he has continued to evolve, to reinvent himself and push the borders of possibility. Woods has changed his swing and reinvented himself, defying the notion that he had reached his peak.
Last year, people wondered if Woods would be ready for the Open at Torrey Pines. He was coming off arthroscopic surgery. As it turned out, his left knee was in bad shape. Woods played the Open in obvious pain, but somehow gutted out a victory over a determined Rocco Mediate, winning his 14th major on the first extra hole of a Monday playoff.
Woods called it the most satisfying win of his career. Mediate did what few golfers have during Tiger's run: He brought out the best in Woods. Three strokes down with eight holes to play, Mediate battled back into the lead and would have won if Woods hadn't birdied 18, forcing the playoff.
I was one of maybe a dozen writers who followed Woods and Mediate for the entire 19-hole playoff. After 10, with Woods up by three, I considered heading back to the press tent with some other media. But I'm a sucker for a comeback. I gave Rocco another hole, and he didn't disappoint me.
On the final playoff hole, Mediate hit his second shot against a media grandstand. Before taking his drop, he pretended to heave his ball into the stands, delighting the crowd. He was the people's choice that day. He missed his par putt and it was over. Woods' wife, Elin, brushed past me as she rushed to embrace her husband at the edge of the green. I could have reached out and touched them.
I'm supposed to be a dispassionate observer, but it's tough to be objective when you're an arm's length from history. For a brief moment, I was a fan — not only of Woods, but of Mediate, the noble loser. Seconds later, six golf carts arrived to whisk Woods away in a motorcade, as if he were royalty, for the winning ceremony at the 18th green.
Not until later did we realize how heroic Woods' play had been on his damaged knee. He underwent major surgery and didn't play again for eight months. People wondered if he had paid a dear price for winning, and if he'd ever be the same after the surgery. Maybe he wouldn't break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major wins after all.
So as Woods prepares to defend his Open title this week at Bethpage Black, he has become a somewhat sympathetic figure. He is famous for his cold, businesslike demeanor on the course, but his image has softened since he won at Bethpage in 2002. He is married now. He has two children. His father Earl, his golf mentor and inspiration, died a few years back.
By winning last year's Open, he added to his legend. This is what we needed to keep the idea of Tiger fresh — a slip, some potential calamity to humanize him and refocus our attention. America loves a comeback story. The knee surgery raised the necessary doubts and made his pursuit of Nicklaus' record newly compelling.
The doubts were there. Woods came back in March and failed to win his first two tournaments. He won Bay Hill, then tied for sixth in the Masters. He was fourth at Quail Hollow and eighth at the Players Championship. Three top 10s and there were whispers of a slump. That's how impossibly high a standard Woods has set for himself.
Woods wasn't content, either. This is a man who won seven of 11 majors, then ditched his swing coach and reworked his swing. He struggled off the tee after his return this year. So he changed his driver, adding a half-degree of loft and shortening the shaft. It was like Fitzgerald reworking the ending of "The Great Gatsby," or Springsteen changing the chorus in "Born to Run."
It worked, evidently. Last week at the Memorial, Woods hit all 14 fairways in the final round and rallied to win. It was the first time in six years he hit every fairway in a round. He had his most accurate driving week since the '98 Masters. The knee is getting stronger. He is back to his old obsessive practice routine. Tiger has all the tricks in his bag again.
After finishing second to Woods at the Memorial, Jim Furyk asked the media to "quit chapping" Woods so much "to make him come back and keep proving stuff."
Jack Nicklaus, who hosts the Memorial, witnessed Woods' comeback and said he expected the 15th major win to come in "about two weeks." That is, at Bethpage this week. "If he drives the ball this way and plays this way, I'm sure it will," Nicklaus said. "If not, it would surprise me greatly."
Nothing Woods does should be a surprise anymore. I've learned not to underestimate him. When he played 10 straight majors without a win, I had doubts that he would catch Nicklaus. He reworked his swing and got better. He always finds new ways to motivate himself. If his knee holds up, he could be dominant well into his 40s.
Woods is the clear favorite at Bethpage. He could go wire to wire, as he did in '02. But it will be nice if someone brings out the best in him, the way Mediate did. Maybe it'll be Phil Mickelson, who won over the New York crowds at Bethpage seven years ago and will be a big sentimental favorite after it was revealed his wife, Amy, has breast cancer.
Do we dare even contemplate a reprise of Torrey Pines — except with Tiger and Phil battling each other to a memorable finish at the Open? After last year's epic, I figured I'd never see anything like it again. But it's Tiger, and you just never know.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments