Sunday, August 20, 2006

"He's Just Frightening"

While following Tiger Woods make his way around Medinah Country Club Sunday afternoon, smothering the life out of every possible challenger before he made the turn, I ran into CBS announcer David Feherty who was bird-dogging Woods' round.
"He's almost perfect," I said.
"He's just frightening is what he is," Feherty said before scooting off to talk to the world.
He's right.
Woods is frighteningly good.
It was no surprise that he won the PGA Championship Sunday by five shots, though it was a shock that Shaun Micheel was his closest challenger.
Woods is -- pardon the cliche -- on his way to becoming the greatest player ever. He was brilliant at Medinah, avoiding trouble and saving himself when he did make a mistake.
Did you see the par save he made from the bunker at No. 13? He was 70 feet from the flag with a pond behind the hole and he left himself a routine three-footer for par.
"Best up and down of the year," caddie Steve Williams told his boss.
It would be the best of most of our lifetimes.
But that's what Woods does routinely. He's consistently brilliant, especially in major championships.
It's easy to say that someone, anyone, should step up and challenge the guy but, unless Woods helps them, they can't beat him.
"He's just better than us," U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy said after getting an eyeful in the first two rounds.
Woods has a vibe about him that's undeniable. Luke Donald made 16 birdies the first three days and none Sunday while playing with Tiger.
Coincidence?
Don't think so.
Woods has 12 major championship wins now, two-thirds of the way to Jack Nicklaus's record of 18. Tiger says it will take him a career to catch or pass Nicklaus.
Perhaps -- if he intends to retire in about five years.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

He's flippin' brilliant! I felt terrible for Luke Donald - he couldn't get anything to go his way. I will give the gallery credit, they tried to give Luke some love, but it just wasn't happening - I can't imagine what it's like to play in the final pair with Tiger.

Anonymous said...

An insight into what sets Tiger above the rest: Did you see his expression and demeanor on the 17th when he made that bogey. You would have thought that he had lost the game. Even with a 5 stroke lead, he was simply a perfectionist. How do you compete against that?