There’s Tiger, and Then There’s Everyone Else

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, writing on Tiger Woods:

“By the look of the demoralized generation at this 100th U.S. Open, it might take a decade to unearth a true rival.

“Surely, Sergio Garcia--Europe’s ‘next Tiger’--noticed that his 299 total here wasn’t good enough. Tiger beat him by 27. When you go back to the practice range, how do you get 27 strokes better?

“ ‘Don’t give them any hope,’ Woods said, summarizing his Sunday strategy.”

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Trivia time: What is the NBA finals record for margin of victory?

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Wait a minute! Ken Griffey Jr. tees it up with Woods during the off-season and says, “I outdrive him all the time. And I make sure when I do, I get to my ball quickly so everybody notices.”

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Stay away from the rough: Blackie Sherrod in the Dallas Morning News: “First Native American golf course, built on Apache reservation in Arizona, has rather unique hazards.

“Fairway sign: Beware of rattlesnakes and Gila monsters.”

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Motel 500: The Monterey Herald reported that during the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, a nearby Motel 6 required a five-night minimum for room reservations at $500 a night.

The “6” once stood for $6 a night--long, long ago.

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The eyes go first: From Leonard Shapiro of the Washington Post: “The quote machine of this U.S. Open has been Jeff Colston, a club pro from Blaine, Wash., who last played in this event 22 years ago. Asked about the difference between then and now, he said: ‘I don’t see the ball as well. I went to my ophthalmologist to get that laser surgery, and he said it was too late for me. I tried too hard, took too long and thought too much. Maybe I needed a lobotomy.’ ”

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Priorities: Ron Rapoport in the Chicago Sun-Times: “You mean to tell me Kobe Bryant has something better to do in September than beat up on a bunch of players from Afghanistan and Zimbabwe at the Olympics? Good for him.”

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Soft touch: Jeff Gordon in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “When Wayne Gretzky opens his restaurant, ‘Wayne Gretzky’s,’ in the new Scottsdale (Ariz.) hockey arena, will this be the first eating establishment that refuses to give customers a check?”

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Looking back: On this day in 1960, Floyd Patterson knocked out Ingemar Johansson in the fifth round in New York, becoming the first boxer to regain the heavyweight title.

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Trivia answer: 42 points, Chicago over Utah on June 7, 1998, 96-54.

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And finally: Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe on Woods:

“He is a relentless, single-minded, magnificently talented workaholic who will simply not be stopped.

“He was raised to be the greatest golfer of all time and he will fulfill his promise.

” . . . For everyone else, Pebble Beach was a classic U.S. Open course, intimidating and downright unneighborly. For Tiger Woods, Pebble Beach was a moderate challenge but little more.”