An Eagle Not Even Enough for Tiger

When he bounced a ball into the hole to eagle the ninth, Tiger Woods was three under in a hurry and appeared to be on the verge of making a big move at the PGA Championship. He wasn’t.

Woods missed a downhill three-footer to bogey the 14th, three-putted the 17th hole for a bogey, stubbed a chip and bogeyed the 18th and managed only a one-under 69 that leaves him at one under, which is basically nowhere for today’s last round at Atlanta Athletic Club.

The two-time defending champion says he saw some improvements in his swing in the early going.

“Even though I pulled a couple of drives, it was actually nice to hit that kind of drive instead of losing it way right. I was actually able to release the club properly. I just need to trust that. I wasn’t trusting it and consequently, I was hitting a lot of [balls into the] left rough.”

But as soon as Woods got it together, he stalled quickly.

“I figured that if I could shoot three, four or five under on the back, I’d be right back in the game. But unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do it.”

Woods offered no additional comment and did not stop for a small group of reporters who followed him into the locker room.

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This is Georgia, after all. Nick Faldo aced the 204-yard fourth hole with a four-iron and obviously tailored his remarks for local consumption: “It was a peach.”

Faldo isn’t in contention at two over, but he had his moment. “At least I had one enjoyable hole,” he said.

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Mark Calcavecchia had one of the more prominent meltdowns in Ryder Cup history in 1991 at Kiawah Island, where he was four up with four holes to play, missed a two-footer at the 17th that would have beaten Colin Montgomerie and wound up nearly hyperventilating because of the pressure.

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Calcavecchia went on to halve the match in a narrow U.S. victory--his last Ryder Cup appearance. That’s almost certain to change this time because he’s fifth in the point standings.

But something else is also going to change, he says. No more meltdowns.

“We won at Kiawah, but I took it way too personal,” said Calcavecchia, whose 66 Saturday brought him to five under at the PGA. “I thought the weight of everything was on me when in fact it’s just a game.

“I just knew my finish was going to cost us a Ryder Cup and that’s why I had a hard time. I won’t fall for that again, no matter what happens. I will enjoy myself over there.”

Calcavecchia has a sore left arch and sleeps with a boot cast to keep his heel flexed.

“I may not feel my foot at the Ryder Cup I’ll have so much cortisone in it.

“I can go 36 holes, though, Curtis [Strange]. I’ll tough it out.”

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His back is often sore too, but Davis Love III says if Fred Couples quits, he’s locking arms with him on the way out. Love wasn’t being serious and doesn’t think Couples is going anywhere.

“I think that’s probably a reverse psychology and he’ll probably win [at] Las Vegas and be back to normal,” Love said.

“Fred has lasted a long time with a back problem. What we’re talking about with me or with some other guys is minor. . . . I mean, it’s a headache compared to what Fred has.”