This Time, They’re Out of Woods

This would be a fairly good time for somebody to do something dramatic here at the U.S. Open, now that Tiger Woods has all but played himself out of it.

Here is the short version: Tiger has left the building, which means that for the first time in a long while, some other players have a chance.

And here is some advice: Don’t blow it.

In the past year, we have conditioned ourselves to accept the obvious. We have local knowledge that Woods is a) going to win every major he plays, or, b) come close, and so have all those players he laps every time there is some Stirling silver hardware to be passed out.

But this one is working out differently here at Southern Hills, land of tall trees, skinny fairways and pins stuck in places you can’t get to without a compass, a Sherpa and a prayer.

Tiger isn’t going to win the U.S. Open today, or at least he won’t unless he somehow makes up the largest deficit in the 101-year history of the tournament. Woods is nine shots back and this cannot be encouraging news for him, because no one has come back from more than seven shots after 54 holes. Arnold Palmer did it in the 1960 Open at Cherry Hills.

For anyone out there wondering what a major would look like if Woods wasn’t in it, here is your answer.

Currently, there are more players with a chance to win out here than pickup trucks at the car wash on a Friday night.

The pressure for the bigger names has got to be pretty huge. David Duval, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia have had nice careers, all right, but you could say they’ve gained most of their notoriety for being pushed into the role of Tiger foil. It hasn’t fit any of them. No one in this group has won a major, basically because Woods has hogged the show, winning the last four and five of the last six. Now the other players don’t have that excuse anymore.

Of course, they are not alone. This U.S. Open is as wide open as the four-lane freeway from here to Oklahoma City.

The South African pro Retief Goosen is hanging tough and making a name for himself, which is good, because up until now, there probably were many in the gallery who thought Retief Goosen was a type of futon.

Stewart Cink is somebody else who has a nice chance. Cink tied for eighth in last year’s Open at Pebble Beach, which sounds good until you realize that was 19 shots behind Woods. The closest Cink got to Woods all week was when they parked their courtesy cars.

But Tiger is not a factor here, a circumstance Scott Hoch says could be explained by the idea that Southern Hills doesn’t set up well for him, especially with its narrow fairways. When Woods is right, Hoch says, he can hit fairways that are 10 yards wide.

Could be, but Woods isn’t hitting fairways that are 30 yards wide and this is surely a drawback for anyone trying to win the U.S. Open.

There is no shortage of players who can say in all honesty that they have a chance today.

No one has won more tournaments without a major title than Mickelson. He is either due or cursed, take your pick. At the 13th in Saturday’s third round, Mickelson (on his 31st birthday) had an eagle putt from eight feet and wound up three-putting for par instead. Mickelson had three bogeys and two birdies on the back side and said that was good enough for him. But he must be better today.

Garcia, only 21, is best known for the shot he hit from behind a tree with his eyes closed at the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah, leaping as he ran up the fairway to follow the ball’s flight toward the green. Just guessing, but if Garcia keeps his eyes open all day today, chances are it will be easier for him to play golf.

Duval, 29, has stood in shadow of Woods for a long time, and during the third round he spent some of his afternoon in the shade, under trees where he found several of his golf balls.

Rocco Mediate has joined the hunt for his first major title and he is both a talented and colorful player, although his biggest impact in a major to date was not what he would have chosen. At last year’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, Mediate injured his back when he sat on a folding chair in the players’ dining room and it collapsed.

Mark Brooks is still hanging around, clearly oblivious to the fact that he shouldn’t be, because he has missed the cut in the Open three times in the last four years. But Brooks, the 1996 PGA champion, is the stubborn type and that can pay off around here.

For all of you who have a chance, get in line and take your best shot. Tiger has left the door open, for somebody. Just come on inside and get your hands on that trophy as quickly as possible before he changes his mind.