Tiger’s Double Major

Once again, there was no stopping Tiger Woods, not the pressure of a Sunday with a major championship on the line, not a swirling wind, not the burden of history and not the heat generated by those determined to chase him down.

The sky above the Old Course was as gray as the stone buildings that line Links Road as it hugs the length of the 18th fairway when Woods closed out his round of two-under-par 70, winning the British Open for a second time and completing his second career grand slam.

“It’s a dream come true,” Woods said.

Woods’ 10th major championship was a picture of consistency and a testament to perseverance. His rounds of 66-67-71-70 added up to a 14-under-par total of 274, five shots ahead of Colin Montgomerie.

Woods joined Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have won all four of the major championships at least twice, but at 29 Woods is younger than Nicklaus was when he accomplished the feat at 31.

Almost from the moment Woods set a goal as a youngster growing up in Orange County that he would break Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles, it seemed there was no other player with whom he could ever compare. So here is another: Nicklaus’ 10th major title was the 1972 Masters, which he won when he was 32.

The only other player with 10 or more major titles is Walter Hagen, who had 11.

In the end, Woods’ 10th will go down as one of his most serene, although it really wasn’t, despite his margin of victory. Unlike his 19-under total when he claimed his first British Open on the Old Course in 2000 and completed his first career grand slam with an eight-stroke victory, Woods didn’t exactly have clear sailing this time. But he still overpowered the course as well as the competition with equal parts flair and grit.

He drove par-four greens, but also found himself under gorse bushes and in bunkers. He took unplayable lies, but also hit flagsticks on the bounce. He established himself as the favorite, took on the best players in the game and slammed the door on them all.

“It’s never a disgrace to lose to the best player of our generation by far,” said Montgomerie, who pressed Woods for awhile, but was three over on the back and wound up with a 72.

“You have to beat Tiger. If he stays fit and healthy, he has 10 of these majors now and we all know Jack had 18 and he’s over halfway now. It’s amazing. Can he achieve the impossible? He’s on his way and all credit to him.”

Woods raised his arms after making his putt for par at the famous 18th hole, in front of the green metal bleachers that spilled over with fans. He grinned and removed his cap and waved it to acknowledge polite applause for a mission accomplished. In the final analysis, it might not have been spotless, but it was effective.

His average driving distance of 341.5 yards was the best in the tournament and his putting average of 1.67 tied for first along with David Frost, Mark Hensby and Luke Donald. And if you hit it farther than anybody and putt it the best, that’s usually a good recipe for success.

“I hit the ball so solidly today,” Woods said. “The golf ball was hit so flush all day, every shot. It was one of those rounds that I will be thinking about for a long time. I’m very thankful it happened at the right time.”

But it took a while for Woods to turn the chase into a march of futility. Jose Maria Olazabal, who started the day two shots behind Woods, closed to within one shot at the fourth hole, but Woods’ two-putt birdie at the 568-yard par-five fifth pushed the lead back to two.

Montgomerie charged, much to the delight of his fans in his native country. And when Montgomerie birdied the ninth to reach 12 under, he trailed Woods by only one.

The margin was two shots over Montgomerie and three over Olazabal after Woods drove the green on the 352-yard ninth, where he two-putted for a birdie.

Woods appeared to be in trouble at the 10th when he missed on his attempt to reach the green on the 380-yard hole and instead landed in a bunker short of the green. He wound up three-putting for bogey from long distance, but caught a break when Montgomerie made bogey at the 11th immediately after failing to cash in with anything better than a par at the 10th.

Everything changed at the 348-yard 12th, one of the holes lengthened and toughened this year in a so-called Tiger-proofing of the Old Course that added 164 yards. While Olazabal, paired with Woods, made bogey, Woods sank a four-footer for birdie. At the same time, playing a hole ahead, Montgomerie missed a six-foot putt for par.

And that was that. Suddenly, Woods had a four-shot lead with six holes to go.

After pulling away from Montgomerie, there were no challenges. Fred Couples, who finished his round hours before Woods, shot a 68 and moved from a tie for 22nd into a tie for third with Olazabal, who birdied the last hole for a 74.

Everyone else simply fell away, including Retief Goosen, who began the round in third place but had another fourth-round major disappointment with a two-over 74. He tied for fifth, joined by Sergio Garcia, who had a 73, Vijay Singh, who had a 72, and Michael Campbell, who finished with a 72. Also in the same group at seven-under 281 were Geoff Ogilvy and Bernhard Langer.

As Couples said, Woods was simply too good.

“He’s setting the bar so high and he’s so strong. He’s always the guy to beat.”

And, once again, Woods seems to be picking up the intimidation factor again. After Woods shot an opening round of six-under 66, Montgomerie said the players were already considering the possibility that they were all playing for second place. If it was prophecy, it might have been self-fulfilling, but none of that mattered to Woods.

Woods is the sixth player to win the British Open wire-to-wire and the first since Tom Weiskopf in 1973. The others are Ted Ray in 1912, Bobby Jones in 1927, Gene Sarazen in 1932 and Henry Cotton in 1934.

His first-round 66 matched the lowest by a winner, the same as Peter Thomson in 1958, Nick Faldo in 1992 and Greg Norman in 1993.

It was Woods’ fourth victory this year and the 44th of his career. His payday Sunday of $1,261,584 moved him to No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list with $6.6 million and also increased his career prize money to $51,744,610.

And there’s one more number to look at: Woods is 10 for 10 in majors when leading or sharing the lead after 54 holes. He has never lost. Judging by the way he played for four days in July on the Old Course along St. Andrews Bay, Woods looks like he might never lose.

Just before Woods received the Claret Jug in the awards ceremony, he was introduced by Peter Dawson, the secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, as “the champion golfer of the year.”

So far, he’s done nothing to prove otherwise.

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Major players

Tiger Woods earned his second British Open title Sunday, giving him 10 major golf championships since turning professional in 1996. Also, a look at PGA career grand slam winners and comparing Woods and Jack Nicklaus at the same point of their careers.

MOST MAJOR TITLES

*--* Jack Nicklaus...18 Walter Hagen...11 Tiger Woods...10 Ben Hogan...9 Gary Player...9 Tom Watson...8 Bobby Jones...7 Arnold Palmer...7 Gene Sarazen...7 Sam Snead...7 Harry Vardon...7

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CAREER GRAND SLAMS

*--* Jack Nicklaus (18 titles) * Masters: 1963, ‘65, ‘66, ‘72, ‘75, ’86 * U.S. Open: 1962, 1967, 1972, 1980 * British Open: 1966, 1970, 1978 * PGA: 1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980 * Career Grand Slam age: 26

Tiger Woods (10) * Masters: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 * U.S. Open: 2000, 2002 * British Open: 2000, 2005 * PGA: 1999, 2000 * Career Grand Slam age: 24

Ben Hogan (9) * Masters: 1951, 1953 * U.S. Open: 1948, 1950, 1951, 1953 * British Open: 1953 * PGA: 1946, 1948 * Career Grand Slam age: 41

Gary Player (9) * Masters: 1961, 1974, 1978 * U.S. Open: 1965 * British Open: 1959, 1968, 1974 * PGA: 1962, 1972 * Career Grand Slam age: 29

Gene Sarazen (7) * Masters: 1935 * U.S. Open: 1922, 1932 * British Open: 1932 * PGA: 1922, 1923, 1933 * Career Grand Slam age: 33

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TIGER vs. GOLDEN BEAR

*--* When Woods won his 10th major: * Age: 29 * Year: 2005 * Site: British Open, St. Andrews * PGA victories: 44

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*--* When Nicklaus won his 10th major: * Age: 32 * Year: 1972 * Site: Masters, Augusta National * PGA victories: 41

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