by Jeff Skinner
Tiger Freaking Woods. I see it, I believe it, but I can’t help but wonder how he continues to do it. Time after time, week after week, year after year he does it. He wins and wins. He wins when he should and he wins when he shouldn’t. He wins in boring runaways and in exciting come from behind victories like he did at Jack’s Memorial Tournament on Sunday. He can never be counted out in a tournament. Yesterday was one of those days. Rookie Matt Bettencourt or Mark Wilson would have been a good story if they were able to hang on for a win. Unfortunately, the heat from Woods going low three groups ahead of them was too much to handle. With Davis Love III gagging on seventeen and eighteen, Jim Furyk was the only one with a real chance to catch Tiger. His three under par round left him one stroke shy of tying Woods. Tiger’s round and week can be summed up with two dramatic holes on Sunday. On the par five eleventh he drove it 329 yards in the fairway. He then hit an approach 253 yards into the right rough. He opened his sand wedge and took a mighty swing. He said.”I had a terrible lie…it was sitting down…I had to hit it hard enough…” He hit it hard enough, with a follow through that looked like Michael Jordan hitting a game winning fade away jumper, he spun away from the ball and watched it track right at the hole. Forty four feet later it dropped in the hole for an eagle three. Dramatic? Of course, this is Tiger Woods. He stood on the eighteenth tee at -6 for the day and -11 for the tournament. He then played the eighteenth absolutely perfect. A 255 yard three iron off the tee (yes, three iron) left him 183 yard to the pin. He hit his seven iron to one foot. After an emphatic hand slap with Stevie all that was left was a kick in birdie and a handshake with Jack. Tiger had to wait a little bit to collect his trophy but he didn’t mind. He loves it at Muirfield; it’s his fourth win at Jack’s place.
It was a great week of golf that started with Woods chipping in on an extra hole in the Skins Tournament and ends with his birdie on eighteen. I figured out how he does it. He’s Tiger Freaking Woods.
Related Articles
