Golf

Tearful triumph

Woods holds field in check to win 11th major, then floodgates allow his emotions to spill forth.

By BOB HARIG
Published July 24, 2006

HOYLAKE, England

A final-hole meltdown it was not. Tiger Woods doesn't do meltdowns, not in major championships and certainly not with the lead.

No, this was a breakdown, and it came after all the work was done, after all the shots had been played, after all the memories flashed through his mind again.

There was Woods, the most automated and emotionless of golfers, sobbing uncontrollably.

Right there on the 18th green at Royal Liverpool, this most private of people, letting it all out in front of thousands of cheering spectators and millions more on television.

Guess this one really meant something, huh?

Yep, Woods, 30, wanted the 135th Open Championship, perhaps more than any of the previous 10 major titles he had claimed. This was the first one without his father, Earl, who died May 3.

"At that moment, it just came pouring out," said Woods, who first cried in the arms of his longtime caddie Steve Williams, then again with his wife, Elin. "All of the things that my father has meant to me and the game of golf, and I just wish he could have seen it one more time.

"I was pretty bummed out after not winning the Masters, because I knew that was the last major he was ever going to see. So that one hurt a little bit. And then to get this one ... it's just unfortunate that he wasn't here to see it."

No doubt, Earl Woods would have been proud of his son's victory, one achieved in unconventional fashion at Hoylake, where Woods shot a final-round 67 to win by two strokes over Chris DiMarco and claim his third Claret Jug.

It was Woods' 11th major title, tying him with Walter Hagen for second on the all-time professional major list, seven behind Jack Nicklaus. The win, worth more than $1.3-million, was the 49th of his PGA Tour career.

The victory came a month after he had missed the cut in a major for the first time in his professional career at the U.S. Open. It was just his third tournament since his father's death.

The win was accomplished despite a stellar slew of players chasing him, five of whom are ranked among the top nine in the world (Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia) and DiMarco, who has now finished runnerup in three majors, including twice to Woods.

"Competing against a guy like Tiger for our generation of players is really tough," said Els, who began the day just a shot behind Woods, tied him through five holes, but finished third, five strokes back. "He has really found a way to win majors."

Woods won this one by hitting just one driver all week. He developed a strategy early during the practice rounds to hit mostly irons off the tees, hoping to stay behind the deadly pot bunkers. For the week, Woods missed just eight fairways, only one Sunday when he also hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

He finished at 270, 18 under par, just one off his tournament record set six years ago at St. Andrews. DiMarco, who was also playing with a heavy heart after the death of his mother, Norma, three weeks ago, applied the most pressure, twice pulling within a stroke. He shot 68, the only challenger to break 70.

Els shot 71 to finish at 275, with Furyk another shot back after 71. Spain's Garcia, paired with Woods after shooting 65 Saturday got him into contention to win his first major, three-putted the second and third holes and was never a factor. He shot 73 to tie for fifth with Japan's Hideto Tanihara.

"He's got an uncanny ability, when somebody gets close to him, to just turn it up another level," DiMarco said.

Cases in point: When Els tied Woods with a birdie at the fifth, Woods followed with an eagle to take a two-stroke lead.

When DiMarco birdied the 13th, followed by Woods' only bogey at No. 12, the lead was just one. But Woods made birdies at the 14th, 15th and 16th holes.

"I don't intend to do that on purpose," said Woods, who is 11-for-11 when leading after three rounds in a major. "That's not one of those things where I can turn on the switch. The way I play golf, I believe you turn on the switch on the first hole and you have it on the entire time."

Woods allowed himself a chance to enjoy the walk after his approach to the final green. And that's when it hit him, again, that his dad would not be there for the celebration.

The subject came up during Woods' victory speech, his eyes moistening once more.

Soon, they presented him as the Champion Golfer of the Year, the title bestowed upon the winner of the Open Championship.

About then, it was difficult not to think about what Earl Woods always said: that his son might one day be the champion golfer of all time.

[Last modified July 24, 2006, 01:00:57]