Golf

With Woods in the hunt, field feels pressure

By BOB HARIG
Published August 21, 2006

MEDINAH, Ill. - In the end, 67 would have done it for Luke Donald. That was the score he needed Sunday to win the PGA Championship.

Of course, it sounds much easier than actually pulling it off.

The Englishman, who lives in Chicago, stumbled to 2-over-par 74 at Medinah Country Club to tie for third, six shots behind Tiger Woods.

"It's obviously a lot of pressure," said Donald, 28, who has two PGA Tour victories and two more in Europe. "He's been there more than I have. But I felt like I played okay. I didn't really feel like I played badly, and I'll learn from this and be a stronger player after."

Donald began the day tied for the lead with Woods but fell behind when Woods birdied the first hole. Donald was unable to make any birdies.

"Tiger played very solidly," Donald said. "Obviously me being 1 over through six and he was 4 under, that was the difference."

Not enough: Mike Weir, who won the 2003 Masters, put the most heat on Woods, pulling to within a stroke when he birdied the fifth hole. But he could never get even, then fell back with four bogeys on the back nine. He tied for sixth, seven strokes back.

"For a player like myself, being a light hitter, it's tough to get gimme birdies on the par 5s," said Weir, who was paired with Woods during the final round here in 1999 and shot 80. "I have to maybe work a little harder. It does put a little pressure on you, and I maybe pressed a little bit trying to make something happen. That's the way it goes."

Denial? Sergio Garcia has consecutive top fives in major championships, and both times Woods won. Garcia finished runnerup to Woods here in 1999 and played with him in the final pairing at the 2002 U.S. Open and again last month at the British Open.

Asked what it will take to beat Woods - for anyone - on the final day, Garcia resorted to a familiar refrain, one that suggests Woods is lucky.

"He definitely played extremely well," Garcia said. "Everything went his way, too. The bad shots he hit all week long, he got away with them. That's about it. When everything goes your way and you play well, you putt well, do everything well, it's going to be difficult to beat him."

Twice as nice: Woods became the first in PGA Championship history to win twice at the same venue. He won the 1999 PGA at Medinah.

Oh: With a near-record number of players shooting under par, some have suggested the tournament was diminished as a major.

"I would disagree with them," Phil Mickelson said.

Why?

"Because I think they're wrong."

Mickelson, the defending champion, began the day six back but shot 74 to finish in a tie for 16th.

And yet: For all the talk of low scoring, only two players - Woods and Shaun Micheel - among the final six groups were able to break 70.

"Because it's the Sunday of a major championship," said Micheel, who won the 2003 PGA Championship. "I can sum it up that way. If you start getting a little wayward and you don't get off to that good of a start, then you're sort of holding on for dear life."

[Last modified August 21, 2006, 01:57:45]