Sports: Southern Hills tames the Tiger

TULSA, Okla. -- For the first time since the 1999 British Open, Tiger Woods failed to shoot par or better over the course of a 72-hole stroke-play event.

Woods' 1-under-par 69 on Sunday during the final round of the U.S. Open at Southern Hills Country Club was nowhere near good enough to defend his title and win his fifth consecutive major championship.

Woods settled for a tie for 12th. His scores of 74-71-69-69 gave him 283, 3 over par, seven shots out of today's 18-hole playoff between Mark Brooks and Retief Goosen.

It was his highest tournament score since shooting 74-72-74-74 at Carnoustie in the 1994 British Open, where he tied for seventh. It was Woods' worst finish in a major since he tied for 18th at the 1999 Masters.

"I didn't hit the ball as I needed to early in the week," Woods said. "The weekend I played pretty good. I didn't really hit the ball as well as I wanted to on Thursday, especially when the wind was howling. I don't think you can say the course doesn't suit me. If I would have hit the ball well at the beginning of the week, I might have given myself a better chance of winning."

Asked if it were the most disappointed he has been after a major in some time, Woods said: "Well, considering I've won the last four, I'd have to say yes."

SHOWIN' THEM WHIPPERSNAPPERS: Tom Kite has no victories on the Senior PGA Tour this year, but he continues to shine when he joins the youngsters on the regular tour. Kite, 51, shot a final-round 64 to tie for fifth and had a birdie putt at the 18th green to shoot 63 and tie the U.S. Open record. "It was right on track," Kite said. "Just a little more gusto and it's in."

Since joining the seniors last year, Kite has not missed a cut on the regular tour in nine events. Amazingly, he missed 14 of 21 in his last full season on the PGA Tour in 1999.

"I love difficult conditions, especially when you have the wind like that," said Kite, who won the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. "Clubbing is very, very difficult and you have to be very patient. And you have to hit the ball very solidly for your shots to turn out and, well, and that's what I did (Sunday)."

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Vijay Singh also had a chance to match the U.S. Open and major-championship scoring record, but he left a birdie putt well short on the 18th. And he knew what was at stake.

"I made two bogeys, and if you make bogeys on a golf course like this, you're not going to shoot 63," said Singh, who tied for seventh. "You needed a bogey-free round. I'm quite happy with what I did."

Singh lamented, however: "Why do I have a round like that when I can't win?" Singh began the final round tied for 53rd.

LETDOWN: Colin Montgomerie didn't figure to be a factor, not when a bad back forced him to withdraw from last weekend's English Open and had him considering skipping his trip from England to the United States.

But through 36 holes, Montgomerie was 1 over par and within striking distance of the leaders. He shot 77-74 to finish well back.

"It's unfortunate. I had a very, very poor weekend. I got myself in position to do quite well, obviously, and didn't take it," said Montgomerie, who has gone more than a year without a victory. "It threw me for (Sunday), really. I was just playing around; 74 was as good as it was going to be."

Montgomerie, 37, has often called the U.S. Open his favorite major. He lost in a playoff in 1994 to Ernie Els and finished second to Els again in 1997 at Congressional. "You tend to like the courses you do well on," he said. "I go back to Congressional and Oakmont. I'll go away from here, unfortunately, having not enjoyed it. But that's nothing to do with the golf course, just my position."

LOCAL WATCH: New Port Richey's Tim Petrovic left the U.S. Open satisfied, but looking for more.

"It was my first one and I've been soaking it all in," said Petrovic, who shot 73 to finish at 293, 13 over par. "I was disappointed in the way I played on the weekend. But I didn't drive it well, and that's what you have to do at the U.S. Open. Plus, I didn't make many putts and it adds up to 7 over for the weekend. But I'll be back."

First Petrovic will return to the Buy.com Tour, where he is fourth on the money list. The top 15 money-earners at the end of the year receive their PGA Tour cards for 2002.

Hold that Tiger

Defending U.S. Open champion Tiger Woods finally met his match at Southern Hills Country Club with 3-over-par 283, bringing a halt to some impressive streaks. They included:

Four majors in a row.

15 consecutive rounds in the 60s.

19 consecutive rounds at par or better in the majors.

38 consecutive rounds at par or better.

40 consecutive events under par.

8 straight top 10s in majors. Woods finished tied for 12th.

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