FARMINGDALE,
N.Y. – Tiger Woods' latest in a dizzying, and unprecedented,
flurry of major championship coronations occurred in virtual
darkness.
But the U.S. Open trophy gleamed nevertheless. And Tiger
Woods, despite struggling to a 2-over 72 on Sunday, was luminous
as ever.
Woods persevered through a slow start and a 49-minute rain
delay. But Phil Mickelson was the only contender to manage
a semblance of a run, and Woods' 3 under total at Bethpage
Black gave him a comfortable three-stroke victory margin,
his seventh win in the last 11 major championships.
"It's awesome," Woods said. "To win your
nation's championship, on top of that win it on a public facility,
in front of a great crowd like this, makes it that much better."
The 102nd U.S. Open will be remembered for many things.
Above all, the history Woods made Sunday by becoming the fifth
golfer to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year,
and the first since Jack Nicklaus in 1972.
It also was the first U.S. Open played on a municipal course.
That, perhaps along with the fact that it was played in Long
Island, nudged major championship golf into an atmosphere
that it had never quite experienced.
That was good if you were Mickelson, who was serenaded with
"Happy Birthday" (he turned 32 on Sunday) on virtually
every hole. Not so good if you were Spain's Sergio Garcia,
who again was a verbal abuse target as he stumbled to a 74
in his ballyhooed head-to-head pairing with Woods.
"It was one of the most exciting days that I've ever
had in the game of golf," said Mickelson, who pulled
within two strokes of Woods with a birdie on No. 13 but never
got closer.
"It was very electrifying, very similar to what the
'99 Ryder Cup in Boston was. I could feel the electricity
in the air. I could feel the excitement stirring, and I could
feel as though I had a really good shot at it."
That probably was more about adrenaline than reality. Despite
bogeying the first two holes, Woods never was seriously threatened.
When a passing electrical storm delayed play at 6:03 p.m.
Eastern time, Woods was 4 under through 10 holes and had a
three-stroke lead over Mickelson and a five-stroke advantage
over Jeff Maggert.
After play resumed, any possibility of suspense was doused
when Woods birdied No. 13 and Mickelson bogeyed Nos. 16 and
17.
By then, it was nearly dark, thanks to NBC's and the U.S.
Golf Association's decision to have the leaders tee off at
3:30 p.m. despite forecasts of stormy weather. Garcia, however,
saw all he wanted of Woods in their first head-to-head encounter
in a major.
"Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance of watching
Jack Nicklaus in his prime," Garcia said. "But I
tell you one thing: I don't think he was much better than
this. He [Woods] is unbelievable. He's able to do what it
takes."
Mickelson, now 0-for-40 in major tournament starts, may
have enjoyed the atmosphere, but he wasn't thrilled about
being pulled into any discussions about where Woods ranks
among the greats. Perhaps that was because Sunday was Mickelson's
third second-place finish in a major, and, with Woods in the
picture, more may follow.
"That's not conversation I really care to be a part
of," he said. "I find that it's difficult enough
to focus on my own game ... than worrying about how good someone
else is."
Poor Woods. He was given, oh, about 30 seconds to bask in
victory. The opening question in his news conference was about
the July 18-21 British Open at Muirfield Golf Club and Woods'
chances of pulling off the modern Grand Slam – winning all
four majors in the same calendar year.
"Well, it's certainly doable because I've done it before,"
said Woods, reminding that he won the 2000 U.S. Open, 2000
British Open, 2000 PGA Championship and 2001 Masters in succession.
"To win all four in a calendar year, I think it would
just be different because at that one time in my household
there were all four major championship [trophies] right there.
No one else in the world had them but me."
Now more than ever, if that was possible, the golf world
is Woods', and everybody else just lives in it.
His rivals are not today's players, but those he is challenging
on the all-time major tournament victory list. Now tied with
Tom Watson at eight, he trails Nicklaus (18), Walter Hagen
(11), Ben Hogan (9) and Gary Player (9).
"As a kid you just dreamt of winning one, to put yourself
in that position," Woods said. "It's so hard to
describe how good it feels to win one major championship,
because it takes so much out of you.
"It's just really neat to look at the guys on the list
that I'm a part of now. And hopefully my career will keep
being positive."
