Crowds lined the 18th at the Old Course to give Nicklaus a proper goodbye. photo: DARREN CARROLL
Why make changes after winning seven of 11 majors from 1999-2002? "First, second and first in the last three majors—that's why," said Tiger, who won the Masters in April and would have been going for the calendar Grand Slam in the PGA at Baltusrol had his putting not let the U.S. Open slip away at Pinehurst.
It was the second career Slam for Tiger (two British and U.S. Opens to go with two PGAs and the four green jackets), leaving him behind Nicklaus' totals of three, four, five and six. Tiger also won for the 44th time in his pro career, tying Walter Hagen for seventh on the tour's all-time list and trailing only Snead, Nicklaus, Hogan, Palmer, Nelson and Casper. Not a bogey in that bunch.
Although the St. Andrews business got a little close on Sunday's opening nine, it was never really a serious contest. That's primarily because the Old Course is such a pushover for Woods, and his closest pursuers ended up being Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazabal and Fred Couples. What about Vijay, Retief, Sergio, Ernie and Phil? Nonfactors on Sunday. When Tiger and Phil passed each other, one going out on the second hole and one coming in at the 16th, Phil looked like roadkill. He was on his way to a 76 and a tie for 60th, both of which matched 50-year-old Greg Norman, who's only a dozen years removed from winning his last major.
Happiness is catching the Old Course in a relative calm for four days, and that's what Tiger did for the second time. The strong breezes were missing back in 2000 when he fired a scary 269 total, and the challenging wind, rain and chill were absent this time for his 66-67-71-70—274, a five-shot victory.
With no weather to defend it, the Old Course presented four par 4s Tiger could drive and two par 5s he could easily reach in two. Despite almost 165 yards added since Tiger won by eight—he averaged just under 320 on measured drives five years ago and led again at 341 this time—at least 11 of the 18 holes left him no more than a wedge, a pitch, a chip or a putt for his approach. What's not to like, undercooked lamb aside?
In Friday's round of 67 Tiger merely had five putts for eagle. In the third round, which was the closest he came to looking human, Tiger took penalty strokes for unplayable lies on two holes but left those greens grinning after a bogey and a par.
Thinking about the Old Course in a calm, I could only imagine what must have been going through the mind of the recreational golfer back home watching TV, one who'd never been to Scotland, hearing that this or that hole is a par 4 but then seeing a drive wind up pin-high just off the green and a player use his putter for the second shot: "Good grief, Martha, come look at this—and they call it golf!"
Frankly, the biggest surprise of the week was Monty, often maligned and frequently made sport of, 42 years old now. Happiness was also knowing Colin Montgomerie was your nearest challenger.
It was the fourth time Colin, a Ryder Cup star, had been a runner-up in a major. Previously, he was second in the U.S. Opens of '94 and '97, and second in the PGA of '95. All he needs now is a second place in the Masters to match the Norman Slam.
I think Colin was inspired to show off at St. Andrews for his new lady friend. She was on the premises and drew nice galleries herself, a 44-year-old mother of two, Jo Baldwin. According to the tabloids, they met last year, and when she's not with Colin, she still lives in Surrey with her understanding husband, Nigel. Jolly old England.
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