Woods choked? Isn't that a bit harsh?

Former Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti, now writing for AOL's Fanhouse website, wrote that Tiger Woods "CHOKED AWAY the 91st PGA Championship and let a hungrier, more focused, more composed golfer kick the stuffing out of him."

The fact that Woods failed to deliver a victory in the end no more indicates that he choked than those rare occasions that Michael Jordan failed to make a game-winning or tying shot at the buzzer.

For the record, there is no more focused athlete in sports than Woods, and it's a stretch to think that anyone craves victory more than Woods, particularly in major championships as he chases Nicklaus.

We'll concede Mariotti this point, however: He did get the stuffing kicked out of him.

-- John Strege