Hoylake, England – With Ernie Els having to settle for a draw with Tiger Woods on Saturday in his shot at “Major Championship Revenge,” Sergio Garcia is next up in today’s final round of the British Open.
With 10 major championships in his career, Woods has stilted the chances of many a fine player at winning golf’s biggest events. The most notable victim may be Els, who has finished in the top six in four of Woods’ victories, including a pair of runner-up slots. Garcia, the world’s ninth-ranked player, carries the dreaded BPWOAM (best player without a major) label. His best chance may have come in 1999, when he finished second to Woods at the PGA Championship at Medinah – where the final major of the 2006 season will be contested.
Paired together Saturday in the third round at Royal Liverpool, Woods and Els both shot 1-under-par 71. Garcia drew to within one shot and into his grouping with Woods by shooting a 7-under 65 to move to 12- under for the tournament. Also at 12-under are Els and Chris Di- Marco, who lost out on winning the 2005 Masters, in part, when Woods made his famous chip-in for birdie on the 16th hole in Sunday’s final round.
“That doesn’t matter; there’s no extra-anything in there if I beat Tiger,” DiMarco said. “It would be nice to beat everybody because it means I won.”
Woods has been unassailable in the final round of majors in which he has held or shared the lead after three rounds, winning 10 out of 10 times. While that record has become almost legendary in golf, DiMarco argued it really doesn’t mean anything.
“It’s just (the media) that keeps bringing it up,” he said. “I don’t think any of the players believe that. Obviously, he’s a pretty good front-runner, (but) usually he’s got a five- or six- shot lead; (today) he has a one- shot lead. Anything can happen with a one-shot lead.”
One reason Woods has been so successful in maintaining his advantages is his clinical approach, his ability to eliminate mistakes. The 2005 Masters, in which he bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes following his miracle chip, enabling DiMarco to force a playoff, may be the most notable exception to that methodology.
Woods has been almost exceedingly cautious at Royal Liverpool. He hit only one driver off the tee in the opening three rounds, preferring to use a 2-iron most of the time. He even dropped down to a 3-iron on a number of holes Saturday, though it usually meant giving up sizable chunks of yardage to Els off the tee. But with a stellar field in hot pursuit – 14 players are within five shots of the lead, including major championship winners Els, Jim Furyk, Mark Calcavecchia and Retief Goosen – there was a thought that Woods might have to abandon his strategy, particularly if one of the players out before him made an early move toward the top of the leaderboard.
“Well, I don’t see any reason why I would, unless I absolutely had to,” Woods said. “The problem is, if you put the ball in that wispy stuff, you can’t stop it near the flag (on an approach shot). You’re better off. You can control your spin with 7-irons and 8-irons better than you can with a sand wedge out of that stuff.”
