Cog Hill had no chance to tame Tiger

Mike Dudurich

Posted 2009-09-13

Funny game golf.

How many times over the course of the years have we heard how difficult it is for professional golfers back up a really low round with another low round?

Obviously the pundit who came up with that one had no idea of the player who one day will be regarded as the greatest to ever play and who hardly ever plays by the standards set for his predecessors.

Tiger Woods blistered Cog Hill Golf & Country Club Saturday with a nine-under par 62, but had no problem backing that spectacular round with a very good one Sunday, a three-under par 68. It was the fifth time he’s won an event at Cog Hill.

And while he was in the process of shooting down that adage again, he blew up another one: that you can’t win a tournament on Saturday. While it’s true you can shoot yourself out of an event with a bad round early, Woods showed that you can, indeed, win one Saturday. After that 62, he came to the course with a seven-shot lead and the rest of the field knew what the final round was all about.

"It felt like we had a tournament within a tournament," said Jim Furyk, who tied for first in the “B flight.” "Tiger was seven ahead. He was kind of running away. It was kind of a tournament for second place."

The tournament, in this case, was the BMW Championship, the third leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs. In two weeks, the PGA Tour’s wacky playoffs will conclude at the Tour Championship outside Atlanta. Woods’ victory makes him the leader going into that 30-man elite event, but he hardly has a death grip on the title and the $10 million annuity.

The points that players have earned in the first three events have been reset and Woods goes to Atlanta with 2,500 points. Steve Stricker, perhaps the most consistent player in the brief history of these playoffs, is in second with 2,250.

The rest of the top five are Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum. All of them can win the FedEx Cup with a victory at East Lake. Everyone else will need some help.

”That's just our new system,” Woods said when asked his feelings about how the playoffs are set up. “I didn't play last year. Evidently Vijay (Singh) pretty much hit his first tee shot and it was already over. I was in a position the year previous, that it was kind of almost the same situation. The TOUR wants to have excitement on the last event.

“I mean, that's ultimately what has happened with this new format is that Top 5 guys, if they win the championship, they automatically win the FedExCup. No matter what kind of year you have, it really does pay to get hot in the playoffs.” Now Tiger Woods needs another $10 million – annuity or cash – like he needs another dozen Nike golf balls. He admitted as much on Sunday, but said it’s all about winning, just like it always has for him.

The man does know a bit about winning. Sunday’s victory was his sixth this season, tying him with the legendary Sam Snead for most seasons with at least six victories. Can you say Player of the Year?

He finished 19-under par in posting his 71st career victory and is now just two wins from tying Jack Nicklaus for second in the all-time PGA Tour wins chase. Oh yeah, by the way, it was, believe it or not, the 10th win in which Woods won by at least eight shots.

The 62 he shot Saturday also gave him a nice cushion for Sunday, making sure there was no repeat of the final round in the PGA Championship last month. For the first time since he was a 20-year-old rookie, Woods blew a final-round lead and lost to Y.E. Yang.

Since he’ll only be playing one more official event this year, Woods won’t be able to match 2000 when he won an incredible nine times. But considering this year was a comeback year – after tearing up his knee and suffering a couple fractures in his leg last year – he’s not so sure this isn’t his most satisfying.

“It's one of my best years. There's no doubt about that,” Woods said. “You know, I haven't won as many times as I did in 2000, didn't win any majors this year, but certainly I was -- I've never had a year where I've been this consistent, either, this many high finishes and the number of events I've played. To have, as I said, an opportunity just about every time I tee it up to win the championship on the back nine, you know, that's something I can't tell you how proud I am for -- the job that my trainers and Hank (Haney, his swing coach) did to help me get to this point.”

It may seem like old news when Tiger Woods wins another tournament and if you define history as old news, then the description fits. Like him or not, the man continues to make history or knock on its door almost every time he tees it up.

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