Tiger Woods a major force

PITTSFORD, N.Y. - Haven't we been here before? Way too many times, actually, in the recent past? So why can't Tiger Woods just win his 15th major title and get on with the rest of his immortal career already?

The 95th PGA Championship begins tomorrow at Oak Hill County Club, where Woods is once again your favorite. And why not? He's won five times this season. Only two other guys have even won twice. Last week Tiger won by seven at one of his favorite courses, Firestone, his second World Golf Championship of the year. He's also won the Players Championship. What he hasn't been able to do is get his first major since 2008, even though he was in contention at both the Masters and British Open.

Yet for whatever reasons he hasn't had a good weekend in one of the four tournaments that count in what is starting to feel like forever. This isn't the first time since that epic, one-legged 2008 U.S. Open that he's won the week before a major. But it hasn't made a difference. You think maybe it's about time?

"I feel like my game's pretty good," Woods said yesterday, when asked about his chances. "I've had a couple of nice days of practice. And, you know, still got one more day to prep and prepare . . .

"Really, there's no surprises out there. It's right in front of you. You just have to play well."

Probably for 4 days. He claims he hit the ball about as well at the British Open as he did last week, but simply didn't make as many putts. Perhaps. But his body language last month at Muirfield didn't look right on Sunday, almost from the start. And some of his decision-making/execution appeared to be, well, lacking. That didn't used to happen very often.

Now, it's become more and more of a theme. Hey, when he's on he's still the best there is, no matter what the haters say. But the longer he goes without adding majors, the more ammunition those detractors have. That's the way it works. Because until Tiger resumes his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' all-time majors record of 18, the golf world is sort of on hold.

Forget Sam Snead's 82 overall victories. That's not the number Tiger had imbedded in his mind growing up. There's only room for one king. And the only way to assume the throne is to reach 19. First, though, he has to get past 14. Here seems like as good a place as any. It's either that or wait another 8 months to try and answer the same question back at Augusta National.

"I think winning one major championship automatically means you had a great year," said Woods, who will tee off on No. 10 at 8:35 in the morning with 1997 PGA champ Davis Love III and 2011 winner Keegan Bradley. "Even if you miss the cut in every tournament you play in, you win one you're part of history.

"This year, for me, I think it's been a great year so far."

But can it still be great if he doesn't win this week?

"I think so," he said. "We have, what, four more big events after this. A lot of things can happen. But I'm focused on trying to win this one."

Unless Adam Scott or Justin Rose or Phil Mickelson win another major, it'll be pretty hard for Tiger not to be the player of the year for like the zillionth time. But it won't be the same if a major isn't a part of his credentials.

"That just puts you automatically into another category," Woods conceded. "These are the biggest events, with the most pressure, the best fields on the most difficult golf courses. That's what we all look forward to, is having these opportunities.

"The frustrating part is, I've been there and didn't win when I was right there. I didn't get it done. But I've really played well. I'm very pleased about that."

Doesn't quite sound like the cold-blooded assassin who once pretty much nuked the landscape. Could it be his standards have been downgraded?

"No," he quickly shot back.

Fair enough. Only he understands what lurks deep inside, since he's been through all those physical, personal and professional setbacks/detours. Everything remains within his grasp. He's won this major four times. Only Nicklaus and Walter Hagen (all when it was contested at match play), with five, have more. And Tiger's the only one who's won back-to-back since it switched to a medal format in the late 1950s. He's done so twice. So he knows how. Maybe it's mostly a matter of remembering.

"The key is to keep giving myself chances," he reiterated. "Eventually I'll start getting them."

He wasn't a factor when the PGA was last held here a decade ago, when he was breaking in a new coach and altering his swing. People questioned his staying power, not to mention sanity, during what turned into a 2 1/2-year drought. Then he won six more majors from 2005-08. So we'll see. He was younger at the time, his knee hadn't gone to tapioca and he wasn't a divorced father.

These days he's just a 37-year-old, top-ranked player trying to win for the sixth time in 2013. You think he'd trade those other five for, say, Phil Mickelson's final round in Scotland?

"Just keep building," Tiger said. "Still got some more work to do."

Indeed.

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