ST. ANDREWS – What Mariano Rivera represents to baseball when he emerges from the Yankees’ bullpen to save a late-inning lead is what Tiger Woods represents to his sport: the greatest closer the game has ever seen.
Today, in what no way, shape or form figures to be a waltz through the public park the Old Course at St. Andrews, Woods will take a precarious two-shot lead into the final round of the 134th Open Championship in an effort to surge to his 10th career major championship.
In all nine majors Woods has won in his already brilliant career, he held the lead entering the final round and slammed the door on his competition. Overall, he’s won 31 of 34 tournaments in which he’s led entering the final round.
“It certainly doesn’t hurt having the experience to call upon and know how to handle going out there and playing with the lead,” Woods said yesterday after grinding for a 1-under-par 71 to stand at 12-under for the tournament with a two-shot lead over Jose Maria Olazabal. “I’ve done it before. So I can always say that and believe in it, because I know I have done it. So, hopefully [today] I can put a quality round together.”
Woods, who saw his four-shot lead slivered in half yesterday, held together what could have been a destructive third round.
He drove his tee shots into the gorse bushes on Nos. 6 and 9 and had to take penalty drops, costing him a shot on 6. He, too, vapor-locked on No. 16, blowing a chip well past the hole and dropping another shot.
At that point, his once-commanding advantage had evaporated to a mere shot.
Then came No. 17, the vaunted “Road Hole,” where Woods faced a gnarly 10-foot par-saving putt that he buried, punching the air with his fist as if he’d just eagled the hole. A miss there and he’d have stood on the 18th tee tied with Olazabal for the lead.
“I worked so hard all day to get back under par [for the round],” Woods said. “At that time, if I missed that putt I would go back to over par [for the round] and I’d have to birdie 18 to get back to level par.”
Instead, Woods would birdie No. 18 with a colossal 60-yard eagle putt that he stopped at tap-in distance for birdie and the all-important two-shot lead.
“I’m very happy to be in the lead,” Woods said. “I thought if I shot under par for the day, the way the day was turning, I more than likely would have a piece of the lead. No one made a bunch of birdies coming home, so to have the lead all day and actually end up with the lead it’s pretty sweet.”
Still, though, it’s game on today, which cannot help but produce some scintillating final-round drama at the sport’s greatest theater. Sergio Garcia and Brad Faxon are just four shots back at 8-under. Vijay Singh and reigning U.S. Open winner Michael Campbell lurk at 7-under.
“The whole tournament depends on what Tiger does; if he gets going again, he’s going to be very hard to catch,” Darren Clarke (6-under) said.
“I know that Tiger’s not bulletproof,” Montgomerie said. “He’s still leading by two, but anything can happen. It’s a seven-mile walk [today] and he’s obviously the favorite. He copes with the pressure and the situation around him, being Tiger Woods, incredibly well.
“And, if he does win this again, it’s an amazing effort.”
Nick Faldo called Woods “The Man.”
“He’s like Bjorn Borg in the fifth set,” Faldo said. “All the other guys are twitching and running out of oxygen or fluid. Bjorn Borg was the same, same as Jack [Nicklaus]. Tiger is the same.”
The best closer of all time. Start up the music. Might as well be Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
This won’t be an easy one, though. The bases are full and no one’s out.
Third round Leaderboard
Player Score To par
Tiger Woods 66-67-71 -204 -12
Jose Maria Olazabal 68-70-68 -206 -10
Retief Goosen 68-73-66 -207 -9
Colin Montgomerie 71-66-70 -207 -9
Sergio Garcia 70-69-69 -208 -8
Brad Faxon 72-66-70 -208 -8
Notables
Vijay Singh 69-69-71 -209 -7
John Daly 71-69-70 -210 -6
Phil Mickelson 74-67-72 -213 -3
Ernie Els 74-67-75 -216 E
Complete scores / P. 64
Weather forecast
69 degrees
Partly cloudy, 13 mph winds
TV coverage
6-8 a.m., TNT
8 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Ch. 7
