Lesson No. 1: With Woods, There’s Always a Tiger Lurking

There was one place to be at Riviera on Sunday, and that was wherever Tiger Woods happened to be.

You could go watch someone else--it wouldn’t be foolish to check out Ernie Els and David Duval in the group ahead of Woods, for instance--but you do so at your own risk.

I learned that the hard way last year during the final round of the Mercedes Championship. I was following the leader, Phil Mickelson, when a roar went up from the ninth hole. Woods, who started the day five shots behind Mickelson, made a 35-foot putt for an eagle to pull within a stroke. I looked at Ron Sirak, who was covering the tournament for the Associated Press, and could tell he was thinking the same thing I was. We had to go to Tiger. Had to.

When Woods is around, something’s bound to happen. He’s going to make something happen. He’ll either bogart the tournament from somebody or, at the very least, make the leader know he’s on his heels.

If you’re foolish enough to bet on sports, one of the safest wagers you can make is to put your money on Woods to show. He has eight PGA Tour victories to his credit, 19 top-three finishes and 31 top-10 results in 54 events. He set single-round course records in two of his last six majors. He has made the top five in four of his five events this year.

Woods is never just “in the field.” With him, the proper description is “lurking.”

Playing partner Ted Tryba was the prey at the start of the final round of the Nissan Open on Sunday. If that bright yellow shirt Tryba wore didn’t make him enough of a target, his position atop the leaderboard sure did.

Even after Woods bogeyed the second hole to drop three shots back he wasn’t out of it. A 15-foot putt to birdie the par-three fourth and a tee shot within two feet for a birdie on the par-three sixth, mixed in with a Tryba bogey on No. 5, and they were tied. When Tryba bogeyed the seventh, Woods took the lead. Woods couldn’t hang on to it. Tryba, to his credit, bounced back with a birdie on the next hole. Then Els took off on the back nine with birdies on 11, 12 and 13 to take command of the tournament.

Woods fell as far back as four shots with five holes remaining. But when Tiger’s on the course the leader can’t just roll into the clubhouse and break open the cigars.

Woods boomed a 350-yard drive on the 15th, then drained a 25-foot putt for a birdie. Els didn’t exactly finish in style, with bogeys on two of the last three holes. Leaving a trail of bogeys in front of Woods is like leaving the door open with a burglar on the prowl.

“I’ve given Tiger a chance or two in the past,” Els said. “You can’t give a player like that a chance.”

A giant cardboard check for $504,000 lay near the 18th green, waiting for someone’s name to be inscribed on the payee line. Els had to stand helplessly in the scorer’s tent, knowing Woods could force a playoff with a birdie on the hole. You can imagine how that felt.

“It wasn’t too nice,” Els said.

Woods’ tee shot soared over the steep slope in the middle of the fairway and landed 179 yards from the pin. When he stood over his second shot, the crowd cheered as if he were a home run hitter stepping into the batter’s box in the bottom of the ninth.

Woods generates sounds unlike any other in golf. From the chorus of children’s voices crying out “Go Tiger!” to the distinctive noise produced when his high-velocity swing hits the ball and sends it screaming down the fairway, to the buzz and rumble of the gallery moving to the next hole when he finishes putting, it’s easy to tell when he’s around without even looking.

The fans behind the ropes on the right side of the 18th green had to have their eyes open, however, because Woods’ five-iron tailed over, bounced off a woman’s shoulder and landed downhill. Woods was left with a pitch 25 yards from the green. When that fell short of the hole, his threat was finally over. Tryba, one shot off himself, made Els’ victory a formality by leaving a chip from the rough short. A tournament worker started writing Els’ name on the check (bet that guy was glad Jose Maria Olazabal didn’t win it).

It took that long, until the last couple of strokes, to write Tiger off. This came on a day when he parred two par-five holes, which is almost like a bogey for someone with his hitting length. And he made only two putts of consequence.

“I definitely didn’t make any putts,” Woods said. “I had a lot of opportunities [within] 15 feet or so. I didn’t make it. To win golf tournaments, that’s what you’ve gotta do.”

Woods knows how to win tournaments. To win it, you’ve got to be in it. And he always stays in the hunt. He might not take the shortest, easiest route, but he usually follows up his errant shots with something spectacular to get back on track. That’s the thing with Woods. Even when he doesn’t win, he sure is fun to watch.

To follow Woods for all 18 holes meant missing out on the winner, Els. Something tells me that those who stuck with Tiger didn’t regret it at all.

*

J.A. Adande can be reached at: [email protected]