Tiger Woods entered the final round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational trailing leader Padrig Harrington by three strokes. By the fifth hole on Sunday, Tiger had taken the lead. He ended up winning by four strokes.
Though the tournament may have been closer than the final score thanks to an 8 by Harrington on the par-5 16th that essentially assured Woods his 70th career win, it was business as usual for Tiger.
In typical fashion, Tiger posted an unremarkable score on Thursday (a 2-under 68), made his move on Friday and Saturday, and sealed the deal with a near flawless performance on Sunday. As a result of this tried and true approach, Tiger hoisted the trophy for the seventh time in 11 starts at Firestone.
Just another day at the office for the greatest golfer who ever lived.
Unfortunately, as fans, we seem to be taking Tiger for granted.
Last week when Woods won the Buick Open, the prevailing thought by both the commentators and fans alike was that Tiger cruised to victory because he didn't have any of the top players in the world chasing him.
This week, despite beating one of the most competitive fields of the season (49 of the top 50 ranked players in the world were at Firestone), the big question afterwards was, "Will he be able to ride this hot streak at the PGA Championship next week?"
Has Tiger set the bar so high for himself that winning any tournament that isn't a major has become irrelevant? Is the success of a Tiger Woods season based solely on his performance in the four biggest tournaments of the year?
For better or for worse, the answer to both questions is an empathetic "yes."
If you would have told me in March, before Tiger had played in a single event since having major reconstructive surgery on his knee, that he was going to win five of the first 12 events he played in this year, I would have said that you're crazy.
There's no way that someone can go nearly eight months without playing competitive golf and come out and win nearly half of the events he plays in the following season. It's just not possible.
But Tiger has made a career out of doing the impossible.
Instead of playing himself back into shape, Woods has finished in the top 10 in every single stroke play event that he's played in this season with one very big exception (more on that shortly).
He's won five times already this season; no other player has won more than twice. He leads the PGA tour in 11 different statistical categories, most notably scoring average. He's already won $2.6 million more than any other player on tour this season and has done so playing in five fewer events than second place Steve Sticker. He's been nothing short of Tiger-like in his return to competitive golf.
With a resume that dominant already this season, does it even matter that none of Tiger's five victories have come in major championships?
Absolutely.
Major championships are the ultimate test of skill and mental toughness in the PGA Tour. Tiger has been synonymous with those two things since turning pro in 1996. He's won a major in nine of his 12 seasons as a professional.
1998, 2003, and 2004, the three seasons in which he failed to win a major, are the only three seasons in Wood's career in which he did not finish first on the money list. Three subpar seasons by Tiger's standards.
He's one bad week away from adding another year to that list.
While Tiger and Phil Mickelson may have stolen the show on Sunday at the Masters with their star-studded pairing in the final round, Tiger finished tied for sixth, four shots off the lead and was in no position to win at any point in the tournament.
Tiger, hampered by an unlucky early tee time on Thursday that caused him to play in the wind and the rain in his first two round at the U.S. Open, was only able to claw his way into another tied for sixth finish with a final round 69.
Then there was the debacle at Turnberry at the British Open, where Woods missed the cut at a major for only the second time in his professional career. It was a dark moment for a golfer who has made a career out of shining brightest of golf's biggest stage.
Now, riding the momentum of back-to-back wins heading into the PGA Championship since missing the cut at the British Open, Tiger has once last chance this week to make 2009 a success.
Tiger could go on to win the FedEx Cup, finish first on the money list, and win Player of the Year for a record 10th time, and none of it matters if he doesn't win at Hazeltine this week.
For all of his accomplishments already this season, anything less than a first-place finish at the PGA Championship this week and 2009 will be remembered as a subpar season for Tiger.
Maybe as fans we should stop taking Tiger's greatness for granted and learn to appreciate wins like the one at Firestone last week for how impressive they truly are.
But we didn't set the bar this high for Tiger, he did. He expects to win every major championship that he plays in.
As fans, why should we expect anything less?
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