Austin has always battled the mental aspect of the game. In 2001, he said, "I'm a mental midget. I can hit any shot, but I never allow myself to do it." He finished that season 125th on the money list, keeping his tour card and his exemption by $94 over No. 126, Bradley Hughes.
"Maybe at 43 I deal with my nerves better than I did at 32," he said Sunday. "I don't think anybody plays any better than I do when I'm on. I know that's crazy but I think I can hit any shot anybody in the world can hit. But it's hard to do that when you're afraid of it, and that's the fight I have every day.
"People always say, 'Are you intimidated by Tiger?' What, are we going to fight? I'm intimidated by the fact that I have a chance to win a golf tournament. I'm not intimidated by any other person. I'm intimidated by the golf."
On Sunday, Austin made a small mark on the game's history, and he could do more. The Fed Ex Cup is up next. That's money, not history. It's a long eight months until the next major, and in a few weeks, his children, Parker, 9, and Peyton, 7, will go back to school in Derby.
"And I'll go back to being just Woody," he said. "This week doesn't make me Super Dad or a rockstar. I'm just Woody."
Being just Woody, though, has never looked better.
