Holmes's exploding putt on 15 was the first sign that Woods wouldn't have to get out of this mess all by himself. The effect as Tiger's eyes locked onto Holmes's ball trickling past the pin — statue still, only the eyes moving — was that of a real tiger eying a three-legged goat.
Holmes missed the come-backer, leaving Woods with two putts to win the hole. He made birdie anyway, for the style points. Even without that turn of events, Woods may have made the 22-footer for birdie on 16 and the 36-footer for eagle on 17. Afterward, though, Woods called 15 the turning point.
It gave him some room to breathe, some peace of mind in knowing that he was only 1 down with three to go.
The margin for error when playing Woods is that razor-thin. One badly misjudged putt led to Tiger's theatrics over the next two holes, which begat the second-round victory over Arron Oberholser, the shoot-out with Baddeley and the quarter- and semi-final knockouts of K.J. Choi and Henrik Stenson, the defending champion. It all ended with the demolition of Cink.
Holmes had one last shot at squaring the match, but he missed a short birdie try on 18. He looked at the ball a long time before shaking Woods's hand and walking away.
Luke Donald was puttering around the practice green behind 18. "Nice try," he said.
"Thanks," Holmes replied with a smile.
