Woods three-putted again on Bay Hill's
baked-out 10th green, from inside seven
feet. (For the week those would be his
only two misses in 63 attempts from nine
feet and in.) The three-putt dropped him
into a tie with Bryant, a crusty 45-year-old
who has been through Q school six
times.
Bryant gamely kept the pressure on with three back-nine birdies, and they were still tied as Woods, in the final group, played the 441-yard, par-4 18th, one of the most exacting finishing holes in golf.
After an ideal drive Woods was 177 yards out, to a pin tucked on a shallow finger of green guarded by water in front and bunkers beyond. Naturally he summoned what he would call "the best swing I made all week," a five-iron that rifled through a swirling wind.
Woods was left with 24 feet, downhill, left to right, a near replica of the clutch putt he had made on the 72nd hole in Dubai.
As Woods was sizing up this potential game-winner, Arnold Palmer materialized behind the green, looking devilishly handsome in a blue blazer. The King knows a thing or two about Sunday charges, and he began telling anyone who would listen that the putt was as good as in.
Woods's wife, Elin, didn't look so sure — she was nervously nibbling on a corner of her plastic I.D. badge. (Baby Sam was not on the property, though Dad would give her credit for some of his fine play, saying, "I have a great balance in my life right now. A little lack of sleep has probably made me a little bit better.")
Next to Elin was Watson, who had just finished his round but stuck around, saying, "I'm here as a fan." Watson has so much respect for Tiger that he sometimes refers to him as Mr. Woods, but Bubba was pessimistic about the looming putt. "I don't think it's in," he said. "I just had that putt. It's impossible to read."
But another difference between Woods and just about everybody else is the course knowledge he has accrued, so much of it in victory. In 2001 at Bay Hill he made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to trump Phil Mickelson. According to Woods's caddie, Steve Williams, the difference between that putt and the one Woods faced seven years later was only six inches.
Said Woods, "I kept telling myself, I've done this before, and I can do it again."
Woods's stroke was so pure, his line and speed so perfect, that he started backpedaling in celebration when the ball was still four or five feet from the hole. When the putt dropped, he spiked his hat to the ground, a display of pent-up emotion he could not recall later. ("When Stevie handed me my hat I was, like, How the hell did he get my hat?") Elin jumped about three feet into the air and then gave Watson a hug.
"Unbelievable," he said of the putt, not the hug. "Ridiculous. Insane."
Poor Bubba was still shaking his head in disbelief as he walked to the parking lot.
How long can the streak go on? Next up is this week's CA Championship, on a Doral course where Woods has won three times.
Typically, he is leaving nothing to chance. As he was departing from Bay Hill, he was asked if he would take a day off to enjoy his dramatic victory. Tiger had a one-word answer.
Nope.
Bryant gamely kept the pressure on with three back-nine birdies, and they were still tied as Woods, in the final group, played the 441-yard, par-4 18th, one of the most exacting finishing holes in golf.
After an ideal drive Woods was 177 yards out, to a pin tucked on a shallow finger of green guarded by water in front and bunkers beyond. Naturally he summoned what he would call "the best swing I made all week," a five-iron that rifled through a swirling wind.
Woods was left with 24 feet, downhill, left to right, a near replica of the clutch putt he had made on the 72nd hole in Dubai.
As Woods was sizing up this potential game-winner, Arnold Palmer materialized behind the green, looking devilishly handsome in a blue blazer. The King knows a thing or two about Sunday charges, and he began telling anyone who would listen that the putt was as good as in.
Woods's wife, Elin, didn't look so sure — she was nervously nibbling on a corner of her plastic I.D. badge. (Baby Sam was not on the property, though Dad would give her credit for some of his fine play, saying, "I have a great balance in my life right now. A little lack of sleep has probably made me a little bit better.")
Next to Elin was Watson, who had just finished his round but stuck around, saying, "I'm here as a fan." Watson has so much respect for Tiger that he sometimes refers to him as Mr. Woods, but Bubba was pessimistic about the looming putt. "I don't think it's in," he said. "I just had that putt. It's impossible to read."
But another difference between Woods and just about everybody else is the course knowledge he has accrued, so much of it in victory. In 2001 at Bay Hill he made a birdie putt on the 72nd hole to trump Phil Mickelson. According to Woods's caddie, Steve Williams, the difference between that putt and the one Woods faced seven years later was only six inches.
Said Woods, "I kept telling myself, I've done this before, and I can do it again."
Woods's stroke was so pure, his line and speed so perfect, that he started backpedaling in celebration when the ball was still four or five feet from the hole. When the putt dropped, he spiked his hat to the ground, a display of pent-up emotion he could not recall later. ("When Stevie handed me my hat I was, like, How the hell did he get my hat?") Elin jumped about three feet into the air and then gave Watson a hug.
"Unbelievable," he said of the putt, not the hug. "Ridiculous. Insane."
Poor Bubba was still shaking his head in disbelief as he walked to the parking lot.
How long can the streak go on? Next up is this week's CA Championship, on a Doral course where Woods has won three times.
Typically, he is leaving nothing to chance. As he was departing from Bay Hill, he was asked if he would take a day off to enjoy his dramatic victory. Tiger had a one-word answer.
Nope.
