Congressional does to Woods what he did to
Augusta
By Hank Gola
New York Daily News
(KRT)
BETHESDA, Md. - Congressional Country Club did to Tiger Woods
over the last four days what Woods did to Augusta National in
April.
"The suffering is over," Woods said Sunday after
he wrapped up his 6-over-par effort at the U.S. Open with a final-round
72.
"This golf course beat me up."
Woods, who will conduct an invitation-only clinic at Randalls
Island in New York City on Monday and play the Buick Classic this
week, arrived amid hype that he would make a run at the Grand
Slam. His victory at The Masters was so overwhelming that people
wondered if any golf course could control his game when he was
on.
The problem was, Woods was never really on.
He finished in a tie for 19th with only one round under par,
a 67 on Friday. He never got close to the lead after midway through
Saturday's round, when he bogeyed three out of four holes.
"I hit some good shots and I hit some bad shots and it
took its toll on me," he said. "I putted horrible. My
speed was off and when your speed is off on greens this fast with
this much slope, your line's going to be off."
Uncharacteristically, Woods had eight three-putt greens for
the tournament. He hit only 66 percent of the fairways and 66
percent of his greens. It seemed that he didn't alter his approach
for the severity of a U.S. Open course and went for too many pins.
He was even-par on the two par-5s for the week and really struggled
on the 461-yard 13th, which he bogeyed every round.
Still, Woods said he played cautiously.
"I didn't play that aggressive because physically, I didn't
have the skills to do it," he said. "My game wasn't
on this week. I had to play more toward the back side and trust
my putting. And my putting kind of bailed out on me. If I putted
well, I probably would have shot near even-par."
Woods said he "learned a lot" this week, but wouldn't
say what.
"The details, I'm not going to explain to you because
I think that's private. I will tell you this: I did make some
mental mistakes out there that I will rectify so I'll never make
them again." Unlucky 7: Jeff Maggert was part of the four-player
shootout until he went 6-over on his last seven holes.
"The back nine was my downfall. It was just a tough series
of holes," said Maggert, who finished fourth at 1 over.
"All in all I played well, but it's the same old hat.
I've played well in majors before but when you get in position,
you want to win."
(c) 1997, New York Daily News.
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