Woods' domination is not an Open and shut case
By RON SIRAK AP Golf Writer
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - There are a lot of reasons why it will
be difficult for Tiger Woods to simply overwhelm the competition
- and Ernie Els is one of them.
The sweet-swinging South African proved once again on Sunday
he has the game and the mental makeup to be a major championship
winner several times over.
The U.S. Open started last week at Congressional Country Club
with talk of a Woods Grand Slam and it ended with new appreciation
for Els and even greater respect for the special demands of the
Open.
Els had the patience, precision and putting to win on a course
set up to meet the difficult standards of the U.S. Golf Association.
Woods lacked all three.
By winning his second U.S. Open at only 27 years of age, Els
joins a select group. In the 97 Opens there are now only five
players who have won more than Els.
Hale Irwin won three times while Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones,
Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus share the record with four.
In fact, Els' performance in major championships proves he
has the kind of game that holds up under the most intense pressure.
He has now finished in the top 10 nine times in Grand Slam events
and has been in the top 20 a dozen times in the 20 majors he had
played in his career.
"I believe this is possibly the toughest one of them all
to win mentally," Colin Montgomerie said after finishing
a stroke behind Els. "And he seems to have it. He's won two."
Searching for a word to explain Els' success in the majors,
Montgomerie said: "It's a word called talent, and he's got
an abundance of it."
The thick rough that lines the fairways at a U.S. Open and
grows right up to the edge of the greens puts a premium on accuracy.
A ball even inches off the fairway or a yard off the green can
cost a stroke.
In fact, statistics showed that each ball hit into the rough
at this U.S. Open cost players a half-stroke.
But Els hit 43 of 56 fairways during the tournament - 13th
best - and 52 of 72 greens, tied for best in the field. He also
putted well, finishing 17th.
"I've been playing a lot of majors in the last four or
five years and I think with experience you become a little bit
more calm," Els said. "You have to be calm to win major
tournaments."
Woods, however, lacked that calm. Several times when he strayed
into the rough he tried to be too aggressive with his recovery
shot, going for the green instead of pitching back to the fairway,
as most players were doing. Such play resulted in three double
bogeys in the tournament and numerous bogeys.
"I will tell you this," said Woods, who finished
10 strokes behind Els. " 'I did make some mental mistakes
out there that I will rectify so I'll never make them again."
Woods does have a sharp learning curve and there is every reason
to believe he will build on this Open. He certainly left with
a renewed respect for the tournament and Congressional.
"It humbled me," he said. "It humbled me big-time
and that's just the way it is in a U.S. Open. The demands of a
U.S. Open are so tough and are so strenuous that you're going
to get worn out."
Woods was also worn out by missing an average of five fairways
a round, despite driving with his 2-iron most of the time.
"The suffering is over," he said. "The golf
course beat me up."
If Els presents a challenge to Woods' effort to dominate golf,
several other factors also emerged at the Open.
Els is merely one of a fine group of young players who will
be around for a while: Stewart Cink (24), Jim Furyk (27), Paul
Stankowski (27) and Tommy Tolles (30) all finished in the top
20 at the Open.
The talent pool is broad and deep. And two players in particular
will cause problems for Woods in the majors, at least for the
next several years - Colin Montgomerie and Tom Lehman.
Both are at the peak of their games and both played well enough
to win the U.S. Open.
While the memorable shot for Lehman is the ball into the water
on No. 17, it was really his putter that cost him the Open. He
averaged one putt a day more than Els, and on Sunday missed five
times from inside 10 feet.
Montgomerie showed the complete game and came up just one tricky
5-footer short of making a playoff for the third time in a major
championship.
Both players will contend again in a major.
This Open proved another thing as well: Tiger Woods will have
enough challengers to make it interesting.
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