He won the 129th British Open at St. Andrews yesterday to become, at the tender age of 24, the youngest of just five men to win all four tournaments of the modern grand slam.
That he did it with his fourth brilliant round, a 3-under-par 69, was no surprise. That he pushed to 19-under 269 and broke the scoring record for the 25 British Opens that have been held at the birthplace of golf was no surprise. That he followed up his record-smashing 15-shot win in last months US Open with an eight-stroke triumph was no surprise. That he navigated the rock-hard fairways, beguiling swales, and tricky crosswinds coming off the Firth of Tay to post 22 birdies against three measly bogeys was no surprise, either.
That's because through it all, you get the feeling he expected this of himself.
Since he first came into view hitting golf balls at the age of 2 on "The Mike Douglas Show," Woods has had a part on the golf stage. Now it belongs solely to him, and a casual exchange when it was all over helps explain why.
"There is some talk about if you went in a bunker this week," Woods was asked. St. Andrews's 112 bunkers are death sentences and there are two golden rules here: Don't go in the bunkers; and don't forget rule No. 1.
Woods looked surprised. "Bunker?" he responded. "I was in a bunker every day I've been here, but it was at the practice green."
In other words, he followed the script and didn't go in them. Truthfully, he hadn't even seen the bunkers.
Perfectly aware of all the pressure that ushered him into this event given the hype about his chance to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player as the only men to win the Masters, US Open, British Open, and PGA Championship Woods never flinched. He parred the first eight holes in Round 1, fell five shots behind, then played the next 64 majestically.
"It was a spectacular performance, to say the least," said David Duval, who was this tournament's Washington Generals to Woods's Harlem Globetrotters. "He simply did not make the mistakes and capitalized on the holes you would expect him to."
Almost as if he needed the challenge, Woods watched approvingly as Duval birdied the par-4 second and par-4 third, making the turn in 32 to plug a little excitement into the festivities. Six down to start, Duval was at 14 under, three behind Woods, whose front-side 35 included a birdie at the par-4 fourth.
"It got close out there a little bit," said Woods, who has won 16 of 17 PGA Tour events in which he has held a 54-hole lead. "There were only three shots separating us at the time, which isn't that much considering all the trouble that's lurking out there."
Trouble? Thats not in the script, either, as Woods proved once again around the loop and onto the back side of St. Andrews. They are not overly demanding holes, playing much shorter because of the firm turf, and amount to nothing more than drive-and-pitch tests.
Simple. So long as you follow the script and hit it straight. Woods did it almost flawlessly.
For the week, he played the incoming nine in 11 under, compared with 2 over for Duval. Ernie Els (69-277) and Thomas Bjorn (71), who took advantage of a 17th-hole collapse by Duval to finish tied for second, were each 3 under on the back.
The Duval challenge was short-lived thanks to Woods's mastery of the back, which started when he drove the 379-yard par-4 10th. He two-putted from 80 feet to get to 18 under, moving four shots ahead when Duval was unable to get it up-and-down for birdie from a swale in front of the green.
They matched par 3s at the 11th, then saw the curtain come down, for all intents and purposes, at a hole Woods would gladly take home with him the 314-yard par-4 12th. As he had done the previous three rounds, Woods made birdie, his drive coming to rest 30 feet from the pin.
Two putts, another birdie, and when Duval bogeyed after his pitch from in front of the green rolled back at him down the slope, there were six shots separating them with six to play. If it were match play, it would have been over on the next hole, but because it was medal, the drama dragged on, coming to a painful scene at the Road Hole.
Pinned beneath a lip of the Road Bunker, Duval needed four to get out, made a quadruple bogey, and crashed from a share of second to a small piece of 11th thanks to an incoming 43.
Woodss walk up the 18th fairway was casual another bomb off the tee into a fairway that can hardly be missed, then a sand wedge onto the green but almost spiritual in a historical context.
Nearly 500 years have passed since the game was first played here and reminders are everywhere the Tom Morris Golf Shop, the Swilken Bridge, the Royal & Ancient Clubhouse. This is the fairway where Nicklaus twice made victory walks in British Opens. It is the town that embraced Bobby Jones, who then told Nicklaus, who, in turn, told Woods: All great golfers must have a British Open victory on their rsum.
Fitting, then, said Woods, that the stamp of greatness was applied at the Old Course. He had completed the career grand slam in 15 tournaments; it took Nicklaus, against whom all players are measured, 19.
"It was very special coming up and looking at the surroundings and to see what was transpiring," said Woods. "It really is hard to put into words, the emotions and the feelings going through me."
He didn't have to fight back tears. He was cool and gracious. And after making all the right shots, he had all the right words.
After all, he had followed the script perfectly.
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Tiger Woods wins his first British Open, at the birthplace of golf - The Boston Globe