ONE shot behind the winner at Valspar two weeks ago, Tiger Woods was again one shot behind just on Monday—this time, behind the leader on the last day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
You can just imagine the roars generated by Tiger’s rally, thundering all the way to Thunder Mountain near Orlando’s massive Disneyland in Florida.
If only for some sentimental nostalgia with your kind indulgence, I was in that massive Disneyland a while back on a side trip from a golf rules seminar in Jacksonville, Florida (at Sawgrass, in case you want to know), in the company of esteemed fellow rules man Jake P. Ayson. Thank you.
Anyways, with three holes left to play, Tiger, a stroke behind, had all the chances to end his victory drought since the 2013 US Open.
Add the fact that, with a win, he would complete a remarkable comeback in only his fifth tournament after a fourth fusion back surgery just only 10 months or so ago.
But, as happens usually in golf, one hesitation-laden stroke sends shock waves too late to repair.
Trailing by five shots at the start of the final round, Tiger ticked three birdies in four holes in a fiery start of the back nine to come to within a shot of the leader.
But one misfired shot ruined it all.
The possible became impossible.
The probable became improbable.
And to think that, in producing his 14 majors in two decades, Tiger, now 42, had the knack, if not endless talent, to make the impossible possible, the improbable probable.
Not this time.
Noncommittal to a swing with his driver on the par-5 16th, Tiger pulled it way, way left over a fence for an automatic out-of-bounds.
Thus, an easy birdie became a disastrous bogey, crushing all of Tiger’s hopes to win his 80th PGA Tour crown that would have moved him two titles off Sam Snead’s all-time best of 82.
His comeback dream derailed, Tiger finished bogey-bogey-par for a three-under 69—still good for a tie for fifth, though, with Ryan Moore (71).
A 16th-hole birdie for Tiger would have changed things, not to mention an eagle there might have disrupted Rory McIlroy’s late-round charge.
But, while Woods was hell-bent on resurrecting a dormant game of five years, so was McIlroy.
Distracting himself from chomping chants meant only for Tiger, Rory ran up five birdies in his last six holes for a 64 to win by three over unknown Bryson DeChambeau (68).
“I wish he would have been at the top of the hill [Bay Hill] to shake my hand when I came off the 18th green there,” said McIlroy, referring to the late Arnold Palmer to whom the tournament was being played for that Woods had won eight times—the last in 2009. “Hopefully, he’s proud of me with the way I played that back nine.”
It snapped Rory’s eight-year losing streak, making him coequal almost with Tiger as a cinch to win the Masters next month.
But, even as McIlroy went home with the Palmer trophy this week, in the end, it was Woods who electrified a gallery that was there once more to cheer on, lustily as ever, the greatest golfer of his generation.
Tiger’s definitely back and, surely, his 15th major—and maybe more?—is there for the picking. This year.
THAT’S IT Lost in the din of San Miguel Beer’s Finals entry in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup was its 4-1 semifinal ouster of Barangay Ginebra, its sister team that blunted the Beermen’s Grand Slam dream last year. SMB’s win, though, was greatly aided by the absence of the injured Greg Slaughter. As the 7-foot-1 nemesis of June Mar Fajardo watched helplessly from the bench with an aching ankle, the 6-foot-10 June Mar frolicked in the paint. As the saying goes, that’s how the cookie crumbles.