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The Story Line Set for Bethpage
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
On Sunday, Tiger Woods announced to the world he was back. PGATour.com said it thus:
"Two holes, two towering shots, two clutch birdies."
A Golden Performance
They came on 17 and 18 on Sunday at Jack's Tournament. At Muirfield, a course that featured such lightning fast greens and punishing rough that it turned every wayward shot into a bogey or more.
In his final round charge, Woods would manage to hit every fairway and for the first time this year, add in some iron shots and a few putts. The result: a blistering 65 that moved him from four strokes back to the top of the leaderboard and his second win of the season.
Again, we turn to PGATour.com, who had this to offer about Woods: "suddenly, he silenced the skeptics who wondered if he was ready to defend his title in the U.S. Open in two weeks at Bethpage Black."Woods and a Few Challengers
So come Father's Day weekend Woods will begin pursuit of his 15th major championship as he looks to defend his Open title. And while he now looks ready, there will be a couple of other competing story lines.
First, there will be the emotional welcome for Lefty who will put aside his concerns for his wife to give competition a whirl. The fans will be thrilled and his welcome could just help him compartmentalize the concerns he carries regarding his wife Amy.
There will also be superb competition from some other big names that are definitely on their games. There is Jim Furyk who nailed a 20-footer for birdie on Sunday to finish runnerup to Woods.
The man with a hitch in his swing and six top tens already this year acknowledged the obvious. He beat everyone else not named Woods with an equally solid four-day total of 11-under par. Furyk also went on to add his thoughts about those in the media wh have been wondering aloud about Woods.
"I just wish you all would just quit (ticking) him off ... so he has to come back and keep proving stuff," Furyk said. "I think he answered a lot of questions today."
Then there is the likes of Ernie Els who tied for eighth at Muirfield Village. The Big Easy has been threatening to get off the snide the last year and a half.
Els proved he was getting closer and closer to returning to top form. He led the field this last week in greens-in-regulation. If he makes a few putts, well…
Add the superb Aussie, Geoff Ogilvy, with two wins on the season and a tenth at Jack's tourney and it is clear that the best in the game are on their game heading to Bethpage.
Make no mistake about it, Woods is primed and the stage is set for a remarkable Open.
Flickr photo courtesy of Keith Allison.
7:10 AM
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