A pensive Woods was feeling the
heat during the final round.
60 while you’re struggling to shoot 77. It
makes it look like you’re shooting 95.”
The next day, Nicklaus regained some
of his focus and very nearly made the
cut. With his own typical flair for the
dramatic, he came to the 18th hole, a par
5, needing an eagle to play the weekend.
Forced to lay up, his third shot wedge hit
above the hole and spun back across the
lip, just an inch away from dropping into
the cup.
Instead, Nicklaus had to settle for a
tap-in birdie, accompanied by a thunder-
ous roar, his final shot in a tournament
he had won five times among his record
18 major championships.
“It was a great way to end,” Nicklaus
said. “I think I stretched it this year. I
don’t think my golf game is good enough
to play any more. Right now, I’m not even
competitive on the Senior Tour. When
your ability is leaving you, you go do
something else.”
Nicklaus also witnessed up close
and personal Woods’ second-round
67, and once again he was effusive
in his praise.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen any-
body do what he’s doing,” Nicklaus
said. “He doesn’t have to extend
himself at all. I knew he was good,
obviously, but I think he’s better than I
thought he was. I used to say I couldn’t
understand why we didn‘t have anybody
else playing that well, but I sort of under-
stand it now. He is that much better. Tiger
not only has the ability to be so much
better than the other guys, but the other
guys are not sure they can win.”
But that clearly was not the case with
May. He posted a 66 in the second round
to begin his march toward the upper
reaches of the leaderboard, then followed
it up with another 66 on Saturday on a
day when Woods managed a 70, his worst
round of the tournament. Going into
the final round, Woods held a one-shot
lead over May and Dunlap, and would be
paired with May the next day.
Instead, it was exactly the opposite.
Woods converted and May could not, and
as Woods’ caddie, Steve Williams, told his
player walking off the green, “The ball
game is on now.”
Thirty minutes later, the two men
came to the 72nd hole all even. May
stunned himself and thousands all
around by making a 15-foot birdie putt,
the first time he’d birdied the hole all
week. Now it was Tiger’s turn, facing a
tricky five-footer he had to sink to extend
the match to a playoff. Woods’ attempt
just caught the left edge of the cup and
curled down into the hole, accompanied
by a double fist pump that has become
Woods trademark celebratory gesture.
The playoff was equally riveting. May
saved an amazing par at the 16th when
his recovery shot 60 yards from the hole
in deep rough stopped a foot away from
the cup for a tap-in par. But Woods A
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