Why the wait?
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – A small group of caddies huddled around a TV in the Royal & Ancient locker room, watching the engraver work furiously to finish off Tiger Woods’ name on the Claret Jug as the British Open champion made his triumphant stroll up the 18th fairway.
“He could have done that 30 minutes ago, couldn’t he?” one of them asked rhetorically.
At least.
Woods effectively won his 10th career major about 75 minutes earlier, still six holes from finish. Three putts, in bang-bang-bang succession, effectively choked all the drama out of the 134th Open.
Colin Montgomerie made bogey on the difficult par-4 13th hole. Just behind at the short par-4 12th, Jose Maria Olazabal took bogey, too, before Woods tapped in for a birdie.
A tenuous two-stroke cushion over his two closest challengers became an overwhelming four-shot advantage for the world’s best player.
Game over.
The rest of the day was a mere victory lap for Woods, who went on to a five-stroke victory over Montgomerie, with Olazabal another shot back in a tie for third.
“Tiger made the birdie on 12,” Monty said, as brutally honest as ever, “and that was that.”
Montgomerie charges, fades
Perhaps it isn’t in the cards for Colin Montgomerie.
If ever there had been a day for Montgomerie to win his first major, it was Sunday. The Scottish crowd was delirious as its favorite son flirted with the lead at St. Andrews, the home of golf.
The country almost seemed ready to shut down for a week to allow everyone to take a sip from Montgomerie’s Claret Jug.
It wasn’t to be. History repeated again.
Montgomerie was the runner-up in a major for the fourth time in his career. A final-round 72 left him four shots behind Tiger Woods.
Before the round, Montgomerie said he thought he needed a 66 to overtake Woods. He was halfway there after a 33 on the front nine, pulling to within a shot of Woods on No. 10. But Montgomerie couldn’t keep up the pace, playing the back nine in 39.
“To get to 3 under at the turn, I was pushing Tiger,” Montgomerie said. “There was a game on there. I never caught him, unfortunately, and I needed to.”
Low amateur
Scotland’s favorite golfer, Colin Montgomerie, came up short in his bid to win the Open. But the country did manage to produce the low amateur.
Lloyd Saltman, a 19-year-old from Craigielau, shot a final round 71 to finish at 5-under 283.
Still, he had to birdie the last hole to claim low amateur from fellow Scot Eric Ramsay, who was a shot back at 284. Saltman knew what he had to do when he teed off after Ramsay posted a final-round 68.
“I feel I perform better under the pressure because I need to switch on,” he said. “That’s why you practice to play in things like this and to walk up the last needing a birdie to win the silver medal.”
Saltman said his performance doesn’t change his plans to wait a few years to turn pro. A semifinalist in the British Amateur, he’ll be on his country’s Walker Cup team later this year.
Fortunate cart
Bernhard Langer can thank the driver of a golf cart carrying TV equipment for helping him out on the ninth hole.
Langer ended up making birdie on the hole after his ball, which was heading toward some thick gorse bushes, bounced off the cart instead.
Instead of a possible unplayable lie from the bushes, he was able to pitch a shot over the bushes and made a 25-footer for birdie.
The two-time Masters champion finished tied for fifth and joined Tiger Woods as the only players to post four sub-par rounds with his final-round 71.
Jack and Tiger
Tiger Woods might want Jack Nicklaus to stick around a little longer.
Woods has won all four major championships where Nicklaus bade farewell, beginning with the 2000 PGA Championship.
Woods also won the 2000 U.S. Open and this year’s Masters in the last appearance for Nicklaus in both.