Tour news: There is one secret in this sport of golf that Tiger Woods has yet to master. It involves relying on other people, as in the Ryder Cup. Prior to departing Medinah Country Club on Sunday evening, with another major title annexed, Woods was anxious to dispel claims the match wasn't significant to him.
"It's always been important, it's just that I haven't always played well," said Woods, who has been on three losing teams in four appearances and has a personal record in the matches of seven wins, 11 losses and two halved matches. "We're excited about getting over there and trying to win the cup, trying to bring it back home," he added.
For one, US captain Tom Lehman has had enough of those who query Woods's commitment to the match.
"If I ever hear somebody question Tiger Woods's desire to be a part of this team, I am going to go crazy. Tiger Woods cannot wait to play in this Ryder Cup.
"He is looking forward to this Ryder Cup every bit as much as looking forward to playing in the PGA championship, the British Open, the Masters and the US Open . . . and I'm going to tell you one thing also that Tiger told me.
"He said, 'Don't worry about the young guys, I'll take care of them.' That tells you about the leadership of our team."
If Woods has yet to reproduce his individual form in the environs of the Ryder Cup, and you've got to believe it will happen sometime sooner rather than later, nobody can doubt his superiority in tournaments where he is in control of his destiny.
On Sunday afternoon, he arrived at Medinah in a shiny, black Buick driven by his caddie, Steve Williams. On Sunday evening, he departed the country club in a stretch limousine, destined for his private jet en route to his next golfing destination, the defence this week of his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, where he'll be seeking a fourth straight tournament win.
The US PGA championship, where Woods finished with a closing-round 68 for 270, 18 under, was his 12th major win, moving him to second, past Walter Hagen, in the all-time list behind Jack Nicklaus, who has 18 major wins.
In winning, Woods, who also took last month's British Open, became the first player to win more than one major in consecutive years, following last year's victories in the Masters and the British Open.
As Chris DiMarco concurred, his current form indicates a return to the dominance Woods enjoyed in the 2000-2001 seasons. "I think he's eerily back there," agreed DiMarco.
Certainly, Woods was not going to disagree. When asked if he felt he was back to that dominant form of five or six years ago, Woods replied: "Yes. Understanding how to get myself around the golf course, how to control things and all the different shots I've learned since then, yeah, I feel like things are pretty darn good right now."
As a boy, when he could only dream of such things, Woods taped Nicklaus's record to his bedroom wall.
"It's still a long way away," said Woods of his personal goal. "It's not something I could get next year. It took Jack 20 years to get his. It's going to take a career and I've just got to keep plugging along and keep trying to win these things."
Woods's next task is to defend his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which starts at Akron on Thursday, where Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley are in the field.
Although Harrington missed the cut at the PGA and McGinley didn't play, circumstances (with Sergio Garcia and Luke Donald finishing in third, resulting in their moving up the European Ryder Cup world points list ahead of Jose Maria Olazabal) saw the pair actually strengthen their positions in the European points list, moving to eighth and ninth respectively ahead of Olazabal, who now occupies the last automatic place. Paul Broadhurst, the nearest pursuer, is ineligible to play in Akron.
