80 golf digest | issue 4. 2020
christianioossgreen in a spot where he
could get up and down.
It could have gone anywhere,
way to the right in the trees,
unplayable—whatever.
He could have made a big
number had the bounce
not gone his way. Now, you
need good breaks to win
anywhere, but I thought
he was back in every
way possible: physically,
emotionally and spiritually.
‘HE MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE
FOR THEM TO
KNOCK HIM OUT’
curtis strange: When Tiger
got to the lead, he played
phenomenally well thereafter.
It was an education. He played
to the proper parts of the
greens. He might have been a
little more aggressive back in
the day, but what he did was
brilliant. He showed everyone
else how to do it.
tiger woods: Conservative
when needed, and aggressive
when allowed.
ken brown: To use a boxing
analogy, Tiger had his
opponents on the ropes,
but he knew he wasn’t going
to knock them out. So,
knowing he was ahead on
points, he made it impossible
for them to knock him out.
He kept them at a distance,
something you have to be
so skillful to achieve—
especially when it means so
much to you.
tiger woods: Missed the ball
in the correct spots time and
time and time again, and if
I was out of position, so be it,
take my bogey and move on.
I had no doubles [for the
week].... Just kept plodding.
nick dougherty (Sky Sports):
I was blown away by the fact
that he has found a different
way to be a superstar. He used
to hit shots that you thought
no one else could hit. But this
was the opposite. There was
nothing that special—he shot
70—so there were no “What
about that?” moments. He just
outlasted everyone. They all
faltered except him. Tiger was
the guy who didn’t hit the bad
shot at the time you couldn’t
hit the bad shot.
joe lacava (on Woods’ birdie
at the par-3 16th, after almost
making a hole-in-one with an
8-iron): It was never going to
be a 7-iron, because a 7-iron,
you’re cutting it. There’s more
of a chance you’re going to
leave it up on the right side,
which is no bueno. But he hit
a gorgeous shot, probably
drew seven yards and went
exactly where you’re looking.
I understand a lot of guys do it
on Sunday, but not in the last
group knowing you can make
2 but knowing you’ve still got
to be aggressive. Huge shot.
The crowd stands up, andI’m thinking, Just be a kick-in.
I thought it was a foot the
way they reacted, but they’re
jacked up, and it’s 2½, maybe
three feet. No gimme. It’s
below the hole, which is nice.
He even asked me to take a
look at this one. I thought,
OK, I don’t need to go over
there. I know on Thursday
or Friday this is a left-center
putt because it’s going to
break a little to the right.
But on Sunday, in my mind,
I don’t want you to allow this
thing to break. So I said, “Just
knock it right in the back in
the middle; nothing there.”
Meaning, don’t even give it
a chance to break, because
sometimes you can think
it’s breaking, pull it a little
bit more. You don’t put
as good a stroke on it for
whatever reason.
verne lundquist (CBS
announcer at the 16th, after
the birdie and earlier aces
by DeChambeau and JustinThomas): I’m compelled to say... Oh... my... goodness.
nick faldo: I actually did
a piece, but we didn’t run it,
on how you’ve got to make
2 at 16. You look at how many
times when somebody’s won,
they’ve made a 2 at 16. Sure
enough, bang.
brooks koepka: That
basically won him the
tournament right there.
tiger woods: That gave
me the cush [a two-stroke
cushion after his sixth birdie
of the day].
jim nantz: You know, he
didn’t end up magically holing
150 feet worth of putts. No,
no, it was a workmanlike, out-
thinking-your-competition
kind of a performance.
dustin johnson (who birdied
four of the last six holes but
missed a birdie putt at the 18th
that would have cut Woods’
lead to one): I figured if I
birdied 18, I would probably
get into a playoff. It was 14 feet
maybe, straight up the hill.
It just burned the right edge.
tiger woods: As I’m walking
to 17, I said, I’ve been here
before. In 2005, I chipped
in [at 16], grabbed the two-
shot lead and screwed up.
I went bogey/bogey and was
fortunate enough to beat
DiMarco in a playoff. Well,
not this time. Let’s go ahead
and get committed on this tee
shot. Let’s pipe this tee shot
down here.
joe lacava: He hit maybe
the best drive of the week.
Again, probably not his
favorite driving hole. I think
it was actually easier with the
Eisenhower tree there [on
the left side]. I don’t know if
it was an aiming point or just
kind of going over it, gave you
something to look at. But he hit
this BB. I’m telling you, it cut a
yard, and it was tomahawked.
We got up there, and we were
a yard past Tony, which we
hadn’t been all day. ►
getting a cushion▶ Woods increases his lead to
two strokes with a short birdie putt
after almost acing the par-3 16th.