One elite U.S. athlete won a championship in France, another took a title in England.
Here’s how the first Tour de France title for 30-year-old Floyd Landis stacks up against the second straight British Open won by 30-year-old pro golfer Tiger Woods.
ON SUNDAY …
LANDIS: A nail-biter of a race ended without a hitch Sunday as Landis cruised to victory on the cobblestones of Paris to win the Tour de France. Oscar Pereiro finished second overall at 57 seconds back.
WOODS: Favored by many to repeat, Woods led Saturday and then closed with a 5-under 67 to become the first player since 1982-83 to win consecutive British Open titles.
WINNER: Landis. He made up more of a deficit and is about to have hip replacement surgery.
FAMILY MATTERS
LANDIS: His parents are devout Mennonites and were so confident their son would win that they didn’t have to choose between going to church and watching the race. They were riding their own bikes home from church Sunday. Arlene Landis said, “We felt in our hearts he was going to win. He is not one to take second place.”
WOODS: It’s his first victory since his father, Earl Woods, died May 3 after a brutal bout with cancer. After Woods clinched the win, he walked off the green sobbing and hugged his wife and friends. “I could not stop it,” Woods said. “I miss my dad so much.”
WINNER: Woods. Second-place finisher Chris DiMarco’s mother died of a heart attack July 4. The two golfers’ respective post-tournament reactions will not be soon forgotten.
HISTORY DEGREES
LANDIS: U.S. rider/American icon Lance Armstrong won seven straight Tours, and American Greg Lemond won three back in the day.
WOODS: His 11th career major puts him one step closer to the 18 majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
WINNER: Woods. And where will you be when Woods passes Nicklaus?
SPOKEN LIKE A CHAMPION
LANDIS: “I kept fighting, never stopped believing,” Landis said after he received the winner’s yellow jersey on the podium, joined by his daughter, Ryan.
WOODS: “After the last putt, I realized my dad’s never going to see this again, and I wish he could have seen this one last time,” Woods said at the trophy presentation.
WINNER: Push. Think about these two the next time you want to sleep in and skip the gym.
OVERALL WINNER:
Woods’ emotional weekend edges Landis’ big win, but both were spectacularly dramatic events. Now if Landis comes back from surgery to defend his title, he starts to enter Armstrong territory.
