Let’s just say Woody Austin is a unique personality on the PGA Tour.
After Sunday’s round, he talked about how he had outplayed Tiger Woods from tee to green Friday. But Woods shot a 63, while Austin had a 70.
“We can go through our rounds,” Austin said. “I outplayed him on Friday, but he beat me by seven shots. Does that mean he’s that much better? I don’t get it.”
Well, Woody, there’s this part of the game called putting …
Austin might say some bizarre things, but he showed everyone he had some game Sunday. At 43, he held his own and then some playing under major pressure for the first time in his career. A back nine of 32 put some heat on champion Woods.
“There’s no question it’s a breakthrough for me because I never had been in this position before,” Austin said. “So I can’t say that it’s anything but a positive.”
Austin’s second-place finish meant an automatic spot on the American Presidents Cup team. He may have fallen short of catching Woods, but give him credit for making Sunday interesting. CBS certainly owes a big thank you to Austin.
Birdie: Ernie Els. It was great to see the “Big Easy” chasing Woods on Sunday. A 66 wasn’t exactly the miracle round he needed, but it was an impressive showing.
“I’m still not quite where I want to be, but I’m getting there,” Els said.
Birdie: Tiger Woods. Way to go, Dad.
Bogey: Stephen Ames. Remember that 9-and-8 pounding Woods handed Ames in the 2006 Match Play? Well, if it had been match play Sunday in the final pairing, Ames would have suffered a 7-and-5 defeat to Woods. As it was, Ames’ round of 76 was embarrassing enough, dropping him from second to a tie for 12th.
The poor showing probably doomed his chances to be named as a wild-card pick by captain Gary Player for the International team in the Presidents Cup. Player and U.S. captain Jack Nicklaus will disclose their picks Monday.
Bogey: Luke Donald. A ho-hum tournament for the Northwestern grad. He never got anything going, closing with a 73 to tie for 32nd.
Birdie/bogey: John Daly. After taking the first-round lead, he wound up dropping into a tie for 32nd. But the big guy did provide some comic relief during the tournament.
Birdie: Mike Small. Great week.
Bogey: Tom Lehman. Did anyone sweat more during the week than Lehman? His khaki pants looked like he had jumped in a pool. He probably wished he were at a pool after finishing next to last.
Birdie: Southern Hills. The course was terrific, and the grounds crew did quite a job keeping the grass alive in the searing heat. Still, please don’t send another major to Tulsa until we cool down. That should take at least 10 years.
