ESPN.com - Golf Online - US Open Men 2000 - Frozen moment: Tiger's simple little par

By David Kraft
ESPN Golf Online
Thursday, June 15

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Tiger Woods birdied six holes on Thursday. He shot the lowest round ever at Pebble Beach in a United States Open. He even birdied the 18th to close the deal.


	Tiger Woods had no trouble reading the lines Thursday, needing just 24 total putts -- and 11 on the back nine.

But it was a par -- an innocent looking four at the par-4 11th -- that he remembered later.

Woods, 3-under par and in a battle for the lead after a birdie on the difficult 10th, was about to give it away on No. 11. He'd hit his tee shot into the right rough -- all 4½-inches of it -- on the 380-yard par-4. When he got to his ball, Woods discovered what he called "one of the worst lies I've ever gotten."

But Woods didn't panic. He advanced the ball near the green, pitched to within 12 feet and made his par putt.

He went on to birdie the 13th, 14th and 18th holes to shoot 65 and give himself a one-shot lead over Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Asked what the key to his round was, he pointed to the par at 11. But he could have just as easily pointed to his putter in general. Woods' wand served him well all day long:

He hit an 8-footer for par on the par-3 fifth hole.

After running his initial 8-foot birdie putt eight feet past the hole on the par-4 ninth, he made the comebacker for par.

He pulled a pitching wedge 20 feet away on the par-3 seventh, but made the birdie putt.

He made a 15-footer for birdie on the par-4 10th.

At the par-4 15th, he missed the green with a sand wedge, but saved par with a 6-foot putt.

He missed the green on the par-3 17th, chipped on and made a 12-footer for par.

That's 70 feet of putts which, combined with tap-in birdies on the fourth, 13th and 18th holes, gave Woods his first lead ever in the U.S. Open.

Woods credited practice and a slight adjustment in his posture for his hot putter. After playing his final practice round early Wednesday morning, he retired to the practice green in the afternoon for a couple of hours.

"I didn't like the way I was rolling the ball. I was making quite a few putts in the practice rounds, but the ball wasn't turning over where I'd like to see it roll," he said.

His self-diagnosis: "My release wasn't quite right."

So he putted. And putted And putted some more.

"I just needed to get, basically, some reps in," Woods said. "Once I get enough reps, I feel a little more comfortable. And today, I putted beautifully."

But Woods, ever the perfectionist, still wasn't completely satisfied.

"It's definitely one of my better rounds I've played," he said. "It's the lowest score I've shot in the Open."

The best? Tiger said no.

Woods went back to 1996, his second U.S. Open. He opened with a 76, but shot 69 in the second round to make the cut. "The debacle I had on Thursday, and then to come back and shoot 69 as an amateur, I thought was pretty good," he said.

Since then, however, he'd only bettered 70 twice in 14 rounds - 67 in the second round in 1997 and 68 in the first round last year at Pinehurst No. 2, when he finished tied for third.

"I've always felt I'd much rather have the lead than try to catch up," he said. "If you shoot the same score as someone else that's leading the tournament, you lose. I'd rather be leading."

Thanks to his putter -- and a par -- he is.