Don't his arms get tired?

Take a look at the last 15 Open champions. There have been accurate drivers and iron players. There have been hot putters. There have been top players at their best and guys just having the week of their lives. There has been a lot of luck, good and bad. And there has been Tiger. First in driving distance and greens in regulation at Pebble Beach in 2000, Woods led by 6 after two rounds, by 10 after three and won by 15 at 12-under. No one had ever finished an Open round at double digits under par. He set British and PGA records that year, too, taking the trifecta at a combined 49-under -- and added the Masters in 2001 for his Split Slam. This year, he puts first things first, winning the Masters to complete Step 1 of the Grand Slam. Will he take Step 2?

SCOTT SIMPSON (1987)
Tom Watson's putter fails him on Sunday. Simpson's doesn't. Four 1-putts in the last five holes at Olympic give him three birdies and a par -- and his only major.

CURTIS STRANGE (1988, 1989)
Out-putts everybody at The Country Club in '88, hits fairways and greens like Iron Byron in '89 at Oak Hill to pick up pieces when Tom Kite crumbles.

HALE IRWIN (1990)
Forty-five-foot birdie putt on 72nd hole gets him into a playoff. Par on the 91st—par's a good score in Opens, right?—makes him oldest champion in history at 45.

PAYNE STEWART (1991, 1999)
Beats Simpson in playoff in '91. At Pinehurst in '99 (and four months before his death), he 1-putts last three holes to beat Phil Mickelson by a stroke.

TOM KITE (1992)
Starts Sunday one stroke back, shoots 72 in near-hurricane winds at Pebble Beach on a day when 20 of the 66 players can't break 80 and no one breaks 70.

LEE JANZEN (1993, 1998)
Near-miracle breaks involving cooperative trees at Baltusrol and Olympic, plus rock-steady game, give him two wins over Stewart by combined three strokes.

ERNIE ELS (1994, 1997)
First in GIR both times. Starts '94 playoff bogey, triple-bogey but holds steady and wins with par on 92nd hole. Wins in '97 when Tom Lehman bogeys 71st.

COREY PAVIN (1995)
Go figure. Shinnecock Hills is long and windy, but Pavin, one of the Tour's shortest hitters, edges Greg Norman. How? By averaging 26.5 putts a round.

STEVE JONES (1996)
Gets in through sectional qualifying after losing nearly three years to a dirt-bike injury. Wins at 2-under, lowest score in six Opens at Oakland Hills.

RETIEF GOOSEN (2001)
Three-putts from 12 feet on 72nd for bogey. Facing Mark Brooks in playoff, the South African 1-putts eight of first 10 greens to take title.

DRIVE FOR SHOW
Stay out of the rough. Make putts. But most important, based on the average ranking of the winners of the last 15 Opens in four key categories, you have to hit greens in regulation. Hit it a mile? Not that big a deal -- at least before Bethpage.

Winner's Average Ranking, 1987-2001
Greens in Regulation 11.6
Putting      14.3
Driving Accuracy 19.6
Driving Distance 36.2

This article appears in the June 10 issue of ESPN The Magazine.