Woods Plays Like a Real Pro

CORNELIUS, Ore. — Two holes down with three to play, Tiger Woods stood and watched golf history turn tail and start to run away.

So Woods did what he always seems to do in the U.S. Amateur. He chased it down from behind and won again.

This time, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club, cut out of the corn and hay fields, what happened Sunday was an occasion for the ages--a third consecutive U.S. Amateur title, which is something so rare, it has never happened before.

“Winning three Amateurs in a row is just something else,” Woods said. “I just can’t tell you what a weird feeling it is.

“I don’t know what the significance is of this yet. I didn’t know what the significance of winning two in a row was. It’s going to take me awhile, that’s for sure.”

For anyone with a sense of history, what the 20-year-old Woods did in his 1-up, 38-hole victory over Steve Scott was dramatic, even by Woods’ standards.

It ended with Woods guiding a two-foot putt for par straight into the bottom of the hole on No. 10, a mere 8 hours and 20 minutes since the final round began.

He hugged his father, Earl, and his mother, Kultida, then embraced Butch Harmon, his coach, in a quiet moment of reflection and relief that was quickly interrupted by the question Woods has been hearing for awhile now.

When is he turning pro?

“I don’t know right now,” he said. “I just know one thing. I’m going to celebrate like hell tonight.”

He seems to have good reason. Woods was four down after seven holes in the morning, five down after 11 and five down after the first 18 holes that ended at about 11 a.m.

Woods shot the equivalent of 76 in the morning and the equivalent of 65 in the afternoon, without a bogey.

“That boy never does anything easy,” Earl Woods said of his son. “He’s exercised my heart for the past six years and I flat quit. No more.”

Scott, the 19-year-old sophomore from the University of Florida, still led by two after 28 holes and remained 2-up after 33 holes. There were only three holes left for Woods to stage a comeback, if there would be one.

There was, and it wasn’t a comfortable feeling, Scott said.

“He caught on fire and did his famous comeback,” he said. “You know Tiger. He does his thing.

“He just turns on the afterburners and leaves you in the dust.”

Woods had just missed birdie putts on the 14th and 15th that would have caught Scott when they reached the 34th hole.

Scott put his second shot in the bunker and Woods rolled in a six-footer for birdie to win the hole. Scott’s was now 1-up.

A six-iron approach to the 17th green left Woods more than 30 feet away from the hole, but from there, he somehow guided the ball into the bottom of the cup to even the match.

Both Woods and Scott made par on No. 18 and the match went into extra holes for the first time since 1981. It also was the second-longest final ever, the 38 holes falling one shy of the 39 it took Sam Urzetta to defeat Frank Stranahan in 1950.

The first extra hole was played on No. 9, where both Woods and Scott missed birdie putts from 20 feet.

They went on to the next hole, the par-three 10th, the 38th hole of the day.

Scott missed the green to the right in nearly the same place where he chipped in for birdie to go 2-up after 28 holes.

But this time, the chip slid about seven feet past the hole.

Woods put his tee shot about seven feet away and stood over a putt that would win it. He just missed and the ball stopped two feet away.

Scott’s putt lipped out, which meant Woods could end it finally. He did.

It was the sixth consecutive year in which Woods has won a USGA championship.

Woods also increased his USGA match-play record to 42-3 and 20-2 in the Amateur. His victory Sunday was his 18th consecutive in the Amateur, another record.

How he ever got there is another matter. Woods was seven down to Trip Kuehne after 13 holes in the 1994 U.S. Amateur and four down after 18 holes, but he came back to win.

So Woods knew how to feel, at least.

“I was feeling very confident,” Woods said.

Come again?

“I’ve been there before.”

* A TOUGH CHOICE: After making history and showing he owns the amateur ranks, it appears Tiger Woods is ready for a new challenge that would only come on the PGA Tour. C8

* ROAD TO HISTORY: A look at each of Tiger Woods’ three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. C8

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U.S. Amateur Championships

Tiger Woods won his sixth U.S. Golf Assn. championship in a row, including three junior titles.

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NAME TITLES YEARS Bobby Jones 5 1924-25, ‘27-28, ’30 Jerome Travers 4 1907-08, 1912-13 Tiger Woods 3 1994-96 Jack Nicklaus 2 1959, 1961 Deane Beman 2 1960, 1963 Jay Sigel 2 1982-83

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Note: Nine others have won the title twice