Scent goes cold on trail of Tiger

THERE was a time five years ago when the rest of the world’s best players were clearly intimidated by Tiger Woods.

That changed in the early days of the new millennium but now normal business has been resumed.

Jose-Maria Olazabal, especially, and Colin Montgomerie, his nearest rivals after 54 holes, both suggested on Saturday night that Tiger had just had his "bad day" and that he'd be back as good as ever on the morrow.

Even with 18 holes to go on one of golf's most enigmatic lay-outs, it seemed as if they had thrown in the towel and were content to play for second. That's how it turned out with Monty coming home runner-up on nine under, five behind Woods and one ahead of Olazabal and Freddie Couples who shared third spot.

It was understandable that Montgomerie should have been happy with that, given how his golfing status had fallen last year and the major problems he encountered with the rules for a silly but unpardonable error in Indonesia.

But with the partisan Scottish crowd roaring him on, one hoped for a lot more than silent acceptance that he was unlikely to bridge the threeshot gap Woods enjoyed over him going into yesterday's second round of the St Andrews Open.

"The last couple of days have been phenomenal," he said. "The whole way round, even when people knew I wasn't going to win, the crowd realised my job was to finish second and they got me through that.

"Looking back, I've thoroughly enjoyed this week and competing again at this level. I had forgotten it was 1997 since I was second in a major, the US Open at Congressional, and it's nice now to have a little resurgence after three years in the wilderness.

"There's no disgrace in finishing second to the best player in the world. I have taken a lot of positives from this week. I was within one of Tiger at the turn. I had gotten two shots back out of the three I was behind and at that stage anything could have happened. But I hit the wrong club off the 11th tee because the wind changed.

"It threw me a bit and I lost some momentum coming home. I gave a great effort and I'll be starting the next major now knowing that I'm capable of doing well.

"In hindsight, it would have been better for me if I had been playing with Tiger. He had the great advantage of knowing exactly what was happening. We were about a hole or a hole and a half ahead, so he knew exactly what was going on."

The same could not be said of Olazabal, the man who got into the championship as a replacement for his old amigo Seve Ballesteros, and played out of his boots, especially on Saturday, to get into the final group on the last day of the Open Championship. He was eventually outplayed, 70 to 74, by Woods but didn't allow anything to detract from his enjoyment of the occasion.

"I'm a little disappointed in the sense that I didn't play like I wanted. I had bad swings on six and twelve and that's where my chance went. If I'd played those two holes well, it could have been a different story. But this week has been positive for me, it's been great. I've played well and I'm very happy about that.

"Tiger played really solid golf today. He was straight off the tee, he controlled the distance very well. He missed a few birdie chances and still managed to shot a few under par. It's hard to catch him but I don't think it's impossible but it's close."

Fred Couples, who shot 68 to sneak into a share of third with Olazabal, wasn't about to disagree.

"Well, you're playing against the best player in the world and when he attacks the course, he does so with great ball striking. He doesn't tell you he should have had 67 when he's had 70. He's setting the bar so high and he's so strong. He's just a great player and always the guy to beat.

"But I had a great day. I played very well and my score could have been a heck of a lot better. The crowds here are fantastic. They know their golf. In a subtle way, they root you on. They have favourites and I've always been enamoured by how nice they are, how courteous they are and how well they know when you've hit a good shot."

It was a memorable day, too, for Nick Faldo who holed a putt from well off the 18th green for an eagle two to finish on six under par and in 11th place having just previously birdied the 17th. How often has anybody played the last two holes in five shots at the Old Course?

And then there was Michael Campbell, dismissing any suggestions that he might have been a flash in the pan winner of the US Open. He was one of those in a tie for 5th that also included Bernhard Langer and the faltering Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen, who is currently suffering a bad dose of the final day blues.