A year on, Woods want this one big time

Time moves on, even for Tiger Woods. A year ago, six weeks after the death of his father, Woods missed the cut for the only time as a professional in a major. That it came in the US Open - at Winged Foot - hurt more than if it had occurred elsewhere, and his response was to finish off the remainder of the season with a vengeance.

He won the British Open with a display of clinical coldness, then claimed the US PGA championship. It brought his majors haul to 12, second only to the Golden Bear, Jack Nicklaus, and sent out a signal to impostors.

Now, having come up short in the Masters, the Tiger is on the hunt for more.

Yesterday, Woods continued his preparations for the 107th US Open here by playing a practice round with Bubba Watson, the left-hander who hits the ball into orbit for fun, and Chilean amateur Marin Ureta.

As ever, he was meticulous; but didn't go so far as to place a ball into the Church Pews bunker. "Why create negativity?" he responded, when asked if it would have been worth his while to practice out of the famed bunkers.

There was an air of authority about Woods, even though he hasn't won since the Wachovia championship the week before the Players. Since that win, he has hardly set the world alight: tied-37th at Sawgrass, followed by a tied-15th finish in the Memorial.

But, as you'd expect, he hasn't dallied in his spare time and has played more practice rounds at Oakmont - six - than anyone else.

He wants this one.

Reminded of his missed cut at Winged Foot a year ago, Woods - whose wife, Elin, is expecting the couple's first child next month - remarked: "Last year was a complete 180 (degrees) of where I am now in my life. Last year, my father obviously passed away in that time frame. I wasn't quite ready to play until I got to the US Open, probably not the best tournament to come back to . . so, this year, I'm going to be a father, and that's a complete polar opposite of where I was last year."

That Oakmont is gathering a reputation among his fellow players in the locker-room as something of a beast isn't a concern to Woods. The rough?

"It's a penalty for hitting the ball in there, that's how it should be. If you make a mistake, you have to pay the price."

In yesterday's practice, Woods got a close-up view of the rough's severity. Not personally, mind you. His playing partner Watson drove the ball into the primary cut at one stage and failed to move it 10 yards with his recovery. Woods took note of Watson's plight, but, just as with the Church Pews, wasn't tempted to attempt such a shot himself. No bad vibes.

Of all the championships, the US Open has proven most difficult for Woods to win. He has four Masters, three British Opens, three US PGA championships and two US Opens. Those US Opens came in 2000 and 2002, but it has eluded his clutches since. Can Oakmont - just as it did for the game's other greats, Nicklaus and Ben Hogan among them - provide him with another?

"It's not an easy championship to win," said Woods. "It's probably the most difficult championship that we face all year, because you're tested from tee to green and you're tested on the greens. Generally, if you're missing one facet of your game, more than likely you're not going to win this championship. You have to have everything going for you, and then you've obviously got to get a break here and there. Especially here this week."

Yet, Woods believes the course set-up overall is fair.

"This course is, without a doubt, difficult. We all know that. But it is also fair. I just think that we're going to all see what happens with pin locations, because, if they go crazy, they can make it impossible. But if they put pins in generous spots, I think it will be just a fantastic test.

"They are by far the most difficult greens I've ever played. I thought Winged Foot's were pretty tough. I thought Augusta's pretty tough. But both those course have flat spots (on the greens). Augusta may have these big, big slopes but they also have flat shelves where they usually put the pins on. Here, I'm trying to figure out where a flat shelf is.

"Here, most of the greens are tilted. Some even run away from you, which is not the norm in modern course design.

Woods rates the 482-yard par four first as one of golf's toughest opening holes.

"It's a pretty narrow hole and, if you hit the ball in the bunkers there, you're probably not going to advance it to the green," he said. "With the second shot, even if you hit it well, it's 50/50 whether it stays on (the green) or not.

"Like I said, it depends on how the pins are set: if they give us a chance to play, or if they are going to make it really impossible."

We'll see.