Major championship? Nope. Regular tour event? Nope. Big-time victory? Yep. Tiger Woods took the lead at the Chevron on the back nine at Sherwood with birdies on 10 and 11, gave it back to Zach Johnson over the next few holes, then finished the field off with birdies on 17 and 18 (after Johnson tossed the gauntlet with a birdie on 16) for a well-earned victory.
Woods showed us the patience and the confidence that had been lacking for a few years. His work with Sean Foley is paying dividends and he should again be one of the men to beat when 2012 arrives. Despite the nay-sayers of the past two years (Alex Miceli and Joe Posnanski, you reading?) Woods still possesses the one weapon that none of the contemporaries has: the combined mind and heart of a champion. Wright had it, Nicklaus had it, Zaharias had it, as did Vardon, Jones and a few others along the way. What it is, is the need to be in “that” position, the one where the nerves of all other competitors cannot handle the pressure.
