Tiger targets No.15

By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent Last updated: 1st June 2009

Tiger Woods has done many amazing things in his career. But surely nothing tops his incredible 2008 US Open win.

Tiger Woods has already done many amazing things in his career. Amazing putts, amazing shots, amazing rounds, amazing weeks, amazing years.

But the greatest of all his feats was surely his winning of last year's United States Open - and now comes the time for him to put the title on the line.

Woods does so at a Bethpage Black course on New York's Long Island, where seven years ago he was the only player to get the better of the brutally difficult par-70 lay-out.

Ahead from the moment he opened with a 67 his scores became progressively worse - 68, 70, 72 - but nobody could catch him and at three under he beat Phil Mickelson by three.

It remains the only time that the world's current top two have finished first and second in a major.

The main challengers to Woods at Torrey Pines last June turned out to be 45-year-old fellow American Rocco Mediate and England's Lee Westwood, but it was his personal battle to keep playing that was the most remarkable aspect of his 14th major victory.

Everybody knew that Woods had undergone more arthroscopic surgery on his left knee - the one that takes the strain in the swing - straight after he had finished second to Trevor Immelman at The Masters.

What they did not know before he teed off in his first event since Augusta two months earlier was how bad that knee still was - and that he had two stress fractures in his leg as well.

It soon became clear. He was limping, grimacing regularly and third-round playing partner Robert Karlsson even said he could hear clicking from the knee as Woods gave his all to try to achieve a 14th major.

Yet not only did Woods somehow manage to come out on top, he did so making a birdie on the last to tie Mediate and then playing another 19 holes to settle the issue.

Retief Goosen wondered aloud two days later whether the injury was as serious as Woods appeared to be making out.

The following day he must have been regretting saying that as the world number one announced he was out for the rest of the year and undergoing reconstructive surgery.

"I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time," he said.

"Now it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee."

Coach Hank Haney commented - and Woods did not disagree - that "I certainly think it's the greatest win he's ever had.

"He had only played 27 practice holes since The Masters and he never hit more than 50 balls a day on the range."

Woods was out until this February and at Bay Hill a month later won only his third event back.

He remained delighted with the recovery of his leg at The Masters, but his swing badly let him down there and after charging to within one of the lead from seven back entering the last day - just like playing partner Mickelson - he bogeyed the last two and finished sixth.

Some thought he did not pay due credit to those who had beaten him by talking of almost winning with a "band-aid swing".

Whether that was fair criticism or not, at Bethpage he will not come close to a 15th major - only three short of Jack Nicklaus's record - if he plays the same way. The course will take care of that.

Mickelson's memories of seven years ago - not just the way he played, but also the support of one of the noisiest crowds in golf - will serve him well.

Sergio Garcia had a harder time with the fans that week and did not help matters with a rather sour-grape claim that while he had to continue playing in bad weather there might have been a suspension if a certain somebody was on the course at the time.

The following morning he left a note in Woods' locker saying "I didn't mean anything bad", but the world number one almost certainly took extra special delight in beating Garcia head-to-head in the last group on the last day.

And to this day, of course, the Spaniard has yet to win a major.

Padraig Harrington played with Woods on the Saturday, but while he dropped away like Garcia the difference is that he now has three majors to his name.

And he would very much like that to become four on June 21.

Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent