Nicklaus has an Open mind about Woods

Tiger Woods is one man's choice to win next week's U.S. Open. And this man knows about such things.

"I don't know if anybody can play the way he does," Jack Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus, who has four U.S. Open titles, spoke after watching Woods win the Memorial Tournament on Sunday with a remarkable short game.

Nicklaus' comment about Woods recalls what Bobby Jones said 40 years ago about Nicklaus: "Jack is playing an entirely different game -- a game I'm not even familiar with."

Woods saved pars from lies that lended themselves to double bogeys. While playing partner Vijay Singh watched with mounting frustration, Woods got up-and-down pars at Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 16 and blasted out of deep rough for a birdie at the fifth hole.

His most memorable shot -- coming seconds after he muffed a similar sand wedge shot -- came at the 14th. He flopped the ball out of deep rough and rolled in a lightning-quick, sidehill 25-footer for par.

The bottom line was a 3-under 69 that left him at 15-under 273 and two shots ahead of Singh to pick up his second tour win of the year and the first-place check of $459,000.

This was his second straight victory, following the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open two weeks ago in Germany. Now he heads to the Open at Pinehurst, N.C.

Woods played the No. 2 course there early last week and was pleased.

"I spent a lot of time on those greens and chipping around, having a lot of fun, playing different clubs," he said. "I felt pretty good. I tried almost every club in my bag around the greens."

Woods customarily hits 350-yard drives and on Saturday reached Muirfield Village Golf Club's 539-yard 11th hole with a pair of 2-irons.

"Chicks dig the long ball," he cracked, flashing his famous grin.

Yet it was his creativity around the greens -- frequently overlooked, he said -- that paved the way for his ninth PGA Tour victory.

"His long game was probably not the most pristine that he's ever seen," said Nicklaus, the tournament founder and course designer. "But I think his short game was unbelievable. Most players at 23 don't have that kind of an imagination."

Woods said there was a lot of truth to the adage about driving for show and putting for dough.

"If you ask most people if they think John Daly has a good short game, they'll say no," he said. "But he's got a great short game. People don't realize it because he hits it so far. They look at only the fact that he hits it 330 yards. They don't realize how good a touch he really has around the greens."

Nicklaus said there's a lesson in that for younger players, citing Woods and David Duval.

"Probably the two best players in the game today, Tiger and David, both love to practice their short game," Nicklaus said. "And it's paid off for both of them."

Similarly, Nicklaus was renowned in his youth for prodigious drives although few acknowledged his delicate touch around the green.

Woods said this victory was particularly sweet because it came in a tournament created by the 59-year-old Nicklaus, whom he has long admired.

"I was hitting balls next to him the other day on the left side of the range and it was pretty cool watching him out there hitting balls with the perfect trajectory, never a bad shot," Woods said. "I'm thinking, 'Wow, if I'm as old as he is, I'd like to be able just to walk."'

AP