Pressure tells on Maruyama

Playing the first two rounds of the British Open with Tiger Woods didn't get to Shigeki Maruyama.

But holding the lead briefly in Sunday's final round -- with the claret jug a distant vision -- was a bit too much for the 32-year-old Japanese golfer.

A sensational 4-under 32 on the front nine Sunday with a birdie on the par-5 ninth moved Maruyama into the lead at 6-under for the tournament.

Then, a man who was calm enough to stay up until 2:30 a.m. on the eve of the final round watching a Japanese comedy video called ``The Life of Laughing Dogs,'' got rattled.

``Yes, I'm a night owl,'' said Maruyama, whose broad smile and expressive, clown-like manner throughout the tournament made him a crowd favorite at Muirfield.

Maruyama wound up finishing at 5-under 279 in a three-way tie for fifth -- a finish worth 140,000 pounds ($220,000). The success goes with his victory earlier this year in the Byron Nelson and a victory a year ago in the Milwaukee Open.

The finish was the best in the British Open for a Japanese golfer since Masahiro Kuramoto finished tied for fourth in 1982 at Troon behind winner Tom Watson.

After his 32, the dream began to slip away.

Maruyama bogeyed the 10th, 12th and 13th before coming out of his dive with birdies on the 16th and 17th to finish with a 3-under 68.

He admitted he started to misread the pace of the greens on the back nine. And he got jittery.

``There seemed to be invisible pressure somewhere in my mind,'' he said. ``It was not heart pumping. I did not feel it early on. But when I came to the 18th, I did feel it.''

``I suddenly realized that my body was not moving the way I thought it would. That's the pressure of major tournaments.''

Playing with Woods, Maruyama beat the World No. 1 on Thursday by two strokes and matched his 68 on Friday. Last month at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio, he also played two rounds with Tiger and beat him in one and matched his score in the other.

Woods ballooned to a 10-over 81 on Saturday and closed Sunday with a 65 to finish on level par 284 -- five behind Maruyama and six behind winner Ernie Els of South Africa.

Maruyama attributed his newfound ``maturity'' to the tension-filled week in Scotland and to his young son, Sean, who he said was back home in Japan ``watching me on TV.''

``I feel I've grown up through this experience,'' he said. ``Such experiences are very important. I learned that as long as I play my own golf, I will have a chance to win.''

Maruyama also admitted feeling pressure trying to top the finish of Kuramoto 20 years ago.

``I understand how high the expectations were on me from the Japanese fans,'' he said. ``I tried to surpass Mr. Kuramoto's achievement, but I will keep trying next year.''

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