Lawrie figured best way to beat Carnoustie was to stop complaining

British Open champion Paul Lawrie figured the best way to beat beastly Carnoustie was to stop complaining about it.

Sure, 6-over par is a bit high for a winning total, but the payday was the same after he won a three-way playoff Sunday.

"I just went ahead and did my job," the 30-year-old Scot said. ``I didn't moan, didn't bitch, just went ahead -- and they set the golf course up the way they wanted."

"I think a lot of players, obviously a lot of people, said a lot of things. The golf course was very, very, very tough, but it's a major tournament and you should pass the exam."

TIGER TALK: Tiger Woods hit his driver about a half-dozen times at Carnoustie and went 35 holes without a birdie.

Need any more reasons why he has now gone 10 majors without winning one?

"Unfortunately, for the week the driver was taken out of our hands, and that's probably the way they wanted to set it up," said Woods, who finished with a 3-over 74 and a four round 10-over 294 -- four strokes short of reaching the three-way playoff won by Scotland's Paul Lawrie. The world No. 1 had six birdies, 12 bogeys and two double-bogeys.

Woods played here twice before in the Scottish Open in 1995 and '96, but the rough was ankle-high instead of knee-deep.

"In the Scottish Open, we hit driver off No. 5 (411 yards)," he said. "This week, you had to hit 6- or 7-irons to keep it short and in play."

Like almost everyone else, Woods was critical of how the Royal and Ancient set up the course with wheat-field rough and narrow fairways. Still, he's ready to return.

"I think that if they're going to make the rough this high, go ahead and give us some room to hit. ... We are fine with 20-yard fairways, but then don't have the rough so high. But if you want to have it knee-high, then give us some room, give us a chance to play."

"I'd still love to play here again," he added. ``I think this is the hardest on the (British Open) rotation. It's also definitely the fairest because there's only one blind tee shot, and that's on 14 (515 yards). On most links, you don't see everything."

HEALTHY SHARK: With a third place in the Masters and a sixth at Carnoustie, Greg Norman thinks his sore shoulder and slumping game are history.

"I have no problems with my shoulder anymore. I think I've proven that in the Masters and here. I'm ready to go back at it pretty hard now. ... "I think I can gear it up a little more next year and see what happens."

He's now pointing toward the PGA at Medinah, near Chicago.

"I feel pretty good about my game ... and my head's right, my head's there. It's just a matter of getting the right breaks."

QUIET TIMES: This might have been remembered as the quietest British Open in history until Scotland's Paul Lawrie won from 10 strokes back, the largest comeback victory in a major.

There were few birdies to applaud, with only 18 players breaking par for a round. Until the unbelievable playoff, the gallery on the 18th Sunday sat in long stretches of dead silence, broken only by polite applause -- the kind given when two-time champion Greg Norman finished his round with a 72 to finish three strokes out of the playoff.

"We like to hear roars for birdies and eagles," Norman said. ``At places like Augusta, it really spurs you on."

Like Woods, Norman was unhappy with the setup.

"I think they (Royal and Ancient officials) got it a little wrong," he said. "The narrowness of the fairways became even more narrow with the height of the rough."

"But I think when they sit back and analyze the way they set it up, having the fairways 11 to 12 yards wide in layup areas, and 15 yards where we've got to hit drivers on 480-yard holes, it becomes a little much when you're playing with 30 mph winds."

RYDER FOR LAWRIE: Lawrie's victory guarantees him of a spot on his first Ryder Cup team and moves him to No. 2 on the list behind Colin Montgomerie. The British Open victory was only the third of his European Tour career and also guarantees him a place in next year's Masters.

"I didn't know about the Masters until an official told me when I finished my round. I've always wanted to play at Augusta. I'm 30, but I feel my career is just starting. I feel I can compete with the big guys now."

Reaching the playoff also boosted Justin Leonard's chances of making the U.S. Ryder Cup team.

ODDS AND ENDS: Lawrie's 290 total tied the second-highest winning score in the British Open in the postwar period. The list: Fred Daly, 1947 (293); Sam Snead, 1946 and Lawrie, 1999 (290); Gary Player, 1968 (289); Bobby Locke, 1952 (287); Peter Thomson, 1958 (286). Player's title came at Carnoustie. ... Several players took to calling the course Car-nasty. ... The R and A's Hugh Campbell, chairman of the championship committee, admitted he erred in making the fairways so tight. "On the narrowness of the fairways, I hold my hands up." ... Woods on how changeable Carnoustie was over four rounds: "I hit a 4-iron 315 yards this week, and hit 2-irons 170 yards."... Asked what grade he'd give himself for composure, Woods said, "Oh, definitely an A."

AP