Guess Who? Yup, Tiger Again.

The question coming into the World Golf Championship Bridgestone Invitational was just when would Tiger Wood’s hot streak end. Woods has been playing such beautiful golf of late that fans were wondering if he might challenge his 1999-2000 streak of six wins in a row. After his PGA Championships victory last week, Tiger had won three straight including two majors.

So when He shot a 64 on Friday to take the lead, the feeling was “here we go again.” After all Tiger had already won at Firestone four times – including last year. Surely, he would cruise to yet another victory. But Saturday and Sunday were anything but a stroll in the park for the world’s best golfer.

The bizarre finish to his round on Friday, where he hit his a ball over the club house and into the hospitality area, seemed to be an omen. On Saturday he carded four bogeys in a row for the first time since his rookie season. For a moment it looked like Davis Love might just seize the tourney and run away with things.

With the tournament in the balance Tiger responded. Almost any other player, having experienced what Tiger had experienced over the course of the last few months, would have admitted that he just didn’t have it. That’s golf, right? You can’t win everything.

Unless you are Tiger Woods. When asked if he saw his problems on Saturday as a challenge, Tiger responded:

Yeah, my body took me out of the tournament and my mind will bring me back in it.

It might be a cliche at this point, but it is nevertheless true: Tiger is simply mentally tougher than other golfer on the planet. Yes, when he is on his physical skills are unmatched. He has unrivaled skill and imagination. But this weekend those skills weren’t always there when he needed them. He was struggling with his swing the whole time. You could see him practicing after every shot and on the tee. He was grinding it out; forcing himself to stay in the hunt.

Saturday it was two gorgeous chip-ins to finish one back. Sunday he drained two lengthy putts to grab the lead and he had another tremendous save out of the deep rough behind the 18th that kept him in the playoff on the first extra hole. And of course, when he finally had a chance to put it away with an eight feet birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole, he sank the putt.

Can Tiger win ugly? You bet. That is what distances him from his competitors: he can beat them even when he isn’t playing his best golf.

Davis Love should be haunted by what might have been. He was given a chance few are given: to take advantage of a series of mistakes by Tiger Woods. The tournament was there for the taking. But he couldn’t get a handle on the tricky greens; couldn’t dial in and make the shots and putts to seize the moment.

I thought maybe Jim Furyk might rise up and challenge Tiger like he did at Firestone a few years ago. He went out in 32 – after starting his round with three straight birdies – but two bogeys on the back nine proved too much. Furyk, like so many, was unable to overcome Firestone’s tricky greens under the pressure of Sunday afternoon with Tiger in the lead.

Give him credit, Stewart Cink refused to go away. He battled back and forced Tiger into a playoff with two clutch birdies on 16 and 17. But he too couldn’t make a clutch putt with everything on the line. Tiger was clearly struggling just to make pars. Cink needed just one big putt to go in and he would have beaten the best in the world. This might seem like a moral victory but ask Chris DiMarco what moral victories feel like.

Tiger Woods has once again seized control of the game of golf and doesn’t appear willing to let go. If the other golfers plan on winning tournaments they better learn to beat Tiger when he struggles, because – as we have seen – he is nearly impossible to beat when he is on his “A” game.

He continues his hunt for the record books: Jack’s 18 major wins and Sam Snead’s 82 career victories. Tiger has 12 and 52 respectively. Not bad for a ten year career!

BTW, Tiger might want to spend more time in Ohio. He has now won five times and Firestone – more than any other course. When you add in his three wins at the Memorial that makes eight wins in Ohio. That is a nice career in itself.

Tiger now heads to Ireland to practice with his Ryder Cup teammates before heading to Boston for the Deutsche Bank Championship looking for win number five in a row.