Live Blogging: Final Round of the 2006 PGA Championship

19:00 – The final standings of the 88th PGA Championship.

#    Player          Tot  Today  R1    R2    R3    R4   Total
---  --------------  ---  -----  --    --    --    --   -----
1    Tiger Woods     -18   -4    69    68    65    68    270
2    Shaun Micheel   -13   -3    69    70    67    69    275
T3   Luke Donald     -12   +2    68    68    66    74    276
T3   Sergio Garcia   -12   -2    69    70    67    70    276
T3   Adam Scott      -12   -5    71    69    69    67    276
6    Mike Weir       -11   +1    72    67    65    73    277
T7   K.J. Choi       -10   -1    73    67    67    71    278
T7   Steve Stricker  -10   -3    72    67    70    69    278
T9   Geoff Ogilvy     -9   +2    69    68    68    74    279
T9   Ian Poulter      -9   -1    70    70    68    71    279
T9   Ryan Moore       -9   -3    71    72    67    69    279
T12  Chris DiMarco    -8    E    71    70    67    72    280
T12  Sean O'Hair      -8   -4    72    70    70    68    280
T14  Tim Herron       -7   +1    69    67    72    73    281
T14  Henrik Stenson   -7    E    68    68    73    72    281

Nobody managed to gain any ground in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. Tiger Woods has won his twelfth career major.

18:47 – Tiger backs off from his putt a second time, saying “you’ve gotta be kidding.” Nantz: “If it happens a third time Steve Williams is taking names.” I’m not sure what the disturbance is. Tiger rolls his putt to a foot. It’s over.

18:37 – Wadkins: “Tiger can still get them when he’s not playing his best. I don’t think Phil can.” Tiger finds the right intermediate cut on #18.

18:33 – Tiger’s nearest competitor – Shaun Micheel – bogeys the 18th after Tiger rolls a bunker shot from behind 17 to eight to ten feet for par. With a six-shot lead, Tiger grinds over the putt to save par but it slides just low. Tiger falls to -18. Twenty under is now relatively safe.

18:12 – Kostis: “Nicklaus had 18 wins and 19 second places. Now if he had a record to chase, do you think he could have converted half of those 19?” McCord: “Hindsight.” Nicklaus wanted to win more than anyone else in history (except perhaps Tiger). Peter, I don’t think anything else could have pushed Nicklaus any harder than his own drive and pride.

18:10 – Bobby Clampett says that Tiger has let himself get “distracted” by his huge lead today. Sure, Bobby. He leaves his birdie putt in the jar and two feet short.

18:08 – The red shirt does not work for Luke Donald. He’s +2 today and sitting seven shots back at -12. He nearly birdies the 15th from outside Tiger – but on his line – and taps in for par. Donald will have to wait until at least 2007 to fulfill his promise. No doubt he’ll get revenge at the Ryder Cup next month.

18:04 – Tiger finds the green 35 feet away from the hole on the 392-yard 15th, leaving the ball 20 feet below the hole. A stat comes up: Tiger is -5 today. All others in the last six groups are a combined +4.

18:01 – The old “most majors won” chart has come out for the first time today. What took them so long? Woods will have 12 in a few hours, Nicklaus 18. If you count Nicklaus’ and Woods’ U.S. Amateurs, that puts them at 15 and 20. Count Woods’ U.S. Junior Ams and it narrows to 18 and 20. Wowee.

17:56 – Tiger, from 55 yards with an 8-iron from a bunker on the 14th, flies the ball past the flag and stops it about 20 feet away. The balls on this man are astounding. Weir had bogeyed 14 and is struggling at the 15th. I said it was over hours ago, but now everyone knows it. Tiger pars – his last best shot to get to -20.

17:49 – Lock it in. Now DIP the HIP. Part of the reason I like Tiger is that he’s not afraid of doing the semi-funny commercials. Seeing Tiger with a broom behind his back are, to quote Mastercard (sorry AmEx boy), “priceless.” Any golfers in the Sign Boy commercials earn similar bonus points for being “fun.”

17:45 – Off the 14th tee, Feherty says “huge whack down the left-hand side. That’ll need a little luck to get the fairway. Maybe even some wood.” The ball kicks right out of the rough and into the fairway. Odds on Tiger getting to (and finishing at) -20 are currently 1:10.

17:40 – Tiger nearly holes his bunker shot (leaving it three feet short). There will be no double bogey at 13 this year. He pars, giving him only two bogeys in 67 holes.

17:36 – In 1999, leading by five, Tiger double-bogeyed the 13th while Dr. Sergio birdied. Today, again leading by five, he yanks his 3-iron waaaaaaaay left. Dr. Sergio gets to -12 with an eagle at the 14th (seven back, not three as in 1999).

17:33 – The RBS commercial reminds us that Jack Nicklaus won the PGA Championship five times. This win will give Tiger his third. One more U.S. Open win and he’ll have won the career slam three times.

17:31 – Jim Nantz points out that Ogilvy, Mickelson, and Donald are +2 on the day. Tiger two-putts from 40+ feet for par, making a testy three-footer.

17:28 – Lundquist: “We’re having a heck of a battle for second through ninth.” Tiger is -5 on the day. I’d be more interested in seeing up-to-date Ryder Cup points totals, yet CBS has none for us.

17:26 – Tiger, at the twelfth after blasting a driver to the middle of the fairway, comes up short and right (again) with his 8-iron. Jim Nantz points out that nobody has ever finished a major at -20. Tiger leads by five at -19 with six (and a half) left to play.

17:16 – Phil misses a ten-footer. Verne Lundquist says “that personifies Mickelson’s day.” Really, Verne? Personify? Let’s go with “typifies” next time.

Tiger, meanwhile, drops his twelve-footer for birdie at the eleventh.

17:14 – Tiger nearly birdies the tenth, settling for par. After driving well to the right on the eleventh, Tiger punches an 8-iron from the thick crap to 12 feet. He still leads by four.

16:44 – Tiger Woods’ bunker shot: to four feet. Feherty calls it, saying “that’ll leave him disgruntled.” We’re then treated to a SwingVision slow-mo of a bunker shot. How much do those cameras cost? Why can’t we see SwingVision of Donald’s divot shot or Tiger’s bunker shot or stuff happening on the course?

16:40 – Tiger Woods has found a greenside bunker (short and right of all places). The horror! Quips Feherty “That’s terrible. He might only make four from there.” McCord says “Mike Donald” just as Luke Donald punches a ball to the fat of the ninth green.

16:30 – Dr. Sergio makes a putt. He’s playing well, and putting well. It’s somewhat irrelevant now, but these flat greens benefit at least someone. Tiger birdies the eighth from 35 feet or so to get to -18 and take a four-shot lead. I predicted -10 for the winning score (but I didn’t predict the super-soft greens). C’mon, is there still anyone with doubt?

16:14 – From the trees on seven, Tiger punches out. He’ll still be 256 yards from the green. Ogilvy bogeys the seventh ahead of Tiger. Tiger, with his 5-wood, stripes one to the right-center of the green, 30 feet away.

16:06 – Tiger will win today. Congratulations on this twelfth major, his second this year, his third consecutive win, and his fourth major in two years. He holes a 40-foot putt just after Donald, on much the same line, misses. Woods goes to -17.

16:01 – Tiger at the seventh from 191 with a 7-iron: short and right. That seems to be a recurring theme today. Still, only one player – Mike Weir – is within two strokes of the lead. Tiger and Weir played together in the final round in 1999. Weir shot 80.

15:56 – The current standings:

#   Name           Tot  Thru  Today  R1   R2   R3   R4   Tot
1   Tiger Woods    -16    5    -1    69   68   65    -   202
2   Mike Weir      -14    6    -2    72   67   65    -   204
3   Luke Donald    -13    5    +1    68   68   66    -   202
T4  Adam Scott     -12    9    -5    71   69   69    -   209
T4  Sergio Garcia  -12    5    -2    69   70   67    -   206

The official live scoring board is about ten minutes behind realtime.

15:51 – With Tiger likely going to -16 soon (assuming a two-putt birdie at the fifth), players within four shots of the lead shrink to those at -12. K.J. Choi just birdied to get to -10… and nobody really cared. Tiger’s eagle comes up one foot below the hole. He taps in to go to -16.

15:47 – Tiger reaches the par-five fifth with an iron. Donald, earlier, punched it out and nearly pulled it into the left rough again. Mike Weir birdies the fifth to get to -14.

15:42 – Donald chunks his chip and misses the ten-footer for par to fall two back to -13. Tiger and Donald drive off the fifth. Tiger finds the fairway and Donald does not. Adam Scott gets to -12 through nine.

15:34 – I’m tired of Rees Jones “doctoring” courses to prepare them for major championships. He redid the greens to match their original specs, but their original specs didn’t call for green speeds of 12 on the stimpmeter. Instead, we’re left with “easy to read” straight putt after straight putt after straight putt. Ugh.

15:32 – Sergio Garcia’s outfit today reminds me of those two-toned pills from the video game Dr. Mario. I thus dub him Dr. Sergio.

15:30 – Luke Donald, like Tiger yesterday at the 18th, finds a divot. It’s far worse than Woods’ yesterday, and Donald yanks it just a bit left into the rough. Tiger, from 188 and the center of the fairway, leaves the ball out to the right, 60 feet from the pin on the fringe.

15:26 – My fantasy team this week: Sergio Garcia, Graham McDowell, Tiger Woods, and David Duval, who missed the cut because a PGA Tour pro didn’t double bogey the 18th hole on Friday. Had that pro – Don Yrene, finished at +12 – done so, all the folks at +1 would have made the cut. Duval may be Comeback Player of the Year.

15:24 – Luke Donald is wearing a red shirt today. I wonder when he decided to wear that color.

15:23 – Woods and Donald both par the third. Weir, from 198 at the fourth, leaves himself 20 feet below the hole. Kostis: “this major isn’t like other majors where you come out trying to make pars. Here you’re trying to make birdies.”

15:20 – Answer this in the Comments: best player without a major? Adam Scott (ranked 6th in the OWGR) or Sergio Garcia (ranked 9th)? My vote is still with Sergio. He’s a better ball-striker than Adam with a better short game and near-equal putting ability.

15:17 – Tiger comes up a bit shy on the second hole with a 9-iron from 164. His first two iron shots are a bit shy today. On replay, Ogilvy four-putts (three-putting from five feet) to double-bogey the third. Ouch! Donald gets inside Tiger from 143 (with the same club).

15:10 – Herron birdies to get to a two-way tie for seventh. He needs no worse than a two-way tie for seventh to qualify for the Ryder Cup. Donald rolls his 50-foot birdie putt to inches at the second and taps in for par. Tiger, from just off the back of the green, chips and runs to half the distance before putting out with his 7-iron for par.

15:07 – Answer this in the Comments: if Tiger wins today, what odds do you give him of “Tiger slamming” (winning The Masters and the U.S. Open next year at Oakmont to hold all four major titles at the same time) again? I give him 4:1 odds. Right now, after one hole, I give him 5:1 odds.

15:05 – Tiger birdies the first to go to -15. Donald two-putts for a tie. Garcia, not dressed as a banana, a canary, a lemon, or anything else completely yellow, birdies the third.

14:54 – Ogilvy, following a birdie at the first, dunks his ball in the water at the par-three second. Ouch! Woods and Donald both find the green from the fairway at the first – a hole that’s not been kind to Tiger this week. Tiger, hitting first, is inside of Donald.

14:50 – The likely eventual champion tees off: either Woods or Donald. Through the past two years, Tiger has finished top five in every major except one – the first after coming back from the death of his father.

14:47 – If drug testing were instituted on the PGA Tour, how would they handle people like Shaun Micheel, who receives supplementary levels of testosterone because he suffers from low levels?

14:41 – Mike Weir and Geoff Ogilvy tee off, raising the question: are they better golfers than their fellow countrymen Stephen Ames (Canada) and Adam Scott (Australia)? My answers: maybe and yes.

14:35 – Ryan Moore’s unusual move on his backswing (he cocks his wrists up and then rotates his shoulders) results in an eagle at the par-five fifth hole today. Will Donald or Woods match Moore’s three?

14:22 – Mickelson bogeys the first hole of his round, and Wadkins says “that eliminates him for the day.” He’s now at -7.

14:00 – Back over to CBS. Unfortunately, my local CBS station is not even available in HD, so KDKA out of Pittsburgh (via my DirecTV) it is.

13:49 – Tiger is seen on the practice green putting between two tees – a great drill to make sure you’re striking putts in the center of your clubface. He’s doing it one-handed. TNT shows stats that put Tiger as T50 in putting average (1.63). The fact that he hit 17 of 18 greens yesterday and leads in GIR through three rounds no doubt contributes to his “poor” putting performance. You don’t shoot 65 putting poorly.

13:42 – Players I wish Tom Lehman would pick before he’d pick Love/Couples include Moore/Herron, Haas/Funk, and Cink/Verplank.

13:34 – Tiger Woods’ car has still not shown up in his assigned parking spot. Odds Elin is giving Tiger a “pep talk” of sorts: 3-to-1. Tiger shows up two minutes later. The driver, likely Stevie Williams, nearly runs some over some media member. Take a lesson from Tiger’s arrival, though: you needn’t allow yourself two hours to prepare for your club championship or member-guest. 45 minutes is more than enough time.

13:31 – The worst thing about watching this much golf in one day is seeing the same commercials over and over and over and over and over and over again.

13:13 – Tiger Woods made the comment yesterday that this course isn’t playing like a major, what with the greens sticking and so on. This works against Tiger – he likes courses where grinding is rewarded and par is a good score. In a birdie fest, anyone can win.

13:06 – I admit to feeling a little guilty watching golf all day while my wife paints our downstairs half bathroom and our entry hallway. It’s a task that will take about an hour, and then she gets to go shopping for a new light fixture and two new cabinet handles, though, so it’s a very minor feeling of guilt. At the same time, I’m glad I can claim “watching golf” as “doing my job.”

12:48 – “Agree or disagree: if Cink doesn’t qualify, he’s an automatic pick?” asks Bobby Clampett. He later concludes, despite being told “only the top ten are automatic,” “I like him.”

12:43 – Chad Campbell, -4, birdies to go to -6 for the day. There are still some low rounds out there, and I’m not sure Tiger can put up another 65. If Luke Donald can…

12:33 – 15 hole locations are within five paces of the edges, and nine within four paces. The uphill par-5 fifth, which Billy Andrade just nearly eagled, is apparently not one of the nine or fifteen.

12:12 – A people_ready business lets people “hit the ground running from day one” by immediately beginning to waste time chatting online with their buddies. Got it.

12:09 – Dean Wilson misses a putt while Bobby Clampett says that “you must be able to shape your shots to win major championships.” He later follows up with “Bob Hope could always shape his shots.” Thanks, Bobby.

11:39 – The players keep picking up the Wanamaker Trophy on the first tee. I don’t know about you, but if I were a player, I wouldn’t risk cursing myself by touching it before I’d earned it.

11:25 – Every time I think Bobby Clampett may just shut up, he keeps talking.

11:18 – Stewart Cink, at -1, has “shot himself out of contention for the Ryder Cup.” He’s perhaps the best example of the failed Ryder Cup points chase this year: he was often inside the top 10 Americans in tournaments, but rarely inside the top 10 of all finishers.

11:15 – Lee Westwood, -4, continues his streak of making cuts in the majors without ever really contending. He has a few times, but a guy with his game should be up there a lot more frequently.

11:10 – Course conditions seem good. Ernie Els, ten shots back at -3, isn’t off for another 50 minutes. Will today see another lame “I’m out of contention” round from Phil Mickelson, off at 1:10?

11:00 – TNT coverage begins. Only eight hours of coverage ahead of me, and only, what, three hours until the leaders actually tee off? My money is on Tiger Woods, though I wish Luke Donald’s first best run at a major didn’t come up against El Tigre himself. I almost wish Tiger was a stroke back.