Dan O'Neill

TULSA, Okla. - What you saw at Southern Hills on Saturday was a clinic. Check that, it was actually two clinics.

One of the lessons was demonstrated by Tiger Woods, who has ruptured this Perry Maxwell design’s reputation as a Tiger Tamer, and done so with extreme prejudice.

Statistics will show that a player who shoots a really low score, such as the 63 Woods fired on Friday, often follows it up with a mediocre or poor round. Even Woods’ history corroborates as much. He followed his 64 at at the British Open in 1997 with a 74.

But Woods is turning this into a repeat of the 2006 British Open Championship, keeping the driver in the bag, keeping the ball in play. The George Foreman Grill-like conditions in Tulsa are putting Flubber in the golf balls while requiring the grounds crew to put water on the greens. The combination is made for the game No. 1 player, who is hitting irons and hybrids off the tees, grabbing the greens and slapping red numbers on the scoreboard.

Woods followed up his record-tying low score of 63 with a slightly less spectacular but equally effective 69 on Saturday. He has never lost a tournament as a professional when leading by two shots or more going into the final round. He will start the final round on Sunday with a three-shot lead over his playing partner Stephen Ames.

If you get out the Merriam-Webster and look up the phrase “slam dunk,” it will have a picture of the 54-hole scoreboard at Southern Hills.

“I know what to do in this situation,” Woods said after hitting 14 greens in the third round. “And there’s a certain feel that you get out there, that you can understand what guys could do, what they’re capable of doing on the back nine.

“You just get a certain feel for what the number’s going to be that day, And a lot of times, a lot of times, I’ve called the number. I’ve been pretty good at it.”

This is why Woods will dial up his 13th major championship title on Sunday. He came out with a first-round 71, had some frustrating moments, had some work to do in the 100-degree heat. So he came back on Friday and went to work. He is now locked in, on championship cruise control.

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“I think it’s experience,” he said. “I’ve played a lot of tournaments, starting at a very young age. And I’ve had to deal with a lot of pressure before. And I’ve lost a lot of tournaments, but I’ve also won my share as well. You learn what it takes.”

Ideally, you learn, that is. But as mentioned, there were two workshops on display on Saturday. The other clearly demonstrates why Sergio Garcia, once considered a skilled peer and competitive rival to Woods, has gone home without a major championship for the 37^th consecutive time. He has not learned.

You know “El Nino,” he is the world’s foremost expert on ill fortune, the man upon whom God has chosen to expend all of his golf-related wrath, the young Euro who might be the spitting image — if you will — of Colin Montgomerie.

Well, hell’s bells, poor Sergio got another raw deal on Saturday. He signed an incorrect scorecard and got disqualified. His playing partner, Boo Weekley, penciled Garcia for a 4 on No. 17 when, in fact, he scored a 5. Ultimately, it is the player’s responsibility to confirm his card is correct before signing it over. Ah, but there’s the rub.

Taking responsibility is not part Garcia’s game. For reference, see the recent British Open when he lost a three-shot lead on Sunday, missed an 8-foot putt on 18 to win, lost a playoff to Padraig Harrington and afterward acted like he was 27 going on 3.