The funny thing about covering these events, is the media complains they are boring if Tiger wins, and they complain they are boring if he doesn’t contend.

There might be a number of reasons for that, but one is that Woods makes this maddeningly-complex game look automatic. When he hits shots that should be troublesome, he invariably hits shots that render them insignificant. He misses in the right places and he rights all of his misses with the best rescue clubs in golf.

The 89^th PGA on Sunday was a familiar story. The man who played in the last pairing with Woods, Stephen Ames, immediately turned into Captain Hook. His battleship was sunk.

Woody Austin hung in there, traded some punches, added some personality to the proceedings. Certainly, it was nice to see Ernie Els climb a major leaderboard. Those two came to the doorstep. But c’mon? Did you ever seriously think for one moment Woods would let them in? When it got a little interesting, when it became a one-stroke difference, Woods opened the carburetor.

He birdied No. 15 and, for the first time all day, he unloaded a driver smack down the middle on No. 16. He was in Tulsa, yes, but with apologies to Eric Clapton and others, he was Living On Tiger Time.

A finger-point here, a club-twirl there and opportunity’s knock was dismissed. That’s the thing about Woods. When the moment calls for something special, he delivers. When the environment is as hot as it has ever been in a major championship, he gets a little hotter.

You expect him to be at his best and he invariably is, on the golf course and off. That might seem routine or old hat to some. But in the context of this alarming year in sports, it’s good to have Tiger Woods to count on.

Or, as he put it at the end of the world’s hottest golf tournament in the history of the majors, it’s pretty cool.

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