So now what do we do, now that we are losing our religion? Where do we go to make our minds believe what our eyes just saw? How do we assure ourselves that no one — not even Tiger Woods — is that good?

Not only is Woods that good, but in winning for the 67th time in a still-young career he demonstrated that — since returning from rehab — he might be better. He will come to the season’s second major wearing the yellow jersey, a mortal lock to mark his incomparable win at Torrey Pines last June with a repeat at Bethpage.

If there was a mercy rule in golf, they might call this one off and hand Woods the keys to his 15th professional major right now. Tiger Woods is coming to Bethpage with fairways attached to his driver. Batten down the hatches, sound the alarm ... Dive! Dive!

While some of the golf tabloids have put the association between Woods and instructor Hank Haney on the clock, the dynamic duo has been in the lab, compensating for Woods’ troublesome left knee, tuning up the game’s most devastating swing. The changes have been subtle for the most part, some are equipment-based, most are related to timing.

Woods changed to a 10.5-degree loft and a 43 1/4-inch shaft (from 45 inches) on his driver for The Memorial, allowing him to get the ball air-born easier. The position of his left arm is a tad more upright on the backswing, allowing him to lead with the front arm and keep the hands in synch at impact. In the past, we would see Woods push the ball right as his hands attempted to compensate for a left arm that was tardy on the downswing.

Woods also is keeping a more stable head position during his move. The front shoulder stays down and in and allows him to rotate both shoulders through the shot for a more consistent result. When the timing is right, as it was most often at The Memorial, Woods doesn’t get steep, doesn’t get stuck, doesn’t miss.

Slideshow   Past champions Take a look at the men who have hoisted the U.S. Open trophy. more photos

It’s not just about accuracy, it’s also about recovering post-surgery power. Woods averaged more than 298 yards in driving distance at The Memorial; he averaged slightly more than 280 yards at the Masters.

It’s not even just about the driver. He hit 3-woods, 5-woods and 3-iron off the tee at The Memorial, as well. He hit 73.6 percent of the greens in regulation, which ranked third. He averaged 1.698 putts per round, which was 12th. He shot 65 on Sunday, which gave him his 20th come-from-behind “W.” He brought the whole package.

His unprecedented resume notwithstanding, Woods continues to re-invent himself. He has never been satisfied to simply dominate his sport, he has never been content to do most things well. The legendary Ted Ray once said, “Golf is a fascinating game. It has taken me nearly 40 years to discover I can’t play it.”

A year removed from Torrey Pines, Tiger Woods is all the way back from knee surgery, in more control of his game than ever, in lethal possession of an accurate driver.

Golf is a fascinating game. He’s still discovering whether he can play it.

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