Dan O'Neill

CHASKA, Minn. - Streaking was quite the fad back in the mid-1970s. Daring people ran through college campuses, public places and sports events without a stitch of clothing on, providing the advertising industry and Will Ferrell with funny bits for decades to come.

Then along came Tiger Woods to revive streaking. That’s right, it’s not just an “Old School” scene. What’s more, it looks like Woods might be doing it again at Hazeltine National Golf Club, running wild, making a spectacle of himself.

OK, he’s not naked. The game's No. 1 yachtsman has his signature Nike apparel on, color-coordinated, trim and impeccable as always. But make no mistake about it, he’s dashing through the tail end of this PGA Tour schedule uninhibited. Oh, he’s out there Jerry, and he’s loooovin’ every minute of it!

Woods has been known to streak throughout his career. He put together a streak of six wins in succession early in 2000, pulling alongside Ben Hogan and threatening to chase down Byron Nelson’s record of 11 PGA Tour wins in succession. He manufactured another streak earlier this year, peeling off seven victories in a row.

That’s to say nothing of that little ol’ streak of four majors in succession crossing over the 1999 and 2000 seasons, otherwise known as the Tiger Slam. No one had ever streaked all four majors before. Now, it appears Woods is at it again. In what was supposed to be his transition season, his time to get reacquainted with a healthy left knee and refine a game that had been in storage for eight months, Woods is in a full-out sprint.

After missing the cut at the British Open — a development even Al Roker would have trouble making light of — Woods is letting it all hang out, so to speak. He took some time to regroup after the surprising turn of events at Turnberry, then came back to win the Buick Open, throwing rounds of 63 and 65 on the table.

The following week, he went to Firestone, a golf facility he owns, lock, stock and birdies. He won again, dealt back-to-back hands of 65 over the weekend and caught Padraig Harrington. The PGA Tour win was career No. 70 for Woods, his fifth in 11 stroke-play starts this year. It’s the kind of year transition the Pittsburgh Pirates can only dream of.

Still, it has been without what Woods craves most, a major victory. At Hazeltine on Thursday, at “Glory’s Last Shot,” Woods remained locked in. He covered the long pastures of rural Minnesota in 67 strokes, five birdies without a bogey, 5 under par and alone at the top the leaderboard.

“I played really well today,” the 33-year-old Woods said. “I hit just a bunch of good shots. And this round could have been really low. I missed a bunch of putts out there. So it was just a very positive start.”

Four days after falling on his sword with a triple-bogey and losing a battle with Woods on Sunday at Firestone, Harrington is paired with Tiger again for the first two rounds of the PGA Championship. With the intensity level turned down a notch, he took time to smell the roses.

“I watched a lot of his shots today and few of his swings,” said Harrington, who stayed in step with a 4-under 68. “It’s amazing.”

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