Somewhere on these heavenly acres by the Pacific in the glow of a late Saturday afternoon sun, he found the Tiger he used to be.
How poetic that it happened here, of all places, where 10 years ago to the week he writ large the legend of that Tiger, winning this same championship by a ludicrous 15 strokes.
“It’s been a while,” Tiger Woods said with a knowing smile. “It’s been a while.”
Through all the trials and tribulations of the past seven months, which have taken their toll both on his psyche and his game, the most compelling man in golf thrust himself back into the reckoning at the 110th United States Open with a breathtaking third-round 66.
He is still very much a long shot to win an improbable 15th major given two-time Pebble Beach champion Dustin Johnson matched Woods’ 5-under-par round and has a five-shot lead.
But what will hearten Woods is that there are only two players ahead of him.
Capable players, certainly, but men short of experience in the cauldron of the Sunday bullring, men with only two top 10s in majors between them.
And neither Johnson nor Irishman Graeme McDowell, who at 3-under is two shots ahead of Woods, has felt the pressure of a charging Tiger on a Sunday afternoon.
Indeed, what Saturday’s back-nine charge by Woods confirmed to me was just how much golf has missed him.
Throughout, there was that buzz that only Woods can generate.
The soundtrack to his back-nine 31 was just as it’s always been: the cacophonous roar of the galleries.
“I hadn’t played good enough for anyone to cheer for anything,” Woods later conceded.
“So it was nice to actually put it together on the back nine and put myself right back in the championship.
“And everyone was just so excited and fired up that it was just a great atmosphere for me to play in front of.”
Woods fueled that atmosphere with birdies on 11, 13, 16 and an improbable snaking birdie putt from 15 feet above the pin on the exacting par 3 17th. He followed that with a sliced three wood around a tree onto the par 5 last, setting up a tap-in birdie.
Since his opening two rounds at the Masters -- rounds I now understand were fueled more by adrenaline than a sound game -- an obviously preoccupied Woods has been far below his best.
And it seemed he was continuing that theme on Saturday.
He’d started the third round in a tie for 25th, seven shots off McDowell’s lead, and proceeded to miss a golden birdie chance on the first hole, then bogey the second and third holes.
The mistake at the third was particularly egregious, as Woods had hit a perfect driver over the trees and had only 48 yards to the green. Inexplicably, he sent a soft wedge over the green and missed an 18-footer for par.
But his putter came alive, and he made birdie at the next three holes before a bogey on eight left him at even par for the round.
“Not the greatest of starts, for sure, 2-over through three,” he said, “That’s not where you need to be. I just kept telling myself all day, you just need to get back to even par for the tournament. Whatever you do, get back to even par for the tournament, and I’ll be right back in the ballgame. And I did one better.”
It was obvious what a good nine holes did for Woods’ confidence; he looked and sounded like the Tiger of old.
“All the Opens that I’ve won, I’ve had one stretch of nine holes. It doesn’t have to be on a back nine or a front nine, just a nine-hole stretch where you put it together,” he said, “At Torrey Pines (in 2008), the back nine on Saturday got me back into the tournament as well.”
I asked Woods about his inconsistency and why it all came together on this afternoon.
“I was hitting shots like this every now and again,” he said, “I would get into two-, three-hole stretches, but I haven’t strung it out for more than that. And today I did.
“It feels good to be able to control my ball, especially in this wind. And to control the shape, the flight and where I was landing the ball.
“I hit the ball in the right spots. The only putt I made from above the hole was at 17. You can’t make these putts from above the hole; it moves too much.”
He finally made putts, he said, because “very simple, I had uphill putts”.
Johnson, however, didn’t sound like he was intimidated.
“If I keep hitting like I’ve been hitting and putting it in the (right) spots on the greens,” he said, “Then I’m going to be tough to beat.”
