Nothing stops Tiger Sunday, so we’re told

It seemed like a waste of time to go to Hazeltine National Golf Club Saturday, but 40,000 of us dummies did anyhow.

We had been told the result of the tourney was as inevitable as the sun rising and setting, the tides coming in and going out, and hitting every red light on a drive home when you have a full bladder.

This was over. Tiger Woods led by four strokes after 36 holes, and the weekend was a done deal, yet another coronation of golf's monarch. See, Woods had led eight previous majors at the halfway point, and won them all.

Then I read Saturday morning's newspapers up here.

"Halfway in, and it's already over," was the headline on Patrick Reusse's column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"And the winner of the 2009 PGA Championship at Hazeltine National is Tiger Woods," wrote Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "Thanks for coming, everyone. Drive safely."

Then I listened to a sliver of Sirius XM's satellite radio broadcast while on the course (American Express gave away free mini-radios here), and one of the announcers claimed he heard betting houses overseas were already paying those who wagered on Woods.

It seemed highly unlikely, but made for a good tale.

Then I listened to Rich Beem, who was Zach Johnson's playing partner Saturday after being in a threesome with Woods and Padraig Harrington for the first two rounds.

Can Woods be beaten here, he was asked before Tiger had hit a Saturday shot that counted.

"Nope," Beem said. "I'm positive. He will win."

Do you know that?

"Yeah, I do."

Beem supported his claim by saying "He's effortless. He's absolutely effortless right now. It's very, very easy for him right now. He is controlling his golf ball like no one I've ever seen and he's going to win. There's no doubt in my mind."

Then they had the audacity to go ahead and make Woods play. He shot a 1-under-par 71, quite mortal on a day in which a dozen players (including Iowan Zach Johnson) topped that score.

But after having his entire lead disappear and being tied at the top with Padraig Harrington for a little while, Woods pulled back in front. He takes a two-shot lead into Sunday's final round.

That means it's over. Thanks for coming, everyone. Drive safely.

Woods, you see, is 14-0 in majors when leading or tied for the lead entering the final round, and 47-3 in that situation overall.

One of the three that got away was the then-Quad City Classic in 1996. It was Woods' third tourney as a pro and his first chance to win. The champion was Ed "The Grip" Fiori.

"Kind of like the grass snake getting the cobra,'' Fiori said.

Woods' swing coach at the time was Butch Harmon, who sounded pretty wise with this comment:

"It might be, in a cruel way, better than if he won," Harmon said. "Now he knows what Sundays are out here with the lead, and the experience could make him a better champion down the road."

Playing with Woods today will be Y.E. Yang, who is tied with Harrington in second place. The South Korean fully grasps what he's up against.

"With Woods, he's won 70 times now," Yang said. "I've only won once so it's sort of 70-to-1 odds."

At least.

But Yang did beat Woods and everyone else in a 2006 tourney in Shanghai.

So to paraphrase Carl Spackler of "Caddyshack," whose status in golf lore is perhaps eclipsed only by Woods:

Yang's got that goin' for him, which is nice.