A year later, Woods back and better than ever

A year ago this week, Tiger Woods gutted out his third U.S. Open victory before undergoing season-ending knee surgery. He tees off this week healthier than he’s been in a long time and, if it's possible, more of a favorite than ever.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

We have now come full circle.

A year ago this week, Tiger Woods treated us to a dazzling display of grimaces and groans, gyrations and guts as he beat Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff at Torrey Pines and won the U.S. Open for the third time in his career.

With the pain from his wrenched knee often radiating on his face, Woods birdied the 72nd hole to force the playoff and then made another birdie at No. 18 on Monday to send this mano-y-mano manifesto to its final stanza that he won with an always-clutch par.

“He’s not normal,” the affable Mediate said simply with a shrug of his shoulders. “He’s way above everything.”

Little did we know how prescient his words were.

Two days later, Woods announced that he needed reconstructive surgery on the ACL in his left knee. He’d tried arthroscopic surgery two months earlier as a Band-Aid, which made the U.S. Open title, which came in his first start back, all the more remarkable. 

Not to mention, there was that double stress fracture of the tibia in his left leg to contend with as well. With Woods doing his best impression of the Bionic Man, though, two broken bones were hardly an obstacle.

The game’s No. 1 player defends his title at Bethpage Black this week, though, healthier than he’s been in several years. As for his game? Well, eight months of rehab followed by increasingly intense practice sessions have produced two wins and six top-10s in 2009.

None was more impressive than Woods’ victory at the Memorial Tournament two weeks ago. The wayward drives that had started to fuel speculation were a thing of the past as Woods hit every fairway at Muirfield Village on Sunday and all but seven for the week.

A closing 65 enabled Woods to rally from four strokes back, overtake Matt Bettencourt and Mark Wilson and hold off Jim Furyk for the 67th win of his career -- and fourth at the Memorial. And as if there ever had been any doubt, Woods established himself as the major favorite once again.

“It was nice to play this well going into the U.S. Open,” Woods said. “This is how you have to hit it in order to win U.S. Opens. Especially Bethpage. That golf course is as big as they come.”

Henrik Stenson, who beat Woods, among others, at THE PLAYERS Championship last month, was practicing in Orlando while Woods was taking yet another shot at history. He came home due to a thunder delay and watched the final few holes.

“He showed some thunder on the television,” the No. 6 player in the world said. “Once again, very impressive -- finishing birdie-birdie and shooting 65 the last day.”

Stenson was bemused by the sportswriters who had been worrying over the state of Woods’ game and wondering if the Woods-Hank Haney partnership had run its course.

“I think it’s you guys that write it’s in crisis mode one week and invincible the next week,” Stenson said. “Like I said at THE PLAYERS, it’s ups and downs for everybody. He’s not excluded from playing better or worse.

“He’s just at a different level when he’s completely on and hitting those shots and making the birdies. It’s just an inspiring factor. You want to get out there and you want to make birdies to tie him, really. That’s the way I look at it.”

As if he’s not formidable enough, though, Woods has already won a U.S. Open at Bethpage. He was the only player to finish under par at the beast of a Black Course in 2002 and he beat Phil Mickelson by a distant three strokes. 

While he’s won consecutively at the other three majors, Woods has never successfully defended a U.S. Open title, tying for 12th and 20th in his two previous attempts. In fact, no one has won back-to-back U.S. Opens -- a test as grueling mentally as it is physically -- since Curtis Strange turned the trick 20 years ago.

But put it past him? No way.

Woods is a man on a mission. He has a date with history and even the great Jack Nicklaus expects his record of 18 major championship victories to be wiped out in the very near future.

After Woods’ near-flawless performance at Muirfield Village, the Golden Bear even went so far as to predict his newly-minted champion would get No. 15 at Bethpage. Woods was more circumspect.

“It's five to pass him, four to tie him,” Woods said. “That's a lot. Most of the guys in my generation haven't won more than three. So it's quite a challenge.”

“I probably wouldn't have had as good a chance to put myself in position to tie or pass, whatever it may be, if I hadn't had the surgery. My leg was deteriorating the past couple of years. I'm healthy enough where I think I can give it a go.”

And Bethpage is as good a place as any to start.