Taking in 18 holes of brilliance something worth remembering

One can only imagine what it was like to run the streets with Babe Ruth, but if walking with Tiger Woods for 18 holes is any indication, that had to be some kind of party.

The greatest golfer of all time put on a show Saturday at Cog Hill, and his 6-under 65 doesn't even begin to describe his brilliance.

"I definitely feel like I left some shots out there today,'' said a mildly aggravated Woods in the postgame news conference. "I hit the ball well and I was happy with my game, but I could have really posted a nice number today.''

If you're thinking 61 or 62, probably. And you don't doubt it if you walked 18 holes with him. In case you didn't, this is how it felt:

No. 1. After complimenting playing partner Camilo Villegas on his pink hat and belt, Woods blasts off at exactly 12:30 p.m. He knocks his approach within 13 feet for birdie, which he makes, and the roar is so loud and resonates so far, the rest of the field knows exactly who is on the course.

As Woods waits for his partner to finish, the crowd moves like a tidal wave toward the second hole. Villegas' caddie pleads for quiet, but it's of no use.

Villegas bogeys and he's done. He will play the day at even par, which leaves him 7 shots back of the leaders, 6 behind Tiger.

No. 2. On the 180-yard par-3, Tiger yells, "Bite, bite,'' and drops it 8 feet away. The screams tell you that the crowd size at the BMW Championship is no longer an issue, but Tiger misses a very makable birdie putt.

No. 3. Both players blast it down the fairway, and Tiger offers a "nice shot.'' They talk all the way there, and all the way to the green after their approach shots.

Caddie Steve Williams drops his bag 18 inches from my feet. The orange Tiger head cover is old and worn. It probably smells like your old hockey gloves. You figure he will use it until his baby daughter makes her first appearance on the LPGA Tour.

He misses another birdie putt.

No. 4. A woman on the rope line thinks out loud that Villegas should have pink shoes to match his belt. He hits his approach 2 feet from the cup for a tap-in bird. She decides he can wear whatever he wants.

Tiger is playing perfect golf, hitting his second shot to within 15 feet. He misses another makable birdie putt when the ball hits a bump, pops up and rolls short.

No. 5. Another brilliant drive. As Tiger waits to hit, he's swatting mosquitoes. I'm slapping them off me like, well, like flies. I'm getting slapped so much, it's like spending the afternoon at home. Got bit behind the ear, and I'm scratching like an Irish Setter.

The 480-yard par-4 is a tough hole. Tiger's approach leaves him 35 feet away. He makes a 4-foot tester for par, but he has to start making birdies to keep the leaders in sight.

No. 6. A Porta-Potty door slams in Tiger's back swing, but he lands it on the green and has a 26-foot putt for birdie, which he runs a foot past the hole.

Villegas lines up his putt from the fringe by standing in a trap, which means someone has to rake it, even though no one was in it. Tiger's caddie takes care of it. I'm told by the legend, Bob Verdi, that this is the gentlemanly thing to do.

No. 7. It's a hard dogleg right, but Tiger cuts the corner, blasting it 321 and only 92 away. He's so sure of his second shot that he's lined up and hitting as Villegas' approach lands.

Tiger's second brings the roar of the day, as he spins it back past the hole, and 2 feet away for a tap-in bird.

A marshal taps on my shoulder and says Villegas will miss his uphill, 17-footer to the right, because everyone's falling off all day. Villegas goes right at the hole and it falls to the right.

No. 8. Tiger spins another back past the hole and birdies again from 5 feet.

No. 9. Tiger hits a 321-yard bomb and twirls his driver, meaning he loves it. While trying to hit the green on his second shot, Woods is forced to walk away after a disturbance off to the right. His next shot goes in a greenside bunker.

That's followed by a huge roar from behind us, where Steve Stricker has eagled No. 8 to take the lead.

Tiger misses an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 and makes the turn only 3 under on the day, despite playing nearly flawless golf.

No. 10. Woods and Villegas walk down the fairway again, having a pleasant conversation. Villegas is in great shape, but he looks like a little kid next to the hulking Woods.

Tiger taps in for birdie on 10. He's now 12 under and tied for the lead.

No. 11. Tiger booms his drive and changes clubs on his second shot. NBC's Roger Maltbie is walking next to me and says he thinks Tiger went from 3-iron to 3-wood. (I asked Tiger after the round and he says he switched from a 2-iron to a 3-wood because the wind wouldn't allow a draw and he needed to slice it.)

He blasts his eagle putt from 80 feet through the fringe and it nearly comes to a complete stop, but then it starts again and falls all the way down within 4 feet. Fourth birdie in five holes and Tiger has the lead.

No. 12. His first miss, in the bunker, on the sixth-hardest hole, the par-3 12th, and Tiger gives back a stroke. He asks Williams for a new ball. He's mad at the other one.

The number of young kids on the ropes waiting to see Tiger is stunning. Any sport would kill to see that.

No. 13. Tiger's putting for birdie again. There's a cicada making an awful racket. Tiger looks up at the tree as if to ask for quiet -- and gets it. On the hardest hole on the course, he misses the 17-footer and pars again.

No. 14. Makes an 11-footer for birdie and is back in the lead.

No. 15. Michael Collins, who follows Tiger for XM Radio, has a cart and takes pity on me, offering a ride to the green. Not many fans are on this hole as the terrain is brutally up and down and up again. It's hot, and this is a rough caddie hole. I'm on my third bottle of water and I'm doing nothing but walking.

Collins tells me that after Tiger played with Michael Jordan in Charlotte a few months ago, he asked Tiger what it was like to have Jesus and Moses playing in the same group.

Tiger said, "Well, which one am I supposed to be?'' Collins had no answer.

Despite a perfect drive on 15, Tiger has to take a drop because Villegas mistakenly hits Tiger's ball, which is 2 yards away from his. No one has ever seen this before.

"Pretty happy about that,'' Tiger laughed. "Hit it right in the fairway and have to drop in a divot.''

Both are on the green putting for eagle. Both make birdie. Tiger taps in for his last bird of the day, ending a run of 6 in nine holes.

No. 16. Tiger crushes his drive and then sits down for the first time all day, on a cooler filled with water bottles. He stretches his hips and lower back. He twists both ways and seems to feel better. I do the same and feel worse.

Tiger tries to swat gnats away from his ball in the fairway but has to bend down and blow them off. Villegas is whistling to himself as he's hitting his second shot. Tiger shakes his head and laughs.

Tiger nearly chips in from just off the green, 20 feet, for birdie. It lips out and Tiger drops to his knees.

No. 17. Just before Tiger misses his birdie putt, his caddie is 80 feet away, measuring distances from traps to spots where he thinks today's pin placement will be.

No. 18. Three straight pars to finish the day in 3 hours, 50 minutes. Aaron Baddeley birdies 18 to climb into the final pairing, preventing a Woods-Stricker outing today.

Asked how playing with Stricker, whom he likes, would have been different from last week, when he was paired with Phil Mickelson, Tiger smiled and said, "I think we might talk a little bit more.''

As for his Round 3 at Cog Hill on Saturday, he said, "I hit it really well, but I felt like I could have been a lot lower. I'm 1 shot back and I'm in good shape for Sunday.''

In good shape for another long walk with about 25,000 along for the ride.

Make that 25,001.

brozner@dailyherald.com