Long and short of it: Dubsdread defenseless against Tiger

If Cog Hill really wants to entertain thoughts of a U.S. Open, it's going to have to tame a Tiger first.

Good luck with that.

The legend of Tiger Woods in Chicago grew exponentially Saturday with a performance for the ages, as Woods treated the new Dubsdread even worse than he did the old one, ripping it to shreds while firing a course-record 62.

Longer and more penalizing than ever, Cog Hill still was defenseless against a Tiger Woods out to prove he's still Tiger Woods, and he used the BMW Championship to showcase his entire bag full of tricks and remind people who he is.

Just like that, there was no more talk of the postoperative Woods being washed up, not after his 9-under round Saturday left him with a 7-shot lead at 16-under for the week.

"It's funny that people were saying I played conservatively (at the PGA Championship)," Woods said as he smiled and measured his words. "I played the same way for the first three rounds (at the PGA) and had a 2-shot lead. I was playing what I thought the golf course gave me.

"That's one of the things I've learned as I've matured over the years is you play what the golf course gives you.

"That's one of the reasons why I've become much more consistent. I may not go as low. I may not win by as big a margins, but you don't have to."

While he was picked apart after the PGA, when he lost the lead on Sunday, there will be no such discussion this weekend.

By the time the Bears kick off their season Sunday night, Woods will have put an exclamation point on this tournament with his fifth career win at Cog Hill, seventh in Chicago (2 at Medinah), and will have gone a long way toward sewing up the Tour Playoffs and the FedEx Cup.

He did all that Saturday. The only item he left unchecked was a 59, and he was 3 putts and 3 inches away from shattering 60.

"Certain rounds, if you can get off to a quick enough start and you see some easier holes coming up, you might think about an opportunity to go near 60," Woods said. "But you've got to have the right golf course for that. This golf course is a little bit more difficult than that."

He was being kind, because after adjusting to the length, he's now eating up Cog Hill, and has just 3 bogeys in three days.

After a bogey on No. 1 Saturday, he missed birdie putts on 2 and 4 and got one on 3.

On the fifth hole, his drive looked perfect, but he got a terrible break when it kicked left and into a bunker, which forced him to lay up and hope for an up and down. A bogey there and the day might have been different.

But Woods made an 8-foot par save that sent him on his way.

He fired a dart on the par-3 sixth to 2 feet and converted, and then came the shot of the year.

After his tee shot on No. 7 landed behind a tree, completely blocking his look to the green, Woods had only 10 feet to get around the bark and still had another 185 yards to the pin.

With bunkers surrounding the green, this had bogey written all over it. But he cut a 6-iron 30 feet left and over the gallery and brought it all the way back, sticking it pin high and giving him an easy par.

"I had to take something off it, which I didn't want to do, because when you're trying to cut it, you need some speed," Woods explained. "It came off perfect. Couldn't come off any better than that."

From there, Woods was off to the races. He made another short birdie putt on 8, eagled 9 after he ran a 310-yard 3-wood right past the hole to 9 feet, and birdied five of the next eight, before finishing with a par.

He played his last 14 holes at 9-under par.

"I just kept hitting good shots and then made a couple putts here and there," Woods said, downplaying his brilliance. "Lo and behold, I end up at 9-under par."

And after a $5 million renovation designed to challenge the pros, Woods not only set a single-round course mark Saturday, but with a 7-under Sunday he would set a new tournament course record at 23-under, breaking the mark he set two years ago.

"You're always tweaking. You're always trying to get better," Woods said. "The game is fluid. It's never concrete. That's the beauty and also the most frustrating thing about it.

"You have moments where you hit it good like I did today, and then you have the other moments. Today I hit it good."

So good, so completely dominating, that his harshest critics and his fans' worst fears have all been quieted.

Yeah, it's all over here but the shouting, and any other noise you hear could only be the crying from the golf course itself.

brozner@dailyherald.com