Golf: Don't expext title-hungry Tiger to stop here

By winning his 12th career golf major at the 88th PGA Championship, Tiger Woods has elevated his already lofty status in more ways than one.

Not only has he pulled away from everyone bar Jack Nicklaus in the all-time standings but he has once again distanced himself from his peers where it matters most - in their minds.

"He's going to be dominating whether he's playing well or not," fellow American Shaun Micheel said after finishing second, five shots adrift of Woods in the PGA Championship at Medinah on Monday (NZT).

"Tiger has a unique ability to play well when he thinks he's not playing well.

"We all kind of smirk and laugh when he says he's got his 'B' game but that's better than most of our 'A' games. He's just that good."

World No 1 Woods has won four of the last eight majors, becoming on Monday the first player in history to win at least two of them for two years in succession.

He trails his childhood idol Nicklaus by six in career majors but is well ahead of the Golden Bear relative to age.

Nicklaus won the 12th of his 18 major titles at the age of 33. Woods has done so four months short of his 31st birthday.

Monday's victory was his third in a succession on the PGA Tour, including the year's final two majors, and Woods believes he is on a run similar to the one that swept him to the 2000-2001 'Tiger Slam' of all four major titles.

Disturbingly for his rivals, he considers himself an even better player now because of his accumulated experience.

"I feel like I'm controlling my ball pretty good right now and more importantly I have a better understanding of how to get more out of my round and how to handle emotions better," he said.

"Mentally I'm so much better prepared now to handle situations than I was then. Physically, I feel like I'm hitting the ball extremely well.

"I feel like things are pretty darn good right now."

As a child, Woods was inspired by the glittering list of records racked up by his idol Nicklaus, sticking newspaper cuttings on his bedroom wall as a perpetual reminder.

The Nicklaus benchmark of 18 career majors has long been his overriding target and he has now completed two-thirds of that journey.

"It's still a long way away, 18 is a pretty big number," Woods said.

"It took Jack over 20 years to get to his and it's going to take a career.

"I've just got to keep plugging along and keep trying to win these things," added the American, who has claimed three more majors than Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh combined.

This year has been a topsy-turvy one for Woods away from the course, making his golfing achievements even more laudable.

He took a nine-week break after the Masters in April to deal with the illness and death in early May of his father Earl.

Hardly surprisingly, he missed the cut on his return at the US Open in June, his first early exit in a major as a professional.

Since then, he has been virtually unstoppable, tying for second at the Western Open and winning his next three tournaments.

"I just thoroughly enjoy coming down the stretch on the back nine with a chance to win it," Woods said.

"That's why I practice as hard as I do and what I live for. That to me is the ultimate rush in our sport is on that back nine on Sunday with a chance to win a major championship."

Chris DiMarco, runner-up to Woods in two majors, knows better than most the challenge of living with the world No 1 in the heat of major battle.

"I've never seen anybody, take away Jack Nicklaus, who looks more comfortable leading on the back nine of a major than playing the first hole of a tournament and that's pretty scary," he said.

"It's unbelievable that he can feel that comfortable.

"It's almost like he comes into his comfort zone in that situation and just relishes the fact that everybody, for the most part, wants to see him trip.

"At the end he wins by four or five, and your hat off to him. He's the best."

- REUTERS