Oakmonstrous Open likely to go down to bitter end

Will Sunday belong to Tiger, or will it be Badds to the bone? How about Bubba Watson, Paul Casey or Jim Furyk? At a U.S. Open that demands patience in the extreme, we're likely to have to wait until late Sunday to find out.

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.com Correspondent

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Will Sunday belong to Tiger?

Or will it be Badds to the bone?

Will an All-American Bubba hoist the trophy as the nation's best golfer?

Or will Paul Casey put an end to decades of British frustration and hoist the Union Jack in the colonies?

Like we know.

Let us remind you. You don't win a U.S. By Gawd Open. It wins you.

It twists you into knots, threatens to tear your heart out, frustrates the devil out of you and demands a patience that exceeds even that of Job.

And that's just a normal Open.

This one is Oakmonstrous. Two rounds in the 60s Saturday -- one a 69 by Tiger Woods, the other a 68 from Steve Stricker. No one under par for 54 holes. Leads that last -- what? -- 10 minutes? One minute you're up by three, a hole later you're down by one. Oops. No. Make that two.

Rookie mistakes -- from rookies and veterans. A zillion good putts -- most of them from Tiger -- that burned the hole but just wouldn't fall. A trail of bogeys and doubles that never had a chance to be pars. Falls from the top and falls from grace. Costly moments of frustration. And a chip-and-run birdie at the last hole that pulled Stricker into a tie with former U.S. Open champ Jim Furyk just four back.

And just think. The course played the easiest it has all week. Par was a mere 74.68.

Tiger came within the final green of matching Johnny Miller's mark of hitting all 18 greens. He had that look -- the one that's earned him a dozen majors, including two U.S. Opens. And he didn't give a thing back until that 18th hole, when he did what we would call a knee-knocking Arnold Palmer on his final putt. He didn't.

"I said I was pissed," he said. "Happy with a 5?"

Maybe not. But happy that he's here with a chance? Absolutely.

And that only two of the other 11 players within five shots of leader Aaron Baddeley have a major to their credit? Well, he's not complaining.

"They're going to deal with emotions that they've probably never dealt with before and things that ? it helps to have experience," Tiger said. "I've been there before and I know what it takes."

Yes, Tiger is the Oakmont on this leaderboard. Tough. Tested. And Vegas' choice.

But that may not mean a thing when he's chasing a man of faith whose focus and game are standing up as well his own this week.

Badds is no stranger to majors or to the best in the game. When he was a kid, he asked Greg Norman and David Duval if he could play practice rounds with them. And as for Tiger? He's been paired with him more than enough, especially at the Masters.

"I just enjoy playing with the guys who are the best at what they do," Badds said with a grin.

Make no mistake. Badds is no afterthought. He's ranked 24th in the world with a bullet. He's got the short game countryman Adam Scott didn't have this week and he's got more than enough off the tee. And he's not the least bit intimidated by a Tiger crowd.

"I think because the galleries are so big that you can't see anyone move," he said. "It's true. It's harder when there's four or five guys there because when one guy sort of moves his left arm, you can see it. But when you've got like 4,000 or 5,000, you can't really see anything; it's just a sea of people."

Yes, the focus will be on the final pairing. It always is. And Sunday you'll see the yin and yang. Tiger will be stone-faced focused; Badds will be focused, too, but with that peaceful smile.

That Tiger has only lost once when he's been in the final group at a major? Well, you decide. It was in April, when Zach Johnson came from behind to win the Masters. And that he's never come from behind to win a major?

You know Tiger wants to end both streaks.

The key will be to stay patient for 18 more holes. To keep the ball below the hole and, as Tiger said, give yourself as many looks as you can. At par.

Eighteen of them may win this thing. Playing for flagsticks and birdies might lose it.

Casey knows all too well. He threw out the best round of the week Friday with a marvelous 66 and backed it up with a 72. He opened with a 77 and, well, if he comes back to win it, he'd not only be the first Brit since Tony Jacklin in 1970, he'd also be the first winner since Sam Parks won the 1935 U.S. Open here to open with a 77.

Justin Rose? Stephen Ames? Never say never. Not at an Open.

"I'm going to go out and have a big smile and have fun with it," Ames said. "It's a game, not my life and death."

Maybe not, but it is a major. A career maker for so many on this leaderboard; another step toward history for Tiger.

In case you forgot, he's going for No. 13. Guys like Bubba Watson, who led the third round until he made two bad swings and a triple bogey at the ninth, are going for their first.

"Tiger has a few majors, he can wait," Watson said. "Furyk has one, he can wait. If I can't win, I would like to see (Badds) win."

But the thing about Opens? You just never know.

That Tiger's right there with a shot at it? Draw your own conclusions. Half of those putts that burned the lip Saturday fall and there's no discussion at all.

Yet they didn't.

That's why this Open is still up for grabs.

And on this course -- one that demands patience, precision and pace -- it likely will be until that last putt falls Sunday night.