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Mentally tough Tiger briefly lets us in

Updated: June 15, 2006, 10:18 PM ET
By Ivan Maisel | ESPN.com

MAMARONECK, N.Y. -- As impressive as Tiger Woods' physical gifts are, it is his mental hardness that makes him a champion. It's a Terminator deal -- behind the smile recognized around the world is an otherworldly material impervious to injury. That's why he does not give up a lead on Sunday. It's why he has won 10 major championships. It is what makes him Tiger Woods.

The truth is that -- this just in -- Woods is human. He is just unparalleled in his ability to conceal it.

Woods competes ...

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106th U.S. Open Championship

Geoff Ogilvy
When: Thursday-Sunday, June 15-18
Where: Winged Foot Golf Club (West)
Yardage/Par: 7,264 yards; par 70
2006 champion: Geoff Ogilvy
Purse: $6.8 million (Winner: $1.225 million)

Final-round coverage
• Mickelson's collapse leads to Ogilvy's first major victory
• Wojciechowski: Phil's Phailure will hurt for a while
• Maisel: Open will be remembered for Mickelson's collapse
• Sobel: Ogilvy defies destiny to become champion
• Harig: Final hole played a cruel role for leaders
• Sirak: Winged Foot was the real winner
• Rudy: USGA setup spawns another train wreck
• Final-round podcast
• ESPN.com photo gallery: Mickelson's collapse

Third-round coverage
• Recap: Mickelson, Ferrie tied at 2-over
• Maisel/Wojciechowski: E-mail chats from the Open
• Sobel: Cream rises to top of U.S. Open leaderboard
• Harig: Open rookie searching for a Ferrie tale ending
• Sirak: Dealing with final-round pressure
• ESPN.com photo gallery
• After missed cut, Svoboda makes mark ESPN Motion

Second-round coverage
• Recap: Stricker leads by one
• Wojciechowski: Mercifully, Woods' Open ended
• Harig: Lefty celebrates birthday with a patient 73
• Sobel: Woods, Duval head in opposite directions
• Maisel: Stricker, like Monty and Duval, finds an old spark
• ESPN.com photo gallery
• ESPN.com breaks down Round 2 ESPN Motion
• Round 2 podcast
• Tiger misses the cut Video
• Goosen among those who missed cut
• Rovell: Tiger missing cut affects Nike

First-round coverage
• Wojciechowski: Phil shoots even-par ... and loves it
• Maisel: Woods returns to similar frustration
• Harig: Expectations lowered, Monty finds his rhythm
• Sobel: Scores soar on first day at Winged Foot
• Montgomerie captures early lead
• Hawkins/Sobel: Round 1 podcast
• ESPN.com photo gallery
• Mickelson Mania at Winged Foot ESPN Motion
• ESPN.com breaks down Round 1 ESPN Motion
• Phil Mickelson ShotPack ESPN Motion
• Tiger Woods ShotPack ESPN Motion
• More Day 1 highlights ESPN Motion

Scores
• Real-Time Scoring from USOpen.com

Preview coverage
• Sobel: Ranking the U.S. Open field, 1 through 156
• Maisel: USGA's New York state of mind
• Fact or Fiction: Will par win the Open?
• Picking a U.S. Open champion, by the numbers
• In the Crosshairs: Tiger, Phil, Vijay, Retief
• Maisel: Mentally tough Tiger briefly lets us in
• Hawkins: The reinvention of Philly Mick
• Harig: Three decades later, the Massacre lingers on
• Huggan: Campbell's view from the mountain top
• Verdi: Davis Love III makes the rainbow connection
• Weekly 18: Major story lines abound entering Open
• Rosaforte: U.S. Open is back where it belongs
• On The Hot Seat: Peter Jacobsen
• Antonini: Winged Foot has always been a crowd pleaser
• Johnson: Why Winged Foot is special
• Herrington: Winged Foot will be rough and ready
• Whitten: Is Winged Foot still fit for a fight?
• Owen: Where real New Yorkers play golf
• McCleery: The Massacre of '74 still lingers

Facts
• U.S. Open field
• U.S. Open past champions
• Winged Foot course map
• Merion to host 2013 U.S. Open

U.S. Open qualifying
• Sobel: Is U.S. Open qualifying an outdated process?
• Harig: Wie's bid to make history drew believers
• Sirak: Wie growing before our eyes
• Wojciechowski: Wie belongs, even if she didn't qualify
• Wojnarowski: What's Wie's rush?

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