Tiger Woods, U.s. Open | featured news

As the playoffs for the FedEx Cup get under way Thursday at The Barclays, the buzz is bigger than usual. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy playing in the same group for starters, and at Bethpage Black, a notoriously tough track on Long Island made even more famous by the two U.S. Opens it has hosted in the last decade.

The first swing of Thursday for Phil Mickelson sent marshals’ arms pointing waywardly, swallows fleeing from tree limbs and Mickelson to the back of the tee box looking forlorn. It wasn’t even 7:35 a.m. Before Tiger Woods, his playing partner, even struck a shot in the 112th U.S. Open, Mickelson began pantomiming his own swing, trying to find something on the course that might better be discovered on the range.

When Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he would not compete in next week’s U.S. Open, a whole lot of casual interest in the year’s second major went out the window. Or, considering the heat in the area, in the window. That deflated interest was first expressed all over the Internet – Twitter, blogs and all of that jazz were bombarded with comments from Internet Tough Guys saying that the Open didn’t mean much to them without Woods.

Graeme McDowell wins the 110th US Open by one shot from France's Gregory Havret with Ernie Els third and Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson fourth at Pebble Beach.

The world's top-ranked golfer fires a third-round 66 to move to one under par and within striking distance of leader Dustin Johnson.

On another frustrating day at Pebble Beach, Tiger Woods fought with his swing as much as the greens. Graeme McDowell, on the other hand, had that all figured out and gave Woods a distant target to shoot at for the weekend ...

If Phil Mickelson wants to win his first U.S. Open this week, he'll need to turn things around.

Seven shots back of Open leaders Ricky Barnes (left) and Lucas Glover (right), Tiger's toast, right? Robert Lusetich isn't so sure.

Tiger Woods pulls off an improbable score on the 1st hole of the U.S. Open after a horrendous drive.