Tiger will be back -- and so will more surprise winners

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Tiger Woods couldn't come up with one of his usual Sunday miracles to beat Y.E. Yang at the PGA Championship.

Still shaking your head?

You're hardly alone.

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The man who always found a way, the man who would conjure up a seemingly effortless miracle just when he needed it, had nothing Sunday afternoon. Nada.

After three solid rounds at the PGA Championship, Tiger Woods couldn't get the ball in the hole on Hazeltine's poa annua greens. He never has liked putting on that surface, but by stretch time on Sunday, he was glaring at the greens. He was ticked off. At himself. At the situation. At not being able to find a way.

There were no words, just body language. Could he appreciate how well Y.E. Yang played? Maybe just a little bit. Maybe a little more in time. But not Sunday afternoon.

We figured it would play out as the previous 14 majors had. We assume, so did he.

He had the lead after three rounds, it was automatic. Someone might challenge, but he'd find a way. Then he didn't.

Tiger got outplayed. Yang found the shots, Tiger found frustration. And no matter how much fun it was to watch the little-known South Korean make just about everything in those final holes, no matter how we tried to spin the global golf theme, the surprising-major-winners-of-2009 story and the first Asian-born major champ fairytale ending, we were still left with an empty feeling.

Hey, we're human. Tiger has blown us away for his entire career, so why wouldn't we expect the miracle? Why wouldn't he?

He won his last major on one knee, for gosh sakes. Nothing stands in his way when he has the lead going into the final round. But something finally did.

For the last two days we've heard that Tiger couldn't make putts. That he was Harry Vardon and Ted Ray combined to Yang's Francis Ouimet. That fatherhood was taking him down. That he played too conservatively. That he finally found someone he couldn't scare the devil out of at the end.

How about this -- for once, he didn't have it when he needed it. That he faced a guy with no baggage and nothing to lose; a player who embraced the chance to stare down No. 1 rather than talk himself into a bad place as so many have before.

That he isn't going to win every time out.

That this will happen again.

Law of averages, you know. Celebrate the first 14 majors and be glad we were along for the ride. Don't let that first time it wasn't automatic get you down. He won't.

Oh, he'll be angry -- everything about him Sunday afternoon screamed that. He was brief, his tone clipped. His stare was all-world. He wanted to answer the questions, get it over with and go wheels-up for Orlando. He needed to think it out by himself, not talk it out.

But underneath it all, he understands. Doesn't much like it, yet he knows this isn't a sprint, but rather a marathon. He still handles pressure better than anyone on the course today. He's still the No. 1 player in the world -- in fact, he laps the field.

He talks about those records he's chasing as the quest of a lifetime, not a little more than a decade. He'll point out that Jack Nicklaus finished second 19 times in majors. He won't mention that he's finished second five times in the last five seasons and six times overall.

By normal standards, he's had a heck of a year. Five wins, top of the money list. And the year's not over.

The way he's been playing, there's a dang good chance he'll come close to running the tables in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

He's won the Deutsche Bank Championship and THE TOUR Championship and he won four combined Western Opens/BMW Championship when it was at Cog Hill and it wouldn't be a reach to see him win at Bellerive. If he plays The Barclays? Well, no one can expect a four-for-four sweep, but he did go 2-1-1 (Deutsche Bank, BMW, TOUR Championship) in the final three events in 2007 to win the inaugural FedExCup.

And there's The Presidents Cup -- and a potential rematch with Yang. A fun event. A patriotic one. A chance to play for Fred Couples.

But it's just not a major.

No matter how the rest of the year plays out, Tiger will have that empty feeling for the next eight months. And, yes, he's already thinking about Augusta and his next major.

As for us? Oh, we're resilient. We'll shake our heads for a little while longer, then snap to when Tiger tees it up in the FedExCup. We'll be ready for him to finish the year with a few more amazing shots. And, we'll be there in April talking Tiger and all the ways he could amaze us at Augusta, then Pebble Beach, then St. Andrews and Whistling Straits.

But we'll also be a little more open-minded. We'll be looking at the field and wondering who's next. If this global theme to the 2009 is a blip or a glimpse into the future.

If Stewart Cink and Lucas Glover will be on every major short list in the foreseeable future. If Yang will be content to drive South Korea's passion for the game or if he'll contend again. If Henrik Stenson or Paul Casey will be the next Cabrera; if Jeev Milkha Singh will be the first Indian to break through; if Sergio Garcia will ever win a major or if Alvaro Quiros will be the next surprise.

We'll be wondering who'll step up against Tiger and run with it. And make no mistake, we'll be looking for that switch he flips when he goes on a major run, for those take-your-breath-away shots and for him to get started on that next perfect unbeatable stretch.

Melanie Hauser is a freelance columnist for PGATOUR.COM. Her views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.