Clippings From Tiger's Epic 2012 Memorial Win

I walked most of Tiger's final round at Muirfield Village and I don't think the difficulty of the course and conditions can be underestimated in putting his 73rd PGA Tour win into context. There will be an inevitable onslaught of praise heaped on a gritty performance leading into the U.S. Open and it will be well-deserved because the holes were tucked, the greens fast and the wind a nightmare.

Doug Ferguson's AP game story and lede:

Tiger Woods picked the right place to match Jack Nicklaus for career PGA TOUR wins, and with a shot that even left Nicklaus amazed.

Steve DiMeglio's USA Today game story and lede:

The roundhouse uppercut returned, a seismic roar shook the ground, the enormous gallery went berserk and Tiger Woods was once again at the center of golf's universe.

Nick Masuda with Golfweek's 5 things…

Paul Daughtery on the flop shot and Jack's description of the incredible hole-out as the greatest he's seen. And the link to the video of the shot on YouTube.

Bob Harig on Tiger doing this on the back of his ball-striking.

But perhaps more important to Woods is the way he played this tournament. It was vintage Tiger from a ball-striking standpoint. He led the field in greens in regulation (53-of-72) and hit 13 of 14 fairways Sunday, missing his only one at the ninth, where his ball was a few inches into the fringe. He managed to win despite being just 41st in the tour's "strokes gained-putting" category.

Dave Shedloski notes the similarities between Tiger and Jack.

It's eerie how the two men are linked by a distilled destiny. Woods is half the age of Nicklaus, 72, and yet they appear to be equal halves of the same golfer -- a player who can rise to the occasion, perform impeccably under pressure, win with any combination of skills but mostly with his mind.

Woods might have caught Nicklaus in once sense, but he trails in the one race he will run until he no longer can muster a backswing. Four major titles separate them -- a career in itself as even Woods attests.

Steve Elling on the quality of Tiger's play:

Woods played nearly flawless golf Sunday, matching the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 and missing perhaps two shots all day. More impressively, he summoned up the old-school magic that fans hadn’t seen in months, if not years. Pressed to deliver as Rory Sabbatini stubbornly held the lead, Woods birdied Nos. 15, 16 and 18 to win for the fifth time at Muirfield.

Did we say summoned? More like conjured. It was pure old-school magic.

Jason Sobel focuses on the 16th hole shot as well and puts Jack's lavish praise for the shot as the greatest he's seen under the circumstances into perspective.

The cherished host of this Memorial Tournament knows a thing or two about living in the moment. He won 73 career PGA Tour titles and an all-time-best 18 major championships, but the mystical numbers are superseded by the magical moments.

There was the 1-iron on the final hole of the 1967 U.S. Open at Baltusrol, 238 yards uphill and into a breeze, that was the icing on the cake in a victory over rival Arnold Palmer. Another 1-iron in the same event five years later, this one soaring toward the flagstick at Pebble Beach’s exquisite penultimate hole, landing just 3 inches from its intended target. The 18-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole at Augusta National in 1986, when he raised his putter in celebration with the ball halfway there, the lasting image of his sixth Masters win at the age of 46.

So yeah, Nicklaus knows a moment when he sees one.

Ryan Ballengee tracked down caddie Joe LaCava.

LaCava had an inkling it would happen, too.

"I texted a buddy of mine a few weeks back and bet him that Tiger would have three wins through the U.S. Open," he said. "And I told him I thought it would be great if he did it at Jack's place."

Getty Images' best stuff from Sunday's final round, including the Andy Lyons shot (right) of the chip-in reaction.

The post-round transcript!

And GolfChannel.com posts the entire press conference video.

And before the videos, an eye-opening stat courtesy of AP's Ferguson that will make Jack shake his head: