Remembering Tiger's 81 Day In '02 Open

Nice package of pre-Open stories from ESPN.com, starting with Bob Harig taking the weather/Tiger angle first.

Even better though was this anecdote from Steve Elkington, who reminds us how quickly things can turn at Muirfield.

He had returned to the Auld Hoose, a pub just around the corner from where he was renting a place in the nearby town of North Berwick.

"It sits just above the port there, and the harbor is so old that they have stone gates to let boats in and out,'' Elkington recalled. "After the Friday round, I go into the Auld Hoose and there's an old guy who has a silver jug that they just leave for him. They call him the harbor master, and he has this big, long beard.
"So I'm in there on the Friday night and he pulls me off to the side. 'Listen to me. The weather is going to be s--- at about 3 p.m. tomorrow.' He could tell from the current. 'I'm telling you, it is going to be s---.' ''

Elkington got out early and shot a 3-under-par 68, one of just four players to score in the 60s all day.

"I come back to the Auld Hoose and I went in the back to have a sleep in one of the rooms,'' Elkington said.

"When I came back out, two hours later, I looked out the front door, and there was a guy crawling along hands and knees trying to get in the pub, the weather was so bad. Now I'm watching the scoreboard and I'm going from 40th to 30th and then into the top 10. It was a great break.''

Gene Wojciechowski talks to Mark O'Meara about old buddy Woods. O'Meara and Woods, carpooled to Muirfield with him in '02. Tiger vowed a Sunday 65 to O'Meara after the 81.

"There is something about Tiger Woods: There is no quit in him -- zero," says O'Meara. "I understand injuries. I understand personal issues. I get all of that. But that guy right there is the ultimate competitor."

On the drive home that day, Woods told O'Meara that he already had a plan for Sunday's round. He said he was going to shoot 65 and get back to even-par for the tournament.

O'Meara was on the range that Sunday when he noticed Woods was already 4-under on the front nine. He turned to his caddie and said, "See? There you go. That's typical Tiger Woods. Never give up."

Woods shot 65 and got to even-par but -- and O'Meara loves reminding everyone of this -- finished one stroke behind O'Meara.

Accompanying the package is a segment that includes a hilarious shot of a fan battling his umbrella and overall misery. Maybe I find it hilarious because the forecast this week is looking promising still...for now.