Back On His Game

Tway started the final round one stroke behind Norman and Lehman and made the turn at even par to share the lead. At that point, if someone had asked, the candid Tway might have admitted that he couldn't help getting a little greedy. On the serpentine 409-yard, par-4 10th hole, Tway missed the green with his approach and then missed a three-foot putt for par. After he failed to convert his birdie chance at 12, Tway bogeyed the 14th to drop two behind. Although he felt more calm than he had at the same stage in 1986, Tway bogeyed the final three holes.

If he was disappointed, he did a wonderful job of hiding it. After signing autographs outside the locker room, he joked about his back-nine 40. "When I made the turn, I remembered the similarity to 1986 and thought, You have a chance to win again if you play good and solid," he said. "But I played the same way. So much for experience."

But then Tway took that healthy broad view. "Actually, I was really surprised at how good I felt," he said. "I don't have a mechanical thought in my body right now. Steady head, balance and rhythm are the only three thoughts I have."

Except, that is, for one overriding thought. "After playing so poorly, it just felt great to be out here again," he said. "My philosophy was to start at the very bottom and take a lot of baby steps, but this was a bigger one. I'm not saying I'm all the way back. Even if I get there, it will be to a different place."

Spoken like a winner.