Can a champ be forgotten before sundown?

Tiger Woods won this British Open too & he'll still shatter Jack Nicklaus'record

St. Andrews was once magical for Tiger Woods — just not in the way you expect.
Tiger Woods isn't walking tall today, but he'll come to remember this BritishOpen as an important restart.
Tiger didn't get the Claret Jug, but he did have the moment of the weekend withhis Watson wave through.

South African Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open by seven shots at St. Andrews, one of the most revered golf courses in the world. But because absolutely no one cares about Oosthuizen — and most people still have no idea who he is — everyone is talking about Tiger Woods instead.

Which means the ridiculousness is coming back out in golf.

The new favorite theory of the British night is that Woods finishing 13 shots back and never really coming within sniffing distance of the lead all tournament shows that the world's greatest golfer is a finished, hollow shadow of his former self. Jack Nicklaus' majors record is safe!, blaring headlines from around the globe will soon declare.

Sorry, not only will Woods still crush Nicklaus' mark of 18 major wins, he won this British Open too. No, he's not bringing home the Claret Jug or adding major victory number 15 to his legacy, but he did have the moment of the tournament. And no, we're not talking about another TV-mic-picked-up F-bomb that comically turned into another international incident.

When Tiger waved Tom Watson, who was playing in the group behind him, through on Friday evening so that Watson, playing in his last British Open at The Old Course, could finish his tournament that night and get the adoration he deserved rather than having to come back and play one hole in front of a non-existent crowd early Saturday morning, No. 1 stopped only looking out for No. 1. This was a huge step for Tiger, a big moment for golf.

It would have been much more covered too if anyone had really paid attention to this British Open (whether it was a World Cup hangover or simply the nature of the runaway and the no name pulling it off, this was the most underreported major in the last decade, easily).

Tiger would have been much better off himself, tournament wise, if he had taken advantage of the better light to finish before Watson on Friday. Instead, he showed an immense respect for golf history (something he's displayed throughout his career) and put aside the fact that Watson has been one of the most vocal old-guard critics of his sexting scandal.

If you think Rory Sabbatini or Aaron Baddeley or a host of other PGA Tour players would have let Watson play through, you're fooling yourself. Tiger's gesture was significant and it went much beyond himself.

That's the sign of superstar starting to stick his golf spikes back into reality. One who still has plenty of time to destroy Jack's treasured record once he's all the way there. The 34-year-old Woods has won 14 majors. Nicklaus won his 14th major at age 35. And then, he took 11 years to win his last four.

Do you really think that Tiger cannot eke out at least five more majors? Please. Nicklaus won one at 46 for fools' sake. And Nicklaus would be the first to admit that Woods is in 100 times the shape Jack was during his playing career.

Tiger Woods finishes with 21 major championships. Minimum. And this otherwise forgettable British Open will be remembered by Tiger as a start of that — thanks in no small part to his unselfish Watson moment.

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Movie Review

New movie Friendship pairs Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in a bizarre bromance

Photo courtesy of A24

Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd in Friendship.

Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.

Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.

He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.

Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.

The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.

Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.

Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.

There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.

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Friendship is now playing in select theaters.

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