When you’re the best at what you do, you can’t help but laugh the way Tiger did during Saturday’s amazing round 3 of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Now, I will be the first to admit to not watching golf regularly like I do other sports, but what happened on Saturday was so beyond anything you normally see on T.V., much less sports.

Athletes are athletes for the simple fact that they are supposed to keep themselves in the most immaculate shape while competing and are supposed to bring you’re A+ game. But more often than not, athletes are athletes because they play with injuries that become rather obvious from the way they play. When you saw Tiger drive the ball, you could tell something was up. When you saw him using the driver as a crutch, you knew it wasn’t for show. There were times when he drove it and almost collapsed were it not for his driver keeping him upright.

A few days ago I saw an article making the case that Tiger Woods was the best athlete on the planet. Judging by his dominance in a non-team sport, you could fairly make the case for him. Of course every athlete with a reasonable amount of hardware and success can also lay claim to it, but on Saturday, Tiger went above and beyond what anyone had to do to remain competitive. And just think, he did it just to stay in contention for another 18 holes today.

Playing 4 straight days in the same golf course should make you get better but funny things happen on the way to that foolish theory. Variables like weather come in to play, and don’t think that playing on the same golf course for three days doesn’t make you a bit cocky coming into the final day with a four shot lead.

But perhaps what makes Tiger’s performance over the final nine holes on Saturday so amazing was how terrible he was on the first nine. In fact, he was so terrible that people were wondering if his leg had actually healed since he had surgery to fix an ailing knee. Even Tiger will admit that he can’t possibly win every tournament he walks into, but the fact is, he sure doesn’t play like he knows that.

Never was that more evident than when walking up the eighteenth and after captivating a huge gallery who were anxiously wondering what those roars were about on the 13^th and then the 17^th holes, and capping a fantastic day with yet another impossible shot. Then with a look of utter fatigue, and a moment from collapsing into the 18^th hole itself, he had enough for one Jordan-like fist pump.

What Tiger Woods has done for golf is unreal. He has made it cool and it just seems like more and more kids are picking up drivers as much as they are picking up baseball bats and football helmets. He makes it cool to show emotion and get pumped up with a fist wave that will make a usually quiet golf crowd seem like a baseball stadium after a game winning homerun.

But what makes great athletes the best are when, even on the worst possible day they can have, they can still somehow muster enough strength to make you remember why you never count them out of big games. When games like this happen, the great ones come to play and they come zoned in on one thing: dominating.

What Tiger Woods did on 13 was one of the most difficult putt shots you will ever see signed with a signature Tiger fist pump that got the crowd ready. On 17, he banked one in off the flag of the cup and that drew a sarcastic chuckle out of him. Sure it was luck, but because its Tiger Woods you couldn’t rule out that it was skill. On 18 when the crowd was already given enough moments to draw upon, he gave them one more with a putt that made the crowd go in a frenzy.

Its not a stretch to say that the crowd came to see Tiger play at a major as he chases Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors. He adds a new element to golf matches, the reason to get excited and make noise. Where crowds are called galleries (doesn’t that already mean that you shouldn’t make noise), Tiger makes shots that just make you jump out of your seat. For those who have played golf, you know how difficult it is to play 18 holes. Now imagine doing it on one bad knee, and walking around for four hours. Don’t even ask where the cart was because you are not permitted to be driven in those.

Saturday was the MJ flu game, the Kirk Gibson “I don’t believe what I just saw” home run, the Willis Reed limp in to MSG for Game 7 against the Lakers. It was a signature day from one of the best to ever play. At this point, we’re probably seeing the best to ever do it. How lucky we are as a sporting culture that we get to see our own modern day Ruth, our own Jim Brown. You know the guy who is more myth and legend than anything. The guy we hear stories about and although we never saw them play swear by when talking about the greatest to ever do it. We had Jordan, but when he hung them up you just wondered what we had lost. But Tiger was already carving his own legend.

He’s already claimed all four majors in the span of a year (not a calendar year but still). He already holds the record for making the most consecutive cuts in PGA tour history. He already holds the record for most Swedish nannies knocked up on the Tour. He’s even nearing a billion dollars in money accumulated from being a professional golfer.

But none of that matters when you consider what you saw Saturday. You saw the greatest in your lifetime to ever do it. In a sport like golf its hard to find guys who will just dominate a sport because it’s a one man show unlike the major sports like hockey, football, and basketball. Everything is based on individual performance which makes it even better and more impressive.

His legend not only grew, but the fear that he puts in his opponents was at fever pitch. Not only did Tiger make golf fans believe in his greatness again, but he put his competition on notice with a statement day that can be summed up like this:

NOT EVEN ON MY WORST DAY.