That's how the winner of the 138th British Open likely will be remembered, for having taken advantage of Tiger Woods' absence to claim a tarnished major championship.

That's unfair.

So is any comparison of Tigerless golf to the NBA of the mid-1990s, when Michael Jordan's run of six titles with the Chicago Bulls was interrupted by his baseball pursuits. The Rockets made the most of his absence from the NBA Finals with two championships, and then Jordan resumed his dominance.

It's different with Woods, and that's why this British Open will be worth watching, even with him sidelined for the rest of the season following knee surgery. While it's true that he has ruled the game like no one else in history in his 12 seasons as a professional and warped all sensibility about any single player's chances of winning a golf tournament, there is something of a myth about Tiger.

He loses a lot more often than he wins, believe it or not. And this historic tournament will produce another deserving winner without him.

There's no denying that Woods' presence heightens interest in any event, creating a curiosity factor regardless of whether or not he ends up contending for the title. Just the same, he's batting only .304 in majors as a pro, which means that as tempting as an even-money proposition of Tiger vs. the field may seem, it's never the way to bet in these things.

The likes of Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis and Shaun Micheel will always be able to say they won majors with Tiger on the grounds, so it seems silly to devalue Sunday's winner in advance, doesn't it?

This is not the John Deere Classic. The British Open is still a major tournament, coming complete with the Claret Jug and everything that accompanies a victory at this level.

"If any tournaments can stand up strong when he's not around, it's this one and the U.S. Open and the Masters and the PGA," former U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvie said during a news conference this week. "I mean, the events are bigger than any one guy. [Woods] obviously adds to any golf tournament you play, and yeah, it's a shame when he's not playing. But the Open is the Open."

A couple of intriguing items emerge from research of the Tiger era, during which he has won 14 of 46 majors as a pro. Of those other 32 tournaments, only two players - Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh - have won three times each, making Woods' 14 titles all the more remarkable.

The other revelation is that Chris DiMarco is golf's equivalent of Karl Malone and John Stockton, as the most distinguishable player who's cursed to have competed in the Tiger era. The Jazz may well have won two championships, if not for Jordan.

The argument is even stronger for DiMarco, who battled Woods to the finish in the 2005 Masters and the '06 British Open, only to walk away with no major victory on his career scorecard.

Like Jordan, who beat five different Western Conference opponents for his six titles, Woods is pretty much an equal opportunity winner. Other than DiMarco, Ernie Els is the only player who could have significantly enhanced his career if Woods had chosen some other sport. And even that's assuming Els would have won two playoffs (having tied for second place), which would give him five major victories, and there's also the fact Woods won those events by such big margins that Els was not dealing with genuine final-round pressure or truly chasing Tiger.

"The thought of him around is quite ominous, especially coming down the stretch or even preparing yourself for a last round when he's in the mix," Els said.

So the atmosphere will be different in England this week, undoubtedly. But remember that Tiger is only 3-for-11 in the British Open as a pro, has finished in the top five just twice in those other eight events and merely tied for 12th place last July, when Padraig Harrington beat Sergio Garcia in a playoff.

Here's the real question, surrounding this British Open: Can they call it a major, if Kenny Perry is not in the field?

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com

Chasing Tiger

Runners-up in Tiger Woods' 14 major championships:

Year Tournament Runner-up Margin

1997 Masters Tom Kite 12

1999 PGA Sergio Garcia 1

2000 U.S. Open Ernie Els/Miguel Jiminez 15

2000 British Open Ernie Els/Thomas Bjorn 8

2000 PGA Bob May Playoff

2001 Masters David Duval 2

2002 Masters Retief Goosen 3

2002 U.S. Open Phil Mickelson 3

2005 Masters Chris DiMarco Playoff

2005 British Open Colin Montgomerie 5

2006 British Open Chris DiMarco 2

2006 PGA Shaun Micheel 5

2007 PGA Woody Austin 2

2008 U.S. Open Rocco Mediate Playoff

TV schedule

Live updates

Today: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., TNT

Friday: 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., TNT

Saturday: 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., TNT; 7 a.m. to end of play, Ch. 4

Sunday: 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., TNT; 6 a.m. to end of play, Ch. 4