Sunday
Sep132009
It's W-W-W-W-Woods once again
Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 2:21PM
Writing from Lemont, Ill.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Few in the gallery of 42,500 spectators would have been surprised if Tiger Woods had won the 106th Western Open on Sunday afternoon by shooting 73 or 74, something slightly over par that still would have allowed him to raise the J.K. Wadley Trophy for a fifth time.
When you lead by seven strokes entering the final round, focus can be difficult to come by.
Woods finds it. He always finds it. On Championship Sunday on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club's devilish Dubsdread course, Woods found the way this way:
"Coming in today, my whole goal was to shoot under par," Woods explained. "If I do that, they would have to shoot way under par to force a playoff. So I bogey the fifth hole, but birdie No. 7, and then I birdie No. 9. I'm 1-under on the front, and I figured that if I shoot under par on the back, it's over."
He did, and it was. Woods' matching 34s added up to 3-under-par 68, and a four-round aggregate of 19-under-par 265. That brought him an eight-stroke victory over Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman for his fifth Western – or BMW Championship, as the German carmaker might prefer – his 71st career triumph on the PGA Tour, his sixth of the season, and $1.35 million in spare change.
Walter Hagen won five Westerns back in the first third of the last century, when the championship was a bona-fide major, second in stature only to the U.S. Open here and third behind the British Open when the rest of the world was considered. Now Woods has equaled The Haig, and, given his youth – he's a lad of 33 – and his regained health, there's no limit to how many he'll have pocketed by the time he retires.
Woods is into history, and makes it nearly every time he tees up. The outcome puts him within two victories of Jack Nicklaus in Tour annals. Nicklaus' 73 triumphs trail only Sam Snead's 82. And both the Golden Bear and Slammin' Sam were 42 when they registered win No. 71. Woods not only has them by nine years, but, with a rebuilt knee, is more fit than either of them were at 33.
Given his recent penchant of winning half the tournaments he plays in, and his current pace of playing about 15 times annually, he figures to pass Nicklaus early in 2010 – with his first win next year if he annexes the Tour Championship in a fortnight – and sprint past Snead's total somewhere in 2012. Or, if he gets on a streak, by this time in 2011.
For Woods, this was his first win since capturing the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in early August. Since then, he'd finished second at the PGA Championship ¬– surrendering a two-stroke lead to Y.E. Yang in the final round – tied for second at wacky Liberty National Golf Club, and tied for 11th last week at TPC Boston.
That's a long drought for Woods, who has won 52 percent of his PGA Tour starts, an amazing 23 titles in 44 tournaments, since the 2006 British Open.
"It always feels good," Woods said. "It's the ultimate goal. To play as well as I have of late and not get the Ws has been a little bit frustrating, because I've been so close. It's just been a matter of making a couple putts here and there and I would have won the tournaments.
"That's all the difference it was. Lo and behold, I hit the ball just as well, just as consistent this week, and I made a few putts. That's how it happens. I haven't gotten a lot out of my rounds. This week I did, and especially yesterday (with a 62). It does feel good, there's no doubt about that."
Furyk, who started the day 10 strokes behind Woods, felt good about tying for second, scoring 5-under 66, which matched Sean O'Hair and defending champion Camilo Villegas as the best round of the day, to total 11-under 273.
"I kind of had my eye on second place," Furyk said. "We went out way, way, way behind the lead. When we got to the 10th hole, I asked my caddie where (Woods) stood. He said, 'Seventeen (under),' and I just started laughing."
Leishman, the fourth-year pro and Tour rookie, was almost over the moon about managing a 2-under 69 while in the same threesome with Woods. He was added to the Woods-Snedeker pairing when early morning fog caused a delay and prompted the Tour to move from twosomes to threesomes.
"I didn't have to sleep on that," Leishman said. "Walking down the first, I said to Matty, my caddie, 'This is what we play golf for, in the last group on Sunday playing with Tiger; this is just unbelieveable.' It was great. I didn't hole too many birdie putts but was holing the par putts.
"It was an awesome day for me."
The rookie hadn't been in a pressure situation on the highest level before, and acquitted himself well. Now, with the Tour Championship two weeks off, he can rest.
"I'll do a lot of nothing next week," Leishman said.
So will Woods.
"I'll be on the range dawn to dusk," Woods grinned. "No, I'll get away from the game for a little bit."
Until East Lake, when he'll be the man to beat, and perhaps a man unbeatable, once again.
– Tim Cronin
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Few in the gallery of 42,500 spectators would have been surprised if Tiger Woods had won the 106th Western Open on Sunday afternoon by shooting 73 or 74, something slightly over par that still would have allowed him to raise the J.K. Wadley Trophy for a fifth time.
When you lead by seven strokes entering the final round, focus can be difficult to come by.
Woods finds it. He always finds it. On Championship Sunday on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club's devilish Dubsdread course, Woods found the way this way:
"Coming in today, my whole goal was to shoot under par," Woods explained. "If I do that, they would have to shoot way under par to force a playoff. So I bogey the fifth hole, but birdie No. 7, and then I birdie No. 9. I'm 1-under on the front, and I figured that if I shoot under par on the back, it's over."
He did, and it was. Woods' matching 34s added up to 3-under-par 68, and a four-round aggregate of 19-under-par 265. That brought him an eight-stroke victory over Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman for his fifth Western – or BMW Championship, as the German carmaker might prefer – his 71st career triumph on the PGA Tour, his sixth of the season, and $1.35 million in spare change.
Walter Hagen won five Westerns back in the first third of the last century, when the championship was a bona-fide major, second in stature only to the U.S. Open here and third behind the British Open when the rest of the world was considered. Now Woods has equaled The Haig, and, given his youth – he's a lad of 33 – and his regained health, there's no limit to how many he'll have pocketed by the time he retires.
Woods is into history, and makes it nearly every time he tees up. The outcome puts him within two victories of Jack Nicklaus in Tour annals. Nicklaus' 73 triumphs trail only Sam Snead's 82. And both the Golden Bear and Slammin' Sam were 42 when they registered win No. 71. Woods not only has them by nine years, but, with a rebuilt knee, is more fit than either of them were at 33.
Given his recent penchant of winning half the tournaments he plays in, and his current pace of playing about 15 times annually, he figures to pass Nicklaus early in 2010 – with his first win next year if he annexes the Tour Championship in a fortnight – and sprint past Snead's total somewhere in 2012. Or, if he gets on a streak, by this time in 2011.
For Woods, this was his first win since capturing the World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, in early August. Since then, he'd finished second at the PGA Championship ¬– surrendering a two-stroke lead to Y.E. Yang in the final round – tied for second at wacky Liberty National Golf Club, and tied for 11th last week at TPC Boston.
That's a long drought for Woods, who has won 52 percent of his PGA Tour starts, an amazing 23 titles in 44 tournaments, since the 2006 British Open.
"It always feels good," Woods said. "It's the ultimate goal. To play as well as I have of late and not get the Ws has been a little bit frustrating, because I've been so close. It's just been a matter of making a couple putts here and there and I would have won the tournaments.
"That's all the difference it was. Lo and behold, I hit the ball just as well, just as consistent this week, and I made a few putts. That's how it happens. I haven't gotten a lot out of my rounds. This week I did, and especially yesterday (with a 62). It does feel good, there's no doubt about that."
Furyk, who started the day 10 strokes behind Woods, felt good about tying for second, scoring 5-under 66, which matched Sean O'Hair and defending champion Camilo Villegas as the best round of the day, to total 11-under 273.
"I kind of had my eye on second place," Furyk said. "We went out way, way, way behind the lead. When we got to the 10th hole, I asked my caddie where (Woods) stood. He said, 'Seventeen (under),' and I just started laughing."
Leishman, the fourth-year pro and Tour rookie, was almost over the moon about managing a 2-under 69 while in the same threesome with Woods. He was added to the Woods-Snedeker pairing when early morning fog caused a delay and prompted the Tour to move from twosomes to threesomes.
"I didn't have to sleep on that," Leishman said. "Walking down the first, I said to Matty, my caddie, 'This is what we play golf for, in the last group on Sunday playing with Tiger; this is just unbelieveable.' It was great. I didn't hole too many birdie putts but was holing the par putts.
"It was an awesome day for me."
The rookie hadn't been in a pressure situation on the highest level before, and acquitted himself well. Now, with the Tour Championship two weeks off, he can rest.
"I'll do a lot of nothing next week," Leishman said.
So will Woods.
"I'll be on the range dawn to dusk," Woods grinned. "No, I'll get away from the game for a little bit."
Until East Lake, when he'll be the man to beat, and perhaps a man unbeatable, once again.
– Tim Cronin
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