Tiger finishes in second following playoff at Sherwood
Tiger Woods knew from experience that Zach Johnson wouldn’t go away quietly. The duo battled to the 72nd hole in the 2011 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge at Sherwood Country Club, with Woods prevailing with a birdie.
There was even more drama Sunday. Playing in front of a record crowd of 24,000 at sunny but cool Sherwood for the final time, Johnson turned the tables on Tiger, beating him on the first hole of a sudden death playoff to win the $1 million first prize.
They came to the 444-yard, par-4 18th hole tied in regulation after Johnson followed up a birdie at the par-5 16th with another at the par-3 17th, catching Woods. On the last hole, Tiger drove in the left rough and faced a testy downhill, side-hill second shot while Johnson found the middle of the fairway. Woods’ second shot caught the deep front-right greenside bunker, and Johnson seemed in control. But he hit a poor 8-iron into the hazard.
After taking a drop, Johnson regrouped and holed out his fourth shot from about 58 yards for par, putting the pressure back on Woods. Tiger was up to the task, splashing a clutch sand shot two feet from the cup to a force a playoff.
“Whatever happened, I knew I had to make four,” Woods said. “I figured he was probably going to get that up-and-down for 5. I hit a helluva bunker shot.”
Both players split the 18th fairway in the playoff. Tiger played his approach shot first and was stuck between a 7 and 8-iron. He wound up hitting a soft 7 and came off the shot, the ball finding the same greenside bunker.
“I just let it go on the hill,” Woods said. “I just got one of those half numbers. I was right dead in between clubs and tried to hit a little smoothy in there and just let it go in the wind a little bit.”
This time, Johnson knocked his approach on the left side of the green. Woods knew he would have to get up-and-down again and hope for a miss from Johnson to extend the playoff. Woods hit a good shot, the ball slipping five feet beyond the hole. Johnson two-putted easily and Tiger lipped out his putt to end the drama.
“For most of the week, except Friday, I was blocking putts, and today was a perfect example of that,” Woods said. “I had a tough time finding my release point, no matter what I tried to do to adjust. So the last hole, being left-to-right I just didn’t want to block that one, and I didn’t. I over released it.”
In addition to his five victories in the tournament, Tiger has also finished runner-up five times.
Woods, who started the final round with a two-stroke lead over Johnson, closed with a 2-under 70. Johnson shot 68.
“I feel very fortunate, and a little bit lucky,” Johnson said.
Johnson and Woods finished regulation play knotted at 13-under 275. Matt Kuchar (67) and Bubba Watson (70) shared third place at 9-under 279.
Woods, who doubles as tournament host, held a four-stroke lead with eight holes remaining. But Johnson clawed his way back with birdies at 11, 12, 16 and 17. Tiger made three birdies and sustained his lone bogey at the par-4 14th, where he three-putted from long range.
It was only the fourth time in Woods’ career that he failed to win when leading by two or more shots going into the final round. It also happened to him at Sherwood in 2010, when he led Graeme McDowell by four strokes and wound up losing in a playoff.
Not that Woods would let Sunday’s disappointment detract from a great season. He won five PGA TOUR titles – three more than any other player – and regained his No. 1 status in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“Pretty damn good year,” Woods said.
And a nice send-off for the tournament.
“Overall, it was a great week for us,” said Tiger, who ended a 14-year run at Sherwood and will move the tournament to Isleworth Country Club in Orlando, Fla. next year. “To have it come down to what it did at the very end, it was pretty exciting as a player and I’m sure as a spectator. I think everyone was pretty entertained.”
Per his custom, Woods donated his $400,000 second-place check to the Tiger Woods Foundation, the primary beneficiary of the event. To date, he has given $8.8 million to the Tiger Woods Foundation.
“Sherwood has done a great job hosting this event,” Woods said. “From all the volunteers and all the people that came out today and the entire week, it’s made it a very special week for all of us.
“It is very sad to leave Sherwood, because there’s so many great memories for me personally. This was the last time my dad ever got a chance to watch me play live, and this event has always had special meaning for my father and I. If we didn’t have this event, we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to build the Tiger Woods Learning Center, which has helped more than 100,000 underserved kids.”
