Tiger claims second career win at THE PLAYERS
About a month before THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., caddie Joe LaCava convinced Tiger Woods the demanding Stadium Course suited his game. Tiger won the 2001 event, but has mostly struggled since, leading some to believe he didn’t have the patience or proper game plan to win it again.
So much for that theory. With LaCava providing experience and calmness down the stretch, Woods plodded his way to a two-stroke victory on Sunday. He closed with a 2-under-par 70 — his fourth-straight sub-par round of the week — and finished at 13-under 275.
“I told you you could get this track,” LaCava told Woods afterward, accepting a hearty bear hug from his boss.
“How about that, huh?” beamed a smiling Woods. “Woo!”
It marked the fourth win of the year for the No. 1-ranked Woods and the 78th PGA TOUR victory of his career, second only to Sam Snead with 82. Tiger has now prevailed on his 100th, 200th and 300th career starts on the PGA TOUR.
The triumph didn’t come easily. Woods, who began the final round one in a tie for the lead with rookie David Lingmerth of Sweden and Sergio Garcia of Spain, forged a two-shot lead with five holes to play, but double-bogeyed the par-4 14th hole after pulling his tee shot into the water. That created a four-way tie at the top, which wasn’t settled until Lingmerth missed a long birdie attempt on the 18th green.
Woods, who played in the second-to-last twosome with Casey Wittenberg, made a great par-save at the par-4 15th hole, then got up-and-down from the right front bunker at the par-5 16th hole to regain the lead at 13-under. Playing behind him with Lingmerth, Sergio Garcia also birdied 16 to earn a share of the lead.
Tiger made a great two-putt par from 47 feet at the dangerous 135-yard, par-3 17th hole, where the pin was tucked back-right on the island green. After he split the fairway with a clutch drive at the tough 441-yard, par-4 18th hole, Garcia hit two balls into the water at 17 to fall from contention.
Lingmerth hung tough with a birdie at 16, and just missed a short birdie putt at 17. When he failed to birdie 18, Woods was a winner for the first time on Mother’s Day.
“Sorry, mom,” he said on television to his mother Kultida, his biggest fan. “I think she might have had a heart attack.”
The late drama capped a great week for the 37-year-old Woods, whose girlfriend Lindsey Vonn was there to support him. Following LaCava’s advice, Tiger played smart golf, especially off the tee, using mostly fairway woods and irons. He played for position and did most of his damage on the par-5s, which he tamed in a career-best 12-under.
Woods had great trust in LaCava, who won THE PLAYERS Championship twice caddying for Fred Couples.
“It’s a very tricky golf course,” said Woods, the fifth two-time winner of the tournament. “He did a helluva job of keeping me focused coming down the stretch. He’s a great caddie.”
The four wins mark the 12th time in Tiger’s career he has accomplished the feat. By comparison, Snead and Jack Nicklaus won four or more times nine times.
By winning for the seventh time in his last 22 starts, including four of seven this year, Woods has now won 78 out of 286 professional starts — 27 percent — on the PGA TOUR.
He also added to his resume as the game’s best closer. Tiger has now converted 52 of 56 third-round leads or co-leads in 72-hole PGA Tour events, including six-straight. The total does not include a 54-hole sudden-death playoff victory against Tom Lehman in the 1999 Mercedes Championships.
Asked to describe the state of his game right now, Woods said, “I’m getting better.”
Tiger played mostly mistake-free golf Sunday, lipping out several birdie putts that could have provided a bigger back-nine cushion. But he never got frustrated and kept giving himself opportunities.
He played the front nine in 2-under 34, carding birdies at the par-5 second, par-4 fourth and par-4 seventh holes. His lone bogey came at the 393-yard, par-4 sixth, where he drove into the right rough, hit a palm tree with his second shot, an failed to get up-and-down from short of the green, missing an eight-foot putt. That snapped a streak of 20-consecutive holes without a bogey.
On the back nine, Woods birdied the par-4 12th hole from 15 feet, then parred 13. Standing on the 14th tee, Tiger was distracted by a dragon fly and backed off. Then, he made his worst swing of the day.
“I was in control of the tournament and got to 14 and just hit absolutely the worst shot I could possibly hit,” he said. “I just stayed patient and kept telling myself that’s the only bad swing I’ve made all day. There is no reason why I can’t still win this golf tournament.”
Woods steadied with the big par-save at 15, then played the last three holes 1-under. It proved just enough to separate him from his challengers.
