Tiger Woods produced a flawless final round 63 to win his 60th
career PGA Tour title by two shots at the BMW Championship on
Sunday.
The win moved Woods to the top of the FedExCup standings heading
into the Tour Championships next week at the East Lake Golf Club in
Atlanta, which will be limited to the top 30 players.
The US$1.26 million winner's cheque pushed Woods's career
earnings over US$75 million. The 31-year-old American will have a
chance to add what is being billed as sport's single biggest pay
day next week in Atlanta where a US$10 million bonus in deferred
compensation will go to the overall points champion.
Tiger Woods pumps his fist
after making a bridie putt on the 12th hole during the final round
of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club on Sunday
in Lemont, Illinois.
Woods's 60th victory also left him just two behind Arnold Palmer
for fourth on the all-time list.
"I never, ever would have dreamt that this would happen so
soon," Woods told reporters after becoming just the fifth player to
record 60 PGA Tour wins. "I've been out here 11 years, my 12th
season and to have this many wins...I never could have foreseen
that.
"I've exceeded my expectations and it's been a lot of fun to
enjoy that whole process to get to 60."
The world No 1 began the day trailing third-round leaders
American Steve Stricker and Australian Aaron Baddeley by a single
shot but was quickly on the charge.
A three-times winner at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club,
Woods picked up a shot at the third to join the leaders and shifted
into top gear to reel off three consecutive birdies from the
seventh.
But Woods was unable to pull away as Stricker and Baddeley kept
pace with 13-times major winner to leave all three men deadlocked
with nine to play.
Stricker and Baddeley, however, could not stay with Woods on the
back nine as he kept the pressure on with four more birdies to
match the course record 63, securing his sixth title of the season
with a tournament record winning total of 22-under 262.
Baddeley, who held a two-shot lead going into the final round of
the U.S. Open, returned a five-under 66 to finish runner-up on
20-under 264 with Stricker (68) two strokes further adrift on
266.
"I felt like I was playing good, so I felt like I could keep
matching him," said Baddeley. "And Steve (Stricker) was playing
great too and I was sort of feeding off him as well.
"I feel like I did well this time in that I didn't lose the golf
tournament, he (Woods) won it.
"Shooting eight-under to win a golf tournament is a heck of a
round."
Australia's Adam Scott had a final round 65 to finish alone in
fourth with South African Tim Clark (67) and Briton Justin Rose
(68) tied for fifth on 13-under 271.
Clark made a dramatic charge up the leaderboard on the front
nine, mixing seven birdies with a bogey for a 29, matching the
all-time lowest nine-hole score in the championship's 104-year
history.
But the South African could not sustain the momentum, giving
back two shots with a pair of bogeys after the turn.
(China Daily via Agencies September 11, 2007)
