Tiger Woods opened his 2013 PGA season with a victory in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Back on the course where he won the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods delivered a vintage 14-under performance amidst the fog that plagued the event, causing the fourth round to stretch into Monday. Although his struggles on the final holes brought him closer to the field on the leaderboard, Woods appeared in a class of his own throughout much of the tournament. Woods carried a six-shot lead into Monday with 11 holes to play.
Sporting his signature Sunday red shirt beneath a black vest as he played the South Course on Monday, Woods relegated Jimmy Walker, Nick Watney, Josh Teater and Brandt Snedeker to scrambling for second place. Although a double-bogey on the 15th hole and a bogey on 17 added a glimmer of drama to Woods’ final shots, Snedeker and Teater still finished four strokes back in a tie for second place.
Per PGA.com, Woods’ largest margin of victory was a 12-stroke triumph at the 1997 Masters. Before working through a bit of adversity toward the end of his last round, Woods had stretched his lead to eight strokes and looked like he could make a push for his fifth ever double-digit margin.
“It got a little ugly toward the end,” Woods said after the win. “I started losing patience a little bit with the slow play. I lost my concentration a little bit.”
Coming with far less drama than his Torrey Pines playoff win over Rocco Mediate at the ’08 Open, this was Woods’ eighth career win at Torrey Pines and his 75th PGA Tour win overall. The 37-year-old Woods began his 2013 campaign in Abu Dhabi last week but failed to make the cut after being penalized for incorrectly taking a drop during the second round.
“I think he wanted to send a message,” said Hunter Mahan, who finished at 6-under and tied for 15th place. “I think deep down he did. You play some games to try to motivate yourself. There’s been so much talk about Rory (McIlroy). Rory is now with Nike. That would be my guess.”
Tiger Woods wins his 75th career PGA TOUR event. He has now won 49 of 53 times (92.5%) with at least a share of the 54-hole lead.
Despite dropping four shots over the last five holes, he still managed an even-par 72 for a four-shot victory on the course where he has won more than any other in his pro career.
He won the tournament for the seventh time, one behind the record held by Sam Snead, who won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times. It was the eighth time Woods won at Torrey Pines, which includes his playoff win in the 2008 U.S Open.
This one was never close.
Woods built a six-shot lead with 11 holes to play when the final round of the fog-delayed tournament was suspended Sunday by darkness. He returned Monday — a late morning restart because CBS Sports wanted to show it in the afternoon on the East Coast — and looked stronger than ever until the tournament dragged to a conclusion.
All that affected was the score. It kept him from another big margin of victory, though the message was clear about his game long before that.
One week after he missed the cut in Abu Dhabi, he ruled at Torrey Pines.
It was his 75th career win, seven short of the Snead’s all-time tour record.
Like so many of his big wins, the only drama was for second place.
Woods effectively won this tournament in the final two hours Sunday, when he stretched his lead to six shots with only 11 holes to play. Nick Watney made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth when play resumed to get within five shots, only to drop three shots on the next five holes.
Everyone else started too far behind, and Woods wasn’t about to come back to them.
Even so, the red shirt seemed to put him on edge. It didn’t help that as he settled over his tee shot on the par-5 ninth, he backed off when he heard a man behind the ropes take his picture.
He didn’t show much reaction on perhaps his most memorable shot of the day — with his legs near the edge of a bunker some 75 feet to the left of the 11th green, he blasted out to the top shelf and watched the ball take dead aim until it stopped a foot short.
More than his 75th career win, it was a strong opening statement for what could be a fascinating 2013.
Before anyone projects a monster year for Woods based on one week — especially when that week is at Torrey Pines — remember that he just missed the cut last week in Abu Dhabi.
Woods said he wasn’t playing much differently, and would have liked two more rounds in the Middle East. Instead, a two-shot penalty for a bad drop sent him home.
Still, in healthier and happier times he usually was sharp coming after a long layoff. Throw out the trip to the Arabian Gulf, and he is.
Was this a statement?
Still, Woods played a different game than everyone else at Torrey Pines.
“He looked strong,” Mahan said. “He had great control of his swing. He was hitting some strong shots, different from any other player I saw out here.”
Woods is not likely to return to golf until the Match Play Championship next month.
Source: Huffingtonpost.com
