Tiger Woods Wins Second Career Players Championship
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press
Going into this week, Tiger Woods has had limited success at the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course. Since his lone win on the course in 2001, the Jupiter Island resident had posted only one top 10 win and had not posted four consecutive rounds under par at the Pete Dye designed course since 2003. That was then, this is now.
Woods has already had one of his more successful seasons in the past few years. Playing like the Woods of old, Tiger had already accumulated three victories on tour in 2013 as well as a fourth place finish at the Masters. Despite his early season success, Woods had never been able to get comfortable on the Stadium Course in his career. That, coupled with his three week layoff after the Masters, had many of the golf pundits wondering if he would be able to win the event.
Tiger proved everybody wrong, playing nearly perfect golf for four straight days on a course that has been named one of the toughest on tour. Shooting rounds of 67-67-70-71, Tiger maneuvered his way around the course and made it look easy, just like he did in the early 2000's when he would make even the toughest courses look easy. With the exception of his tee shot on the 14th hole on Sunday, Woods never appeared to struggle on the way to his fourth victory of the season, the fastest he has ever gotten to four wins in a season in his career.
Going into 14 with a two shot lead, Woods sent his ball into the water that ran along the fairway to the left side, a double bogey 6 on that hole brought him back to the pack and giving Sergio Garcia and David Lingmerth new life again. Woods didn't let that errant tee shot get to him though. He calmly parred 15 and birdied 16 to get his lead back. While he doing this, his counterparts behind him were falling apart. Garcia hit two balls in the water on the famed 17th island hole and Lingmerth missed his birdie putt on 18 that would have forced a playoff with Woods.
It was another milestone win for Woods. Not only was it his second career victory ever on Mother's Day, but it also puts him only four behind Sam Snead for most ever victories on tour. This past weekend was also Wood's 300th career start on tour. He won on both his 100th and 200th start and can now add 300 to his list of victories.
Woods will take the next two weeks off as he prepares for a three week swing at the end of May that includes The Memorial and The U.S. Open. For complete coverage of The Players Championship and other PGA Tour events, visit www.pgatour.com.
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