WGC specialist Woods coasts to seven-shot win

WGC specialist Woods coasts to seven-shot win

Mark Lamport-Stokes August 4, 2013







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By Mark Lamport-Stokes

AKRON, Ohio (Reuters) - Tiger Woods eased to a seven-shot victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday, earning his 79th win on the PGA Tour and sounding an ominous warning to his rivals ahead of next week's PGA Championship.

Seven strokes ahead overnight, the world number one left an elite field trailing in his wake as he signed off with an even-par 70 at Firestone Country Club to land a record eighth title in the World Golf Championships (WGC) event.

Woods played rock-steady golf on a warm, blustery afternoon at one his favorite venues, barely making a mistake on the way to a 15-under total of 265 for his fifth PGA Tour title this year in only 11 starts.

With his eighth victory at Firestone, he equaled the mark he already shares with Sam Snead for most wins at a single PGA Tour event.


It also leaves him just three shy of matching the Hall of Famer's record 82 career PGA Tour victories. Since turning professional in late 1996, Woods has won at least five times on the U.S. circuit in 10 separate seasons.

"The total body of work is pretty good," Woods told reporters after earning the winner's check for $1.5 million.

"One thing I'm proud of is obviously how many times I've won, how many World Golf Championships I've won, but also how many years I've won five or more times in a season.

"That's something I'm very proud of is how many tournaments I've been able to win consistently, year-in and year-out, and then how many World Golf Championships I've been able to win."

Fellow American Keegan Bradley, the defending champion, closed with a five-birdie 67 to share second place at eight under with Swede Henrik Stenson (70).
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Tiger Woods of the U.S. watches his third shot on the second hole during the final round of the WGC- …

"It was a really weird feeling because it was like a tournament within a tournament," said Bradley. "Coming in second is a big accomplishment considering Tiger had such a big lead.

"It's very tough to give Tiger that many shots. The round he shot on Friday was pretty special. You know, I hate to sit here and go on and on about how good he is, but he is."

EFFECTIVELY OVER

The tournament was effectively over after Woodsdistanced himself from his rivals with a stunning nine-under 61 on Friday and virtually every spectator on Sunday had eyes firmly focused on the world number one.

The galleries were lined three-to-four deep on the right side of the fairway before Woods teed off in the final round, fans having welcomed him with shouts of "Go Tiger" and "79".
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Tiger Woods of the U.S. cleans his club before his tee shot on the second hole during the final roun …

After using an iron off the tee at the par-four first to find the left portion of the fairway, he struck his approach just short of the green into the rough from where he chipped five feet past the hole and made the putt to save par.

Wearing his trademark Sunday red shirt, Woods played solidly for the next eight holes, lining up mid-range birdie putts on each green while squandering his only close opportunity from six feet at the second.

Out in level-par 35, Woods recorded his only birdie of the day at the par-four 10th, sinking a seven-footer to briefly stretch his advantage to nine strokes.

The quality of his iron play was stellar all day and it came as a surprise when he made his only error of the round with a three-putt bogey from long range at the par-four 14th for his lead to be cut to eight.

That lead then shrank to seven when Bradley birdied the par-four 17th but Woods safely parred his last four holes to complete the 18th WGC win of his career in 42 starts.
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Keegan Bradley of the U.S. watches his second shot on the first hole during the final round of the W …

"Being as blustery as it was, it was going to be really hard for someone to shoot 62 or 63 today," said Woods, who after his round picked up his young son, Charlie, before setting off to sign his card.

"If I didn't give any shots away today and played my game and shot even par or better, I'd have to force these guys to go and shoot something super low on a golf course that wasn't going to give it up under these conditions."

U.S. Open winner Justin Rose carded a 69 to finish at one under, two strokes better than British Open champion Phil Mickelson, who said he lacked the requisite sharpness all week as he signed off with a 71.

Northern Irish world number three Rory McIlroy closed with a 72 to end a largely disappointing week as he prepares for his title defense at the PGA Championship.

"I keep saying my game doesn't feel too far away," said McIlroy. "It's obviously not where I want it to be, but it's not a million miles away."
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Chris Wood of England watches his second shot on the first hole during the final round of the WGC-Br …

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Julian Linden)

Golf-Major queries again surface after Tiger's victory

Golf-Major queries again surface after Tiger's victory

August 4, 2013








By Mark Lamport-Stokes

AKRON, Ohio, Aug 4 (Reuters) - The dust had barely settled after Tiger Woods coasted to a seven-shot victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday when questions were raised about his hunger to end a five-year title drought in the majors.

Woods has not landed one of golf's big four events since his remarkable playoff win at the 2008 U.S. Open, though he will go into next week's PGA Championship at Oak Hill as a heavy favourite after his dominant display at Firestone Country Club.

The world number one was certainly in a class of his own as he spread-eagled a top-quality field at theWorld Golf Championships event, a sizzling nine-under-par 61 on Friday when he flirted with a magical 59 that effectively ending the tournament.

However, Woods has triumphed several times on the PGA Tour in recent years on his final start going into a major, only to fall short in his bid to increase his career tally of 14 victories in golf's blue riband events.

Asked by reporters if his hunger for the majors had increased with each missed opportunity over the past five years, Woods replied: "As far as wanting it more than any other, no.

"It's the same. Those are the events that we try and peak for and try and win. There are four of them a year and next week, it's important for me to get some rest come Monday and Tuesday.

"Come Thursday I've got a great pairing with Keegan and Davis. Basically just try and get a feel for the golf course and how it's playing."

Woods, a four-times winner of the PGA Championship, has been paired with former champions Keegan Bradley and Davis Love III in Thursday's opening round at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.

"Do I want it (a major win) any more? No, it's the same," said Woods, who has clinched a major only four of 19 times after winning on his previous PGA Tour start, most recently at the 2007 PGA Championship.

'Each and every major, I always want them. I've been successful 14 times, and hopefully next week will be 15."

Perhaps the biggest boost for Woods at Firestone, where he closed with a level-par 70 for a 15-under total of 265 to earn a record eighth Bridgestone Invitational title was the quality of iron play all week.


SHARP IRON PLAY

Woods felt that department of his game was just as sharp as it had been in last month's British Open at Muirfield where his title bid was ultimately undone by poor putting.

"I felt like this week, it's a continuation of the British Open," the 37-year-old American said. "I hit it really good there, I just didn't make anything (on the greens) after the first day.

"Once the speed (of the greens) started changing, I didn't adjust to it very well, and consequently I didn't win the tournament."

Woods ended up sixth at Muirfield after battling to a three-over-par 74 in the final round.

"I felt like I had the same type of control this week as I did at the British Open," Woods said. "Only difference is I had one hot putting day here, and the last two days I didn't really need to.

"I had a big lead and just had to make sure my speed was good and protect that with pars. But ball-striking wise I feel after coming off my injury at the U.S. Open very proud of what I've been able to do the last two tournaments."

Apart from putting, the Achilles' heel for Woods at the majors in recent years has mainly been his driving accuracy but he performed relatively well in that area at Firestone on a long and challenging layout.

Bradley, who played with Woods during Saturday's third round when the world number one preserved his seven-stroke advantage by shooting a 68, has been mightily impressed.

"He's playing very well," said Bradley, who ended up in a tie for second on his title defence at Firestone. "It's very tough to give Tiger that many shots. The round he shot on Friday was pretty special.

"You know, I hate to sit here and go on and on about how good he is, but he is. Any time you defend a title it's a little stressful, and in my eyes I almost won. I almost defended, considering what Tiger is doing.

"But I really enjoy playing with Tiger. He's super great to me, and I look forward to playing with him and Davis in the PGA next week."

The PGA Championship will be played at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York from Aug. 8-11. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Julian Linden)

A Lesson Learned: It's all about putting

A Lesson Learned: It's all about putting

Frank Sneed, PGA August 4, 2013








I think we've all seen this Tiger Woods before. Dominant. In control. Confident. Runaway winner.

This weekend of golf was enjoyable, but it wasn't really dramatic. After Tiger's 61 (and flirting with a 59) on Friday, most of the fans, the media and even the other players knew this one was pretty much wrapped up. But here's something you may not have known: Tiger's 61 wasn't due to great ball-striking. Would it surprise to know he only hit 9 of 14 fairways and only 13 of 18 greens in regulation?

No, his score and his win came because Woods made every putt he looked at - especially the ones of consequence. On Friday, Woods took only 22 putts over the course of 18 holes. I'll repeat that: 22 putts over 18 holes! That included a 23-footer for par on No. 6 and a 26-footer for par on No. 18. A bogey or two in the round could have disrupted his momentum and belief that he'd make everything. Instead, these made putts reinforced his confidence. You saw the result. Wow.

This week's "A Lesson Learned" is quite simple - Work on your putting! You hear it all the time, you probably understand it's true, but I bet you're still one of those who pull out the driver every chance you get in your practice time and whale away with the big stick. I get it, it's fun. But that's not going to be the club that changes your score for the better. Not like being a better putter would do it.

I like to recommend a very simple drill to my students to make them better putters. I put them on the practice green and ask them to putt cross-handed.


That's it.

For a right-handed golfer, have your left hand lower on the grip than your right hand, the left hand will guide the stroke while the right hand is only there to provide stability. Doing so will give you a much better feel for the role of the hands, arms and shoulders during the putting stroke. Spend 15-20 minutes with this technique, you'll be a better putter I promise.

Some of my students like this so much, they adopt this form for their regular rounds. But even those that do not understand the value of spending time on the green doing everything they can to develop a more consistent, repeatable and fundamentally sound putting stroke. This will help do that.

Tiger Woods has so much talent in every facet of golf - but he's not the world's No. 1 player because he's the best driver of the golf ball. When he dominates, it's because he's untouchable on the greens. You'll play your best golf when you perform the best with the putter as well.

Good luck!

Frank Sneed is a PGA professional at St. Ives Country Club in Johns Creek, GA. Sneed provides private and group instruction for players of all levels. You can follow him on Twitter@sneedpgaor email him atsneed@pga.com