subject: Woods Is Upstaged in Last Shot of Year [print this page] Woods Is Upstaged in Last Shot of Year Woods Is Upstaged in Last Shot of Year
Woods had taken a lead of more than two strokes into the final day of an event 28 times in his professional career and had always won. And though he had struggled mightily this year, Woods was back to striking the ball well enough to have played the five par 5s at Sherwood Country Club in 12 under par in the first three rounds.
And yet, to all the other things Cleveland 588DSG Wedge lost in 2010 tournaments; his No. 1 ranking; his marriage; his longtime swing coach, Hank Haney one can add this: his intimidation factor.
He backed up his words by erasing Woods's lead on the 13th hole and rebounding from a bogey on the penultimate hole to sink two 20-foot putts one on 18 to force a playoff and the second, on the first hole of sudden death, for a birdie and the victory.
"I was aware that he's a pretty good player and a pretty good closer," McDowell said with a laugh, "so to be the guy to break that run is pretty special."After breaking 70 in the first three rounds, Woods carded a one-over 73 to McDowell's 69, as both finished with a 72-hole total of 16-under 272.
"Cleveland CG14 Wedgeis a pretty special feeling to go out there four back and do the job," McDowell said. His final two putts, he added, "were the stuff of dreams."It was a disappointing finish for Woods, who had jumped out to the lead in the first round and held it in a python's grip until the 13th hole, where he made a double-bogey 7 and McDowell posted a birdie to take a two-stroke lead.
Woods finished the year without a victory in 15 stroke-play events, including 12 on the PGA Tour, the first time he had gone winless over a season since he turned professional in 1996."It was a great week even though I didn't win," said Woods, who sat out the first four months because of tumult in his personal life and has spent the past four months retooling his swing with his new coach, Sean Foley.
"Even though I lost and made countless mistakes in the middle part of the round," Woods said, "it said a lot for me to come back and put my swing back together again."Woods three-putted two of the first three greens for bogeys but played well down the stretch.
He stuck his tee shot on the par-3 17th but missed the birdie putt. On the par-4 18th, both players were on the green in two. McDowell was away. To have any chance of winning, he knew he had to make his long putt because Woods, perhaps the best clutch putter in the game, had hit his ball within 5 feet.
McDowell struck a perfect putt, which Woods, a four-time winner of this event, answered to send both golfers back to the 18th tee for the first playoff in the tournament's 12-year history. Woods said he expected McDowell to make both those long putts. Did McDowell?
"I'm trying to hole them, of course," McDowell said. "I've putted these greens great this week, but you don't expect to hole putts like that. You just try to give yourself the opportunity. Sometimes they fall in, and sometimes they don't. But they were pretty incredible back-to-back putts.TaylorMade R9 Driveris pretty special."
In the playoff, Woods hit his approach to 15 feet. McDowell had a 20-footer from nearly the same spot as his previous one, but was more relaxed, he said, because he knew Woods's putt was not easy. The tougher of the two putts, mentally, he said, was "probably the first one because it was an all or nothing."
He added, "They're the kind of putts that you make them and you can't really believe it afterwards."McDowell's best putt, he said, came on the 17th hole, when he got up and down for bogey after his tee shot landed in waist-deep grass and he had to take a drop. Woods's tee shot landed close to the pin, but he missed his birdie putt."Managed to get it done there and hole a clutch putt," he said.
At the event last year, McDowell was Woods's replacement. He finished second after being summoned when Woods withdrew because of injuries sustained in a car accident that pulled the curtain back on his serial adultery.
