Tiger Woods won the Chevron World Challenge on Sunday, the one-shot triumph in an unofficial 18-man event his first victory since a 2009 sex scandal shattered his iconic image.
Woods had gone 26 starts worldwide without a victory as personal turmoil was followed by struggles on the course with swing changes and, this year, injuries that curtailed his playing time and stalled his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles at 14.
On Sunday, the former world No.1 delivered under pressure, making birdies at 17 and 18 to erase a one-shot deficit and beat former Masters champion Zach Johnson by one stroke.
“It feels great,” said Woods, who let out a roar as his six-foot birdie putt at the final hole dropped, then shook hands with Johnson as fans at Sherwood Country Club bellowed their approval.
Woods’ final round 69 gave him a 10-under total of 278, while Johnson, who led Woods by one after three rounds, carded a one-under 71 for 279.
Australia’s Jason Day shot a closing 72 and finished 15th, 13 shots behind Woods.
Woods’ last victory had come at the Australian Masters on November 15, 2009. Later that month, he crashed his car outside his Florida home after the night of the US Thanksgiving holiday in an incident that led to the unveiling of his secret sex life.
Asked if he could characterise his feelings at finally ending his victory drought, Woods just beamed.”It feels awesome, whatever it is,” said Woods, who is projected to rise from his current 52nd in the world rankings to 21st.
Final-round scores in the $US5 million Chevron World Challenge golf tournament (USA unless noted, par-72):
278 – Tiger Woods 69-67-73-69
279 – Zach Johnson 73-67-68-71
283 – Paul Casey (ENG) 79-68-67-69
284 – Matt Kuchar 72-67-74-71, Hunter Mahan 72-68-73-71
287 – Jim Furyk 71-74-73-69, Martin Laird (SCO) 77-74-66-70, Rickie Fowler 71-70-75-71, Bubba Watson 75-70-70-72
288 – Bo Van Pelt 74-72-71-71, Gary Woodland 73-70-70-75
289 – K.J. Choi (KOR) 66-73-72-78
290 – Webb Simpson 73-79-68-70, Bill Haas 78-69-69-74
291 – Jason Day (AUS) 74-68-77-72
292 – Steve Stricker 69-76-73-74
298 – Keegan Bradley 76-75-74-73
299 – Nick Watney 71-78-73-77
AAP
