Woods edges out Waite for 9th win of 2000

Tiger Woods has a shot for every occasion.

Pushed to the limits by an unlikely challenger, Woods completed golf's great summer in style today with a 6-iron from a fairway bunker, over the water and right at the flag, to win the Bell Canadian Open by one stroke over Grant Waite.

"When pressure is at its peak, that's when your concentration level is at its highest," Woods said. "It builds to a crescendo.''

Woods chipped from the back of the green to a foot and tapped in for birdie to close out a 7-under-par 65 and his sixth victory in eight tournaments this summer (starting with the Memorial Tournament). Three of them were majors, one of them gave him the career Grand Slam, and all of them were filled with unforgettable shots.

His last five victories included some kind of scoring record -- 12-under par at the U.S. Open, 19-under par at the British Open, 18-under par at the PGA Championship, and a 21-under 259 at the NEC Invitational.

Woods was 22-under over his final 49 holes this week and finished at 266, the lowest 72-hole score in the 22 years that the Canadian Open has been played at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

 

Tiger Woods in full flow. LET.

"I've had a wonderful summer,'' Woods said.

He was nearly flawless today, and had to be. Waite, a runner-up for the second straight week in Canada, matched him stroke-for-stroke and put the pressure on with a 5-iron into the par-5 18th green that left him a 20-foot eagle attempt that could have forced a playoff or perhaps snatched a victory away from Woods.

"Grant forced my hand,'' Woods said.

Woods went right at the flag, the ball landed about 18 feet behind the hole. Waite missed his eagle try and had to settle for a 66 and one stroke short of winning, just like he was in Vancouver last week.

"My goal was not to get too caught up in the hype,'' Waite said. "I gave him a run for the money.''

Indeed, neither player made a bogey and they combined for 13 birdies to turn the final round into a memorable duel.

"The only way to beat him is to outplay him,'' Waite said. "Right now, that's a difficult task. He's an extraordinary player who comes along once every generation -- or his this case, maybe once in forever.''

Woods won for the third straight time, and for the ninth time this year, the most PGA Tour victories in one year since Sam Snead won 11 times in 1950. He earned $594,000, giving him more money in his last 38 tournaments -- $14.9 million -- than anyone else in their career.

And Woods can now add the Triple Crown to the Grand Slam he completed by winning the British Open at St. Andrews. He became the only other player besides Lee Trevino in 1971 to win the U.S. Open, British Open, and Canadian Open in the same year.

Those are the three oldest national championships in golf, all of them conquered by a 24-year-old who knows no limits.

And his knack for dramatic finishes has no end.

Woods had the outright lead for only six holes in the tournament. He grabbed it for good on the par-5 16th with a 12-foot birdie putt. Woods pointed to the cup -- a gesture that has replaced his famous fist pump -- as the ball disappeared to give him a one-stroke lead with two holes to play.

With rain starting to fall, Woods missed his first green on the 17th, but managed to blast out of the bunker to a foot to save par, a tremendous shot since he had so little green between the sand and the flag.

And despite the pressure Waite applied at the end, Woods had an answer -- much to Waite's disbelief.

"The guy takes out a 6-iron, fires at the flag, with the tournament on the line,'' he said, shaking his head in wonder. "I told him after we where through, 'You're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to hit at the middle of the green.'

"He said, 'The shot was on.' I guess it was.''

Sergio Garcia, who beat Woods 1-up in their made-for-TV exhibition last week in California, had a 67 but was never a factor and finished seven strokes behind.

Waite stayed with Woods the whole day, but fell victim to the 50,000 people who crammed into Glen Abbey. The click of cameras from the gallery distracted him on his drive on the 16th and it flared out to the right, leaving him no chance to reach the green in two. He missed an 18-footer from the fringe, and Woods took advantage.

"If you make a mistake, he'll leave you,'' Waite said.

Woods now has 24 PGA Tour victories in a career that spans just over four years. And he gets a much-deserved break -- taking the next five weeks off before The Presidents Cup.

The only other time Waite had played with Woods was the 1993 Byron Nelson Classic, where they both missed the cut. Of course, Woods was still in high school and so much has changed.

Woods, who became the youngest player to complete the Grand Slam, has become the biggest star in sports and draws galleries more suited for major championships everywhere he goes.

Waite's goal was to simple.

"Keep putting one foot in front of the other,'' he had said after the third round. He wound up going stride for stride, and stroke for stroke, with Woods.

Waite took the lead with a 6-foot birdie putt on the second hole -- Woods missed from just inside him -- and made an 8-footer on top of Woods on the next hole to stay in front. By the end of nine holes, it became a two-man race.

Woods took his first lead of the tournament with a wedge that spun back to 4 feet for birdie on No. 6, but Waite caught him again with a similar shot on No. 9, and both headed into Glen Abbey's valley tied for the lead.

They remained that way, matching birdies on the 13th and 14th. Neither player missed a green until Waite found the fringe on No. 15, but both made pars.

Because three of the final six holes are par-5s -- and no one hits the ball as long as Woods -- it figured to be only a matter of time before he wound up a winner once again.

Waite gave him a stiffer test than anyone imagined, but was done in by one bad swing on the 16th. Against Woods, that's usually one too many.

DIVOTS: Waite was the only player to record four rounds in the 60s. ... Because heavy rain was in the forecast, the "lift, clean and place'' policy was in effect for the final round. ... Frank Nobilo made a hole-in-one on No. 3, a 7-iron from 156 yards and won a 2001 Lincoln LS. It also helped him to a 67, his best round of the year since his first round of the year (at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic). ... Derek Gillespie was the low Canadian, close with a 71 for 283. Mike Weir, who had never made the cut in nine previous Canadian Opens, was 73-74 on the weekend and finished at 290. ... Woods is now 21-2 worldwide in 72-hole official money events when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

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