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Woods cruises to five
shot win
Tiger Woods had a six-stroke
lead and was on top of his game. That meant everyone else was playing for second
Monday in the Memorial Tournament.
Jack Nicklaus wouldn't
be surprised if it were like that every week.
A year ago, Nicklaus watched
Woods hit the ball all over Muirfield Village and save par with a superior short
game to win by two strokes.
This year was different,
but no less amazing.
Woods was in total control
of every shot, except the 7-iron he blasted over the 18th green and into the
gallery. That cost him a chance to break the tournament scoring record, but his
2-under 70 for a 269 was still good enough for a five-stroke victory.
"When you have the ability
to outdistance your opponents by 30 or 40 yards and know exactly what you're
doing and where it's going to go," Nicklaus said, pausing to look at Woods with
disbelief, "you're playing for second every week, unless he doesn't play well."
Everyone else found that
out Monday as the rain-delayed Memorial concluded with
hardly any fist pumps and even fewer dramatics -- just another victory
by Woods.
Ernie Els and Justin Leonard
wound up tied for first in the B-Flight at 274.
"I think everybody out
here is beatable," Leonard said. "You just have to have the right kind of day
and the right week. And this week wasn't it."
Along with successfully
defending a title for the first time in 10 tries, Woods became the first repeat
champion in the 25-year history of the tournament and joined Nicklaus, Tom Watson,
Hale Irwin and Greg Norman as the only players to win the Memorial twice.
"I needed to shoot a good
front nine to increase my lead and make sure the guys didn't have a chance,"
said Woods, who made three birdies inside 4 feet on the front. "I appreciate
every victory I get."
Els got within four strokes
before his lone bogey in a round of 7-under 65. Leonard holed a lob wedge from
81 yards for eagle on No. 5 in his round of 68, giving him his best finish since
a tie for third in the Canadian Open last September.
"This is like tying for
first in the other tournament going on," Leonard said.
Said Els: "If it wasn't
for Tiger, I'd be in good position."
But Woods made his tee
time, and the rest of a cool, gray day at Muirfield Village quickly lost its
suspense. The only question was the margin of victory.
Woods squandered his chance
to break Tom Lehman's tournament scoring record of 268 set in 1994 by failing
to make birdie on any of the par 5s. Needing a birdie on the last hole, he blasted
a 7-iron from 156 yards that hit the cart path and bounded 20 yards up the hill,
finishing closer to the clubhouse than the green. He wound up with a bogey.
"That was one of the worst
shots I've ever seen," Woods said. "I've played in many pro-ams, but wow! I definitely
need some work."
Others might beg to differ.
Woods won for the 11th
time in his last 20 tour events, and has finished out of the top 10 just twice
in his last 25 tournaments around the world. He joined Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw
with 19 career victories on the PGA Tour.
Woods won $558,000, giving
him more than $4.1 million this year -- already the second highest in PGA Tour
history behind his '99 season -- and making him the first player to go over $15
million in career earnings.
"In his own mind, he can
get better," Els said. "In everyone else's mind, he's as good as we want him
to play."
Mike Weir had a 69 to finish
fourth at 276, boosting his bid to become the first Canadian to make the Presidents
Cup team. Steve Lowery, paired with Woods and trying to make up six shots, instead
had a 73 and was at 278 along with Paul Azinger (66) and Steve Flesch
(70), who earned enough money to qualify for the British Open.
That's about what the final
round amounted to -- consolation prizes.
Woods won for the fourth
time this year, giving him 12 victories over the past two seasons, with the second
half of 2000 still to come. The last player to win this much was Nicklaus, who
had 14 victories in the 1972 and '73 seasons.
Nicklaus tried to make
Muirfield Village tougher this year, with thicker rough and smaller greens with
new contours. Those changes were offset by soft, still conditions the last three
rounds -- and by Woods.
"He's just making mincemeat
out of golf courses," Nicklaus said Monday morning after finishing his 25th Memorial
at 5-over 293. "Every time you turn around, it's 63, 64. Guys in the locker room
were saying, 'Jack, this golf course is not that easy.' He's making it look easy."
The closest anyone came
to Woods was when Els birdied the 15th get to 15 under, and Woods made his only
bogey at the 13th to drop to 19 under. But Woods answered with a birdie on his
next hole, Els bogeyed the par-3 16th and order was restored.
Woods is now 17-2 worldwide
in tournaments where he has held at least a share of the 54-hole lead, and the
six-stroke advantage at the start of the final round was his largest since his
nine-stroke lead in the 1997 Masters.
For the second year in
a row, Woods will go into the U.S. Open on a winning note. He made a gallant
bid to win at Pinehurst No. 2 last year, missing a short putt on the 17th, and
wound up two strokes behind Payne Stewart.
Woods said he might attend
a few games in the NBA Finals if his beloved Lakers can finish off Portland.
Otherwise, he'll be aiming for Pebble Beach, where he won on another cool, gray
Monday by making up seven shots over the last seven holes.
This was nowhere near as
dramatic, but it counts as a victory just the same.
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