Sutton holds off Woods to win by one

Hal Sutton relished a chance to beat Tiger Woods and got all he could handle today before holding on for a one-stroke victory in The Players Championship.

Seventeen years after first winning the PGA Tour's most lucrative event, Sutton never lost his focus amidst another thrilling charge by Woods. He closed with pars on the final two terrorizing holes on the TPC at Sawgrass.

"Coming down the stretch with Tiger ... I knew he was going to play great," Sutton said. "The thing I did best today was stay focused on what I had to do."

Returning to the Stadium Course because storms suspended the final round Sunday, Sutton made seven pars to complete a wire-to-wire victory with a 1-under 71. He finished at 278 and earned $1,080,000 from the $6 million purse, the richest in golf.

Woods needed a birdie on the last hole for a chance at a playoff, but hit his approach into a swale behind the green and chipped up close for par. He also finished with a 71.

Sutton's approach shot, played after Woods had gone over the green, covered the flag.

"Be the right club today," Sutton urged. It landed about 8 feet in front of the hole. Sutton let out a "Yes!" and shared a hard slap of the hand with his longtime caddie, Freddie Burns.

Woods looked over and gave him a thumbs-up. Even though he didn't win, Woods heads to The Masters with three victories and three second-place finishes the seven tournaments he has played this year.

"I'm a little disappointed I didn't win," Woods said. "But at least I made Hal work for it."

Woods earned $648,000, pushing his season earnings to over $3.2 million, the third highest single-season total in PGA Tour history -- through just seven events.

Sutton had been here before. His victory in the 1983 Players Championship also finished on a Monday because of bad weather. That was a one-stroke victory over Bob Eastwood.

Today's test came against the No. 1 player in the world with a penchant for dramatic comebacks.

Three strokes back with three holes to play, Woods made a 12-foot eagle putt at the 16th, pumping his fist like he did on the Stadium Course six years ago when he won the first of his three straight U.S. Amateur titles.

As he had done throughout the entire final round, Sutton never blinked.

While no lead is safe going to the island-green 17th, it was playing as easy as it has all week because of the overnight rain and lack of wind. Woods, with a chance to put pressure on Sutton, spun his wedge back into the rough and had to make a 6-footer for par.

Sutton played it safe to the middle of the green and got his par.

It was the 12th PGA Tour victory of his career, and fourth since he turned 40 during a resurgence that showed why he was once regarded as the next Nicklaus. That mantle now belongs to Woods, and Sutton was up to the challenge.

"Hal has always been a great competitor," Woods said. "Even when he wasn't playing his best, he was trying. You show up in the final group, you're going to be determined."

Five players tied for third at 284 -- Nick Price (who finished Sunday), Jeff Maggert, Scott Dunlap, Colin Montgomerie, and Robert Damron.

Sutton looked like he was about to deliver a knockout punch when the siren sounded at 4:45 p.m. Sunday because of lightning in the area, and heavy rains that followed suspended the final round until today.

He was everything he said he would be -- hitting fairways and greens, forcing Woods to make birdies. Instead, Woods missed five straight putts from 15 feet or less.

Sutton could look back to a couple of turning points.

His feet awkwardly planted in the shaggy grass above the ball, he blasted out of the bunker at the par-3 eighth to 10 feet and saved his par. It was the first green he missed, and the first key putt he made.

Then at the 11th, Woods hit a delicate bump-and-run up the slope to 6 feet, while Sutton's chip from the rough rolled back down the hill to 30 feet. Sutton sank the birdie putt, then Woods pulled his to the left, giving Sutton a three-stroke lead.

Woods has come back from worse -- seven strokes back with seven holes to play at Pebble Beach, a victory that only added to his mystique. But that came against Matt Gogel, a PGA Tour rookie. This was against Sutton, a proven champion with a point to prove.

The only thing not in Sutton's favor now is the next step. No Players Championship winner has gone on to win The Masters, and Sutton hasn't made the cut at Augusta National since 1985.

Lightning forces finish to Monday

Hal Sutton got the challenge he wanted and played the way he expected. The only thing that stopped him from winning his showdown against Tiger Woods in The Players Championship today was the weather.

Sutton was nearly flawless for 11 holes in building a three-stroke lead over Woods when thunderstorms drenched the TPC at Sawgrass and suspended the final round until Monday. Play will resume at 9 a.m. EST.

"Obviously, I'd have liked to keep playing," Sutton said.

No wonder. Sutton didn't miss any fairways and only one green, and that followed a bunker shot that he ranks among the best of his career to save par.

Woods failed to birdie three par 5s, twice had to get up-and-down for bogey, and bolted off the course when the siren sounded.

When play resumes, Woods will have a 40-foot birdie putt on the 12th, while Sutton has 82 yards left for his second shot from -- where else? -- the fairway.

"Things aren't going exactly the way I wanted," Woods said with a smile.

But he wasn't exactly counting himself out. Remember, his record is 1-0 in Monday finishes, having stormed from seven strokes behind with seven holes to play last month to win at Pebble Beach.

And no lead is safe as long as the island-green 17th is still to be played.

"Three shots back is nothing on a golf course with the trouble that's out there," Woods said. "If there's any golf course you want to play when you're behind, it's one like this."

Sutton also has a little history on his side. He won The Players Championship in 1983, the last time weather forced a Monday finish.

"I was thinking about that up in the locker room," he said. "I don't know if that has anything to do with anything, but it was nice to think about."

What matters more is his play, and he had few complaints after an abbreviated day that featured rock-steady play by Sutton and several blown opportunities by both players.

From the first cut of rough after a 3-wood that traveled 323 yards, Woods hit a wedge into 10 feet for birdie on the first hole to tie Sutton at 9-under.

That turned out to be the only birdie on the front nine.

After Woods missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second hole that would have given him the lead, he had to chip for par from the fringe on the next two holes because of a bad lie in the bunker on No. 3 and a chunked chip out of the ankle-deep rough on the fourth.

He bogeyed both, and was lucky to be only two strokes down.

While Sutton was everything he promised to be -- fairways and greens -- he couldn't get a putt to fall. His 6-footer on the first hole was halfway in before it lipped out. He missed from 12 feet on No. 12, from 10 feet on No. 3, and from 6 feet on No. 4.

Rarely can one miss so many opportunities without it coming back to cost him later. But Sutton didn't flinch, and Woods failed to apply pressure by missing birdie putts of 15 feet or less on the next five holes.

"I stayed in my game plan," Sutton said.

His putter didn't desert him the entire day. On two occasions, when it seemed as though Woods was poised to cut into the lead, Sutton responded with huge putts and that strong, uppercut fist pump that was such a common sight during the Ryder Cup Matches last September.

His feet awkwardly planted in the shaggy grass above the ball, he blasted out of the bunker on the par-3 eighth to 10 feet and saved his par. It was the first green he missed, and the first key putt he made.

"I was thinking this could be big, really turnaround one way or the other," Sutton said. "I made sure I stayed in the shot and just flushed it. I couldn't have dreamed it any closer than that."

Then on the 11th, Woods hit a delicate bump-and-run up the slope to 6 feet, while Sutton's chip from the rough rolled back down the hill to 30 feet. Sutton sank the putt, and Woods pulled his to the left, leaving Sutton with a three-stroke lead.

Nick Price had a 5-under 67 today and was in the clubhouse at 4-under 284. He was tied with Colin Montgomerie, Jeff Maggert, Lee Janzen, and Tom Lehman, who were all still on the course.

Tournament officials said they were confident that, despite the rain, the greens would be at the same speed when play resumes Monday.

The final seven holes almost certainly will come down to Sutton and Woods, which is exactly what both of them wanted. For Sutton, it's a chance to prove he can tame the No. 1 player in the world. For Woods, it's simply another chance to win.

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