Goosen holds off Woods to claim victory

Retief Goosen won the Tour Championship by four strokes today as Tiger Woods "putted like a blind man".

Woods squandered a lead on the final round of a PGA event for only the third time in his career.

Fast-finishing Goosen, the US Open champion, was four strokes behind co-leaders Woods and Jay Haas when the day began. But he fired a final round six-under par 64, the day's lowest score, to finish 72 holes on 11-under par 269.

Mark Hensby was the leading Australian, six shots behind the winner.

"It's great to finish the season off this way. It has been a great year," said Goosen.

A disappointed Woods had won 30 of 32 previous times when he held the lead heading into the final round on the PGA Tour.

"Very disappointed. It was a golden opportunity to win a tournament," said Woods said.

"Four shots ahead, I was looking forward to shooting something in the 60s to win the tournament. But obviously that didn't happen.

"I feel very bad. I feel like I should have won the tournament."

The last time he led after 54 holes but failed to win was the 2000 Tour Championship, when Phil Mickelson won the crown. The only previous time was in 1996 when Ed Fiori denied then-rookie Woods his first title at Quad Cities.

"I started out good and just putted like a blind man," said Woods.

"I could hit the ball or put but I could never get both at the same time. I looked up on the board and Goose is making birdie after birdie and I said, 'Where are you going, bro?"'

Goosen opened and closed the front nine with birdies, adding another at the third, to move into contention.

A run a three birdies in four holes starting at the 13th lifted him atop the leaderboard for good.

"At the start of the day I thought 11 or 12-under (would win)," said Goosen. "When I saw Tiger and Jay got off to a bad start I thought nine-under would be a good score."

Woods struggled to bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes, ending his hopes of catching Goosen. After taking bogeys on three of the first seven holes, Woods birdied three of the next eight but could not catch Goosen.

Newly-wed Woods displayed improved form over much of his season, which included only one triumph. That came in February at the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship.

Haas, a 51-year-old American trying for his first title since 1993, faded on the front nine and went double bogey-bogey at 16 and 17 to end his hopes.

"My putter just went south toward the end of the round. I just had no touch, no feel," said Haas. "I couldn't hit it well enough to get away with anything. I'm not going to hang myself. It was a difficult day."

Asked if he would stay on the main tour or head for the over-50 circuit, a disappointed Haas said he felt like giving up altogether after blowing a lead.

"I just feel like I want to crawl in a hole and not play a tour anywhere. I'll get over it," he said. "I'll be ready when it comes time. I still love competing with these guys."

World No.1 Vijay Singh, who displaced Woods atop the rankings in September, failed in his bid for a 10th victory of the season. A final-round 65 left him ninth on 277.

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