Woods turns 60 with clinical PGA victory

LEMONT, Illinois: Tiger Woods produced a flawless final round 63 to win his 60th career PGA Tour title by two shots at the BMW Championship on Sunday.

The win moved Woods to the top of the FedExCup standings heading into the Tour Championships next week at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which will be limited to the top 30 players.

The $1.26 million winner's cheque pushed Woods's career earnings over $75 million. The 31-year-old American will have a chance to add what is being billed as sport's single biggest pay day next week in Atlanta where a $10 million bonus in deferred compensation will go to the overall points champion.

Woods's 60th victory also left him just two behind Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list.

"I never, ever would have dreamt that this would happen so soon," Woods told reporters after becoming just the fifth player to record 60 PGA Tour wins. "I've been out here 11 years, my 12th season and to have this many wins...I never could have foreseen that.

"I've exceeded my expectations and it's been a lot of fun to enjoy that whole process to get to 60."

The world No 1 began the day trailing third-round leaders American Steve Stricker and Australian Aaron Baddeley by a single shot but was quickly on the charge.

A three-times winner at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, Woods picked up a shot at the third to join the leaders and shifted into top gear to reel off three consecutive birdies from the seventh.

But Woods was unable to pull away as Stricker and Baddeley kept pace with 13-times major winner to leave all three men deadlocked with nine to play.

Stricker and Baddeley, however, could not stay with Woods on the back nine as he kept the pressure on with four more birdies to match the course record 63, securing his sixth title of the season with a tournament record winning total of 22-under 262.

Baddeley, who held a two-shot lead going into the final round of the U.S. Open, returned a five-under 66 to finish runner-up on 20-under 264 with Stricker (68) two strokes further adrift on 266.

"I felt like I was playing good, so I felt like I could keep matching him," said Baddeley. "And Steve (Stricker) was playing great too and I was sort of feeding off him as well.

"I feel like I did well this time in that I didn't lose the golf tournament, he (Woods) won it.

"Shooting eight-under to win a golf tournament is a heck of a round."

Australia's Adam Scott had a final round 65 to finish alone in fourth with South African Tim Clark (67) and Briton Justin Rose (68) tied for fifth on 13-under 271.

Clark made a dramatic charge up the leaderboard on the front nine, mixing seven birdies with a bogey for a 29, matching the all-time lowest nine-hole score in the championship's 104-year history.

But the South African could not sustain the momentum, giving back two shots with a pair of bogeys after the turn.

Agencies

(China Daily 09/11/2007 page23)