Better late than never
Tiger Woods' stellar third-round performance just got a little help from a crumbling leaderboard. Can you even wait for Sunday?
Well thats golf! Tomorrow its gonna be fun. Tiger will be playing last because he signed his card first and guess what? He will be in knowledge of whats happening in front of him. Lets have another fun day.
Capitol Hill said:Hapana mkuu Tiger is not playing last kwa sababu amesign card yake first. Tiger is playing in the final pairing kwa sababu he's shot 63 and Shawn O'Hair ame shoot 66. These are the best scores of the day ndio maana wana pata honor ya kuwa the last group.
ORLANDO said:-- Arnold Palmer was walking into the locker room Saturday morning at Bay Hill when he bumped into Tiger Woods, who recently surpassed him on the PGA TOUR's career victory list by winning every tournament since September.
"He told me to get off my butt and play a good round," Woods said.
He responded with birdies on the three toughest holes at Bay Hill for a 4-under 66 and a five-way tie for the lead. The King must have said something to Mother Nature, too, for blustery conditions that contributed to a series of spectacular crashes late in the afternoon turned the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard into quite a show.
Nine players had at least a share of the lead at one point in the third round. When the zany, windy and splash-filled afternoon finally ended, Woods was in a familiar position as he tries to extend a winning streak that spans seven months and keep alive the ridiculed notion of a perfect season.
Woods will be in the final pairing Sunday with Sean O'Hair, who won last week at Innisbrook and gave himself a chance for another victory at Bay Hill with a 63, a round he finished before the leaders even teed off. They were at 6-under 204, joined by Bart Bryant (68), Bubba Watson (68) and Vijay Singh, whose 73 made this all possible.
Singh had a two-shot lead and showed no signs of a struggle until dropping five shots in a four-hole stretch in his front nine of 40. He hit three balls into the water, but chipped in from 30 feet for par on the last miscue to stay in the hunt.
It was the largest log jam in the 30-year history at Bay Hill, and the largest on the PGA TOUR since a five-way tie for the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2005.
Woods never looked to be part of it until two spectacular shots in the toughest conditions. He carved a 4-iron around the trees to 2 feet on the 15th hole for a birdie, then followed that with a 7-iron that held up against the wind and dropped softly to 3 feet right of the flag. It was one of only three birdies at the 16th, the scene of so much calamity that followed.
"I've played my way back into the tournament," said Woods, who finished two hours before the round ended and had no idea he would be in the final pairing for the fifth straight time on the PGA TOUR. Woods is 42-3 when he has at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR, but two of those three losses came when he shared the lead with someone else. He has never started a final round tied with more than one player.
And it's not just the other four still in the hunt. Sixteen players were separated by a mere three shots heading into the final round. One of them was Hunter Mahan, who bogeyed two of his final five holes and still shot 65. He was one shot behind at 205. By all rights, it's anyone's tournament. Sort of.
"It's pretty much Tiger's game," Bryant said. "When Tiger plays great, he's tough to beat. The guy has won six or seven in a row or something, and he's not playing great and he's tied for the lead. So you figure he's got to play good at some point. But not to say that somebody can't go out and play a great round and beat him. And not to say he's going to play perfect golf, either.
"It's definitely there for the taking." Over the last two hours, Bay Hill did most of the taking. Singh got it all started by taking double bogey on the par-5 sixth with a tee shot in the water, and another ball in the pond in front of the eighth green that led to bogey. He was the only one who truly recovered. The big Fijian birdied the next two holes, then escaped trouble on the 16th when he chipped in for par from 30 feet after hitting yet another ball in the water.
Nick Watney made two eagles, the second one at No. 12 to take a two-shot lead. He came unraveled with a tee shot out-of-bounds, another shot into the water and a putt he missed from 4 feet -- all on the 16th hole, leading to a quadruple-bogey 8. He went from the lead to 12th, and wound up in a five-way tie for seventh, only two shots behind.
"I'm closer to the lead than when I started," Watney said.
Bryant hit a 4-iron into the water on the 16th, but escaped with bogey when he holed a 12-foot putt. "To hit that good of a drive on that tough of a hole, and walk out of there with a double bogey, that would have been a killer," Bryant said. "It was a huge putt for me." Carl Pettersson, playing in the final group with Singh, opened with nine straight pars to join the leaders. Then the Swede pulled his tee shot on the 10th and went out-of-bounds, making double bogey.
O'Hair had no such worries, playing most of his round during a lull in the windy conditions. He played superbly, particularly on the back nine when he hit 3-wood to 7 feet for eagle on No. 12, wedge into 4 feet for birdie on No. 13, then holing a chip from 65 feet for birdie on the next hole. He signed for his 63 about 20 minutes before Singh even teed off, not knowing that he would end up in the lead.
Woods finally found the right speed on the greens, and it helped that he made birdies in some unlikely spots. Blocked by the trees on the 15th, he played a cut with his 4-iron, then ran to the left to see the outcome, although the cheers told him everything. "Got the ball over the left bunker and let the wind bring it back over, and it worked out perfect," he said.
All it took was two great shots to get back into the mix, then a series of mistakes to put him in a familiar position.
Tiger Woods never disappoints when it matters most ... ... ... birdies a 25 footer on the last hole to win by one shot from Bart Bryant
Did it in style. Undefeated this year so far ...
Next stop - World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral Golf Resort & Spa, Miami, Florida. (Thursday)
This is how golf is played. The player who enters his scores at the club house first i.e. O'hair total score of -6 is a leader at the club house and any other player coming after that must better that score in order to play after him otherwise if he ties the score he will be the first one to go. Again Tiger never shot 63 his correct score is 66 and a total of 204 over three rounds. The golf course is par 70.
Vijay will be the first one to go in the group of 5 tied players. Check here for the third round group how they finished:. The players will be out in pairs therefore VJ will partner Hunter Mahan whos score is -5 and not tied leader.
Have fun and enjoy.
ORLANDO said:-- Tiger Woods made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard by one shot, extending his PGA TOUR winning streak to five and keeping intact a perfect season in golf.
In his biggest challenge since this streak began seven months ago, Woods outlasted 45-year-old Bart Bryant and won with a birdie putt on the final hole for the first time in seven years. He turned and slammed his cap to the ground, letting out a roar to celebrate his 64th career victory, tying Ben Hogan at No. 3 on the PGA TOUR's career list.
Palmer stood behind the 18th green with thousands of sun-baked fans who have come to expect nothing less from Woods. The King smiled and nodded his head, a royal approval of a captivating conclusion at Bay Hill. Woods closed with a 6-under 66 and won Bay Hill for the fifth time in his career, becoming the first player in PGA TOUR history to win four tournaments at least five times. Next up is the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at Doral, which he has won six times. No wonder some are starting to question whether he will lose again.
Bryant felt hopeless, no different from so many other victims of Woods. He hit all the right shots on the back nine to keep pressure on the world's No. 1 player, and was sitting in the scoring trailer when the largest crowd in golf this year erupted in cheers when the birdie putt fell. "That's why he's Tiger Woods," Bryant said. "He has an incredible way of pulling off the shot or the putt when he needs to. He's done it before.
He'll do it again." Not since Bay Hill in 2001 has Woods won a PGA TOUR event with a birdie on the 72nd hole to win by a shot.
"I don't know how I did that," Woods said of his winning putt on greens that had given him fits early in the week. "I just wanted to get the speed right and make sure I didn't leave myself a second putt ... and it went in." The last time he played, he surpassed Palmer on the career list. This one allowed him to join Hogan, who won 64 times over 21 years, the last victory coming at the 1959 Colonial National Invitational.
Next up is Jack Nicklaus at 73, with Sam Snead's record of 82 victories looking closer each time Woods plays.
"It's pretty amazing to be in that kind of company," Woods said. "I've had an amazing run in my career, and hopefully, it continues." No one can say these guys are laying down for Woods. He had to fight to the finish under a sweltering sun, and Bryant was visibly disappointed when he heard the roar and saw the putt. A victory would have sent him to the World Golf Championships-CA Championship next week, and also earned him a spot in The Masters.
Bryant closed with a 67 and was the only player to break par all four rounds at Bay Hill. All that earned him was second place, joining a long list of players to be runner-up to the world's No. 1 player. "I was pretty hopeless sitting there in the trailer, but I did what I thought I was supposed to do, which was put the pressure back on Tiger to make the play," Bryant said. "And he has a habit of making it when he needs to."
Woods has won six straight times worldwide, which includes a thrilling rally in Dubai last month. The winning streak does not include his seven-shot victory at his 16-man Target World Challenge, an unofficial event held in December.
His average score during the PGA TOUR streak is 66.13, and his dominance is such that he now has more career victories than Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh combined. Woods finished at 10-under 270 and earned $1,044,000, putting him on the cusp of going over $80 million for his career. Sean O'Hair, playing in the final group with Woods, overcame a sluggish start with three birdies on the back nine to keep alive slim hopes, but he could only manage a 69 to tie for third with Vijay Singh (69) and Cliff Kresge (67).
It was the biggest buzz in the final round this year, and fans who stood four-deep around Woods expected an early knockout. He delivered early with a 15-foot birdie putt on the second hole to break out of a five-way tie for the lead, and he didn't trail again the rest of the day.
But in the stifling heat, it was never easy.
The greatest challenge came from Bryant, who played bogey-free for the first 10 holes to stay one shot behind Woods, and then both players squandered great chances to set the stage for a gritty back nine. Woods hit yet another flawless approach to 6 feet left of the flag on No. 10 and was on the verge of going two shots ahead. But he gunned it 30 inches by the hole, quickly settled over the par putt and missed it for his first three-putt bogey of the week.
That dropped him into a tie with Bryant, who had a 25-foot birdie on the 11th for the outright lead. He also three-putted for bogey, missing a 2-foot putt to again fall one shot behind. Woods didn't make another birdie until the final hole.
Divots😡 Marc Turnesa made a hole-in-one at No. 7, only the 12th ace in the 30-year history at Bay Hill and the first one at No. 7. ... Among those in the gallery at Bay Hill was Se Ri Pak, who last year was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. She was the second LPGA major champion at Bay Hill this week. Suzann Pettersen, a member at Bay Hill, was in Tiger Woods' gallery on Friday.
Ole,
Tokea nianze kumfuatilia Tiger Woods miaka ya tisini....sijawahi kuona jamaa akishangilia kwa style ile. Kabla hajapiga ile PUT ya mwisho, nilikuwa nahisi kabisa kwamba ataipata, na alipoingiza nilishangilia kiasi ambacho sijawahi shangilia katika mchezo wa Golf before. Nikagundua kwamba licha ya kwamba nilikuwa nampa nafasi ya kupata ile PUT, still nilikuwa na wasiwasi mkubwa kwamba hawezi kuingiza.....yaani labda inge fall short kama PUT yake ya 17th Hole au ipite pembeni kidogo kama kwenye 16th Hole. Halafu nimegundua kwamba Tiger Woods anamsikiliza sana yule Caddy wake kushinda ambavyo nilitegemea (ofcourse yule Caddy ni mzuri kwenye game) lakini pale Hole # 16 alipombadilishia Iron mara mbili nilimkubali maana kitu kilikaa sawia kabisa. Wasiocheza au kuujua mchezo wa Golf wanaweza kuona ile kitu ni rahisi sana ila ukweli ni kwamba jamaa anatisha. Sidhani kama atakuja kutokea mchezaji kama yeye tena.
Ole,
Tokea nianze kumfuatilia Tiger Woods miaka ya tisini....sijawahi kuona jamaa akishangilia kwa style ile. Kabla hajapiga ile PUT ya mwisho, nilikuwa nahisi kabisa kwamba ataipata, na alipoingiza nilishangilia kiasi ambacho sijawahi shangilia katika mchezo wa Golf before. Nikagundua kwamba licha ya kwamba nilikuwa nampa nafasi ya kupata ile PUT, still nilikuwa na wasiwasi mkubwa kwamba hawezi kuingiza.....yaani labda inge fall short kama PUT yake ya 17th Hole au ipite pembeni kidogo kama kwenye 16th Hole. Halafu nimegundua kwamba Tiger Woods anamsikiliza sana yule Caddy wake kushinda ambavyo nilitegemea (ofcourse yule Caddy ni mzuri kwenye game) lakini pale Hole # 16 alipombadilishia Iron mara mbili nilimkubali maana kitu kilikaa sawia kabisa. Wasiocheza au kuujua mchezo wa Golf wanaweza kuona ile kitu ni rahisi sana ila ukweli ni kwamba jamaa anatisha. Sidhani kama atakuja kutokea mchezaji kama yeye tena.
Tiger Woods said:
April 2, 2008
By Tiger Woods
As you might expect, I'm gearing up for the Masters. It's the first major championship of the year and I'm excited about returning to Augusta National. They haven't made many changes to the course, so I'm not going to play an early practice round this week. I'll keep working at home with Hank Haney and try to sharpen my game.
I know they removed some trees along the right side of No. 11; added 10 yards to the front of the first tee in case the wind blows; and tweaked the seventh and ninth greens. The bottom line: It's going to be long and difficult, and you're going to have to have all aspects of your game firing. The only thing we donât know is what the wind is going to do.
Overall, I feel very good about the way I'm swinging the club. Although my winning streak ended at Doral, I'm very pleased about the way I have played and hope the positive momentum carries over to Augusta. Ever since I joined the PGA Tour in 1996, my goal has always been to win every tournament. That's just the way I think. If you don't feel that way, why enter? Although I got off to a great start his year by winning my first four events, including Dubai, I knew it was unlikely I would go undefeated. That didn't stop me from trying.
As I've often said, you need a little luck and a few good breaks to win tournaments. I had my share at the Buick Invitational, WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational, but came up short at Doral. Geoff Ogilvy chipped in at a critical time and that's what you need to win.
People have asked me what I enjoy most about practicing. I definitely like chipping and putting, working on my short game. You can use your imagination. I'm always testing golf balls. I don't ever put a ball in play unless I've tested it pretty hard. Nike always keeps me informed about everything they put out. I hit every club they make, whether it's game improvement clubs all the way through to the wedges. I see everything and always have an idea what's coming out. Obviously, a lot of it doesn't really suit the way I play the game and what I like to do with the golf ball, but it helps a lot of other players out. So that's the whole idea.
It's also interesting to note that this is the first time I have played a production ball, meaning you can buy the exact same Nike One Platinum right off the shelf. If I make a bogey on the course, I'll sometimes change balls but not always. If I scuff it, yea, it's out of play. Sometimes if I make a few birdies and it's scuffed, I'm still keeping it until it runs out.
I mark my ball with a black line on the side. My ball says Tiger and it's always a 1. I always played 1s on the first day and always played 1s on Sunday. I had to play 2s and 3s on Friday and Saturday. Then when I switched to the Nike ball, they allowed me to have all 1s and I said, 'Perfect.' On the greens, I always mark my ball with a quarter, heads-up. I've been marking my ball with a quarter since I was about 7. It was the biggest coin I could possibly afford.
I recently shot a few commercials, which you may have seen. I did one for Gatorade where I'm swinging a club on the moon. It took about two hours to shoot and was pretty cool. Those space suits are heavy! I also did a Buick commercial, where I hit golf balls filled with paint into a canvas. That was interesting because I got paint every which way, including in my hair. I think they're going to auction off the canvas for charity at the Buick Open.
On April 19th, I'll be hosting Tiger Jam XI presented by AT&T at The Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. We've had many great musicians in the past and couldn't be more excited to welcome VAN HALEN, who are re-launching their concert tour. I'm a big fan of the band and look forward to a great night. Tickets are available at the Mandalay Bay Events Center box office and www.ticketmaster.com . Proceeds benefit the Tiger Woods Foundation and select Las Vegas-based charities.
Thanks for reading. I'll check back after the Masters.
Tiger