Monday recap: Tiger wins Buick
For most of Sunday, the leaderboard looked like the stock market, with players going up and down every few minutes. There were plenty of ties for 1st, and then occasionally a person like Nathan Green took the outright lead at -11. For most of the day, Tiger was not at the top, but either one or a few strokes behind. In the end, things changed.
Jose Maria Olazabal, who had the best round of the leaders, finished at -10 with a 69. 30-year-old Australian “rookie” Nathan Green then bogeyed 2 of his last four holes, but salvaged his round with a birdie on 18 to get into the playoff. Meanwhile, Arjun Atwal yipped a 1+ footer for birdie to miss the playoff. Lucas Glover, John Rollins, and Jonathan Kaye also had nice rounds but finished at -9. Sergio and Lefty played pathetically, for golfers of their stature (75 and 73).
That left the door open for you know whom: Tiger Woods. Needing a birdie on the last, Tiger hit his 5-wood on the par-5 in 2. He misread his first putt and left himself about 8 feet for his birdie. But Tiger is so money in clutch putts that you knew he would make it. And when he did, the fans erupted. Back on the driving range, the look on Olazabal’s face (after he heard the roar) said it all: it was a part grimace, part look of I-really-didn’t-need-that-guy-to-make-the-playoff-too. It probably was over before the playoff even started.
Tweet