Tiger wins 4th Grand Slam

By Bill Kwon
Special to the Advertiser

PO'IPU BAY, Kaua'i — Tiger Woods — who else? — won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf for a record fourth straight year, running away from the other three 2001 major champions with a 7-under 65 yesterday for a tournament record 12-under-par 132 at the Po'ipu Bay Golf Course.

Tiger Woods gets a hug from 6-year-old Alexa Thompson of Kaua'i who presented Woods with a lei for winning his fourth consecutive Grand Slam of Golf title. Associated Press

Retief Goosen, the U.S. Open champion who led Woods by one stroke after the first round of the $1 million event, faded with four bogeys on the back nine for a 71—137 for $200,000.

David Duval, who won the British Open for his first major victory, along with Toms and Goosen, was the only one who didn't break par at the 7,530-yard oceanside course. He finished with a 72 for a 36-hole score of 148 to be the highest-paid "spectator" with a $150,000 paycheck for his efforts.

"It was fun to watch. David Toms and Tiger played quite well. I tried to stay out of the way as best as I could," Duval said.

Especially Tiger, who has turned this course into his personal playground.

"I don't know what it is," Woods said in explaining his successful run in the PGA Grand Slam event.

"It's always great to come here because, one, you've either won a major or have done really well. (Also) it's a honor to play in a tournament with other major championship winners because they won the biggest tournaments in golf," said Woods, whose 65 yesterday tied the tournament record set by Ernie Els in the 1997 PGA Grand Slam.

And Woods didn't even have to eagle the par-5 finishing hole to win as he did twice in last year's playoff victory over Vijay Singh.

Still, Woods dazzled with some incredible shotmaking to run away from the other three champions.

He nearly aced the 220-yard par-3 17th hole with a 4-iron, the ball taking one bounce before the flagstick and stopping two feet past the hole.

But that wasn't his shot of the day.

That was his fairway bunker shot with a 5-iron from 208 yards away at the par-4 16th, which plays to 501 yards. Woods barely missed his 18-foot birdie attempt.

"I don't know how that putt didn't go in," Woods said with a beaming smile.

"Stevie (Woods' caddy Steve Williams) said that's probably one of the best shots I've hit all year. I absolutely flushed it. I needed to hit it in there, at least on the green because the tournament was not over yet."

It was after the tap-in birdie at 17. That gave Woods a four-stroke lead going into the final hole, which is about as sure as death and taxes.

As with the other three par-5 holes, Woods got on in two and two-putted for a birdie.

"When he (Woods) plays well, he plays on another level of golf I can't," said Toms, "especially on the par-5s. It's an advantage."

Still, Toms kept close with his deadly iron game, throwing darts at the greens. He dropped birdie putts of seven, 1 1/2 and eight feet, besides sinking an eight-footer for eagle at 18. But he let one get away at seventh hole, missing a three-foot birdie putt after stoning the flag.

"I just couldn't make the putts to put any pressure on Tiger," said Toms, who ended his 12th and best year on the PGA Tour in which he finished third on the money list with $3.7 million. "Obviously, you want to win, but I still feel good about the way I played."

Goosen's run at Tiger ended with back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11 after the South African had gone 27 holes without a bogey. Bogeys at 16 and 17 enabled Toms to overtake him for runner-up honors.

As for Duval, well, he was just glad to be in the event because it meant he finally won a major. Like Goosen and Toms, Duval also hopes he can be back here next November.

It's almost sure that Tiger will.