Woods moves back to top at Buick
Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — The soupy fog clung to the cliffs, like something out of an old mystery movie. When the Buick Invitational ended in fading sunlight, the strangest sight of all might have been Tiger Woods holding the trophy.
Denis Poroy • Associated Press
He started his 31-hole marathon yesterday with three straight bogeys.
Tiger Woods ended a 16-month stroke-play drought with his victory yesterday.
He finished it by hitting a 2-iron so bad that it actually turned out good.
Woods ended the suspense with an 18-foot putt that he hit too hard, only to see it dive into the cup for a birdie that gave him his first stroke-play title on the PGA Tour in 16 months.
Ending his longest stroke-play drought of his tour career, Woods let everyone else collapse around him in a series of errors and bad breaks, closing with a 4-under 68 for a three-shot victory that was a nail-biter.
"I hung in there," Woods said. "This golf course is so difficult, anything can happen."
Just about everything did.
Charles Howell III hit a sand wedge from 95 yards that was so perfect that it landed in the cup, and bounced out just as quickly into the pond as he watched in disbelief. An eagle turned into a bogey, he shot 72 and wound up three shots behind, along with Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and Luke Donald.
