Class prevails as Woods wins fifth Buick Invitational

BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2007 Buick Invitational | Wrap | 29 Jan 2007

As has been so often the case in the career of Tiger Woods, he found a way to ’get it done’ today. His last round of 66 in this week’s Buick Invitational saw him power to a two shot victory over Charles Howell III and by three over Brandt Snedeker but that simple summary does not tell the full story of yet another dramatic final day involving Tiger Woods.

With the two rookies, Andrew Buckle and Brandt Snedeker, leading the way into round four of the tournament, they would face their sternest examination to date in their relatively short professional careers. For both, this was just their third PGA Tour event as rookies although Snedeker had played several more events in earlier years while not a member of the PGA Tour.

Buckle was the first to break the deadlock when he birdied the second hole from 5 feet to move ahead. A bogey at the fourth hole was the result of a poor second but, to his credit, especially with Tiger Woods on the move, he rallied back with consecutive birdies at the 5th and 6th to move back into the lead although this time it was in a share of the lead with Jeff Quinney who was putting together a brilliant front nine of five under.

Woods had started in a rush with birdies at the 2nd, the 4th from five feet and the 8th from eight feet although a missed six footer for par at the 7th saw the four time winner walk to the 9th tee at 11 under and two behind Buckle and Quinney.

Woods hit a superb tee shot at the 9th and followed it up with a three wood to 35 feet which he proceeded to hole and all of a sudden the cat was amongst the pigeons. It was a defining moment although Buckle responded with a birdie of his own at the 9th after a delightful but difficult pitch to ten feet and when that went in he was ahead on his own again.

Buckle added another birdie at the 10th from five feet and he then enjoyed a two shot lead. Enjoyed might not be the most accurate term as he was about to face a torrid last eight holes.

Buckle gave an indication that he might be able to cope with the demands of the situation when he made a great par save from 15 feet at the 11th hole but at the 12th he drove it in the fairway trap and had an awkward lie. He may well have tried to do too much with it and he left it in the rough to the right of the green. He made a mess of things from there and the double bogey all of a sudden had him sharing 13 under with Woods and Quinney.

Woods birdied the par five 13th after his three wood approach found the green and he was ahead for the first time in the tournament. He was timing his run to perfection it seemed. Quinney joined Buckle on the double bogey train when he made a mess of the 15th after a poor bunker shot and it appeared a race in two, although Charles Howell, who was playing with Woods, began to emerge as a threat not only to Buckle but to Woods also.

Woods made a brilliant par save from the same trap at the 15th that Quinney had struggled with ten minutes earlier and remained one ahead of Howell and Buckle although when Buckle pulled his tee shot at the 15th and started a run of consecutive bogies over the next three holes, he slipped out of contention for the title.

Howell had birdied the 15th after he all but holed his approach and moved within one of Woods. If the task to get past the four timer winner at Torrey Pines was tough before, it was about to get even tougher when Woods hit a beautiful short iron to three feet at the 17th and at 15 under he was two ahead of Howell with the par five last to play.

Woods found the fairway bunker at the 18th but was not about to make any mistakes although his third flirted a little with the water. His par five was enough to hold on to win by two over Howell with Brandt Snedeker making birdie at the last to edge into third place ahead of a group of three in fourth place at 11 under. Andrew Buckle birdied the last and increased his cheque by some US$50,000 while Mark Calcavecchia and Bubba Watson had good last rounds to make up considerable ground.

For Buckle, who appeared to be cruising when disaster struck at the 12th, this is the lesson that many before have experienced and many will in the future before a first victory comes along. What Buckle has shown however is that he has quickly settled in to life on the PGA Tour and his not insignificant cheque for $US215,000 along with the US$92,000 already in the bank from his two made cuts in Hawaii and Palm Springs has him already well on track for a great rookie season. It is, by some way, Buckle’s biggest cheque in golf.

For Woods it was his 7th consecutive USPGA Tour victory, moving him ahead of Ben Hogan and has him now on track to challenge the 11 straight recorded by Byron Nelson in 1945.

It was also Woods’ fifth win in this event, a feat he has accomplished twice before at the WGC American Express and WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

Woods heads to Dubai this week for the Dubai Classic where he will look to defend his title while the PGA Tour is in Scottsdale, Arizona for the FBR Open. While Woods seldom gives anything away regarding his schedule it might be that the Nissan Open at Riviera will be his next event but he was typically coy about where he might play his next US PGA Tour event.

The rest of the Australasians, aside from Buckle, had mixed results. Robert Allenby recorded his third consecutive top ten when 9th, Gavin Coles did well on a golf course not exactly built for him when 23rd, John Senden and Steve Allan were 31st, Jarrod Lyle 45th, Rod Pampling and Paul Gow 51st and Stephen Leaney 60th.