Good news for the rest of golf: Tiger Woods is going on holiday.
A streak that began 10 weeks ago on the sun-baked links of Hoylake reached six straight US PGA Tour victories on the rain-drenched fairways north of London on Sunday when Woods won the American Express Championship. He became the first player in tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons.
Threatened only by the weather that twice delayed the inevitable, Woods closed with a 4-under 67 for an eight-shot victory over Adam Scott of Australia and Ian Poulter of England.
PHOTO: AFP
"He's dominating the game," Scott said. "It's not the first time he's done it, either."
The trophy in hand, Woods had one foot in a courtesy car that was ready to take him away when he took a few questions from the BBC. After playing seven times in the last nine weeks, he was eager to get home to Florida.
"I'm getting away for a little bit," Woods said. "As far as golf, I've had enough of it for a while."
This might have been his most dominating performance since the streak began at the British Open in July, and not just because the eight-shot victory was his largest margin since winning by 11 at the 2003 Bay Hill Invitational.
Woods had such control over his game that he was third in driving distance and fifth in driving accuracy, missing only 12 fairways all week. And during one stretch, he hit 36 consecutive greens in regulation, a streak that ended when his approach on the 12th hole drifted left and into a bunker for his only bogey of the final round.
One other streak ended on the last hole of the tournament -- it was the first time all week he failed to make eagle on the 567-yard (518m) closing hole at The Grove.
His chip from just short of the green scooted by the cup and stopped a few feet away for a tap-in birdie that put him at 23-under 261.
"This was a fun week," he said. "I hit the ball really well -- all 72 holes, really. It's fun when you can control your golf ball that well."
In a week remembered for the death of Byron Nelson, it rekindled curiosity whether "Lord" Byron's record in 1945 of 11 consecutive victories really is untouchable.
Woods wasn't ready to touch that one -- yet.
"It's still a long way away," he said with a laugh.
"If you look at it, I'm barely halfway. What he did was absolutely remarkable, and I'm just thrilled that I've been able to win six in a row twice. That to me is a pretty neat accomplishment in itself," he said.
Woods won the final four US tour events in 1999 and his first two starts in 2000 to match Ben Hogan (1948) for the second-longest winning streak on the US PGA Tour.
He passed Nelson, Hogan, Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer with his third US PGA Tour season of at least eight victories. Woods won eight times in 1999 and nine times in 2000.
And he has at least one tournament left -- the Tour Championship.
Woods probably won't decide until the last minute whether to play the Funai Classic in three weeks in Florida. Skipping that tournament, which has never been his favorite, would leave him one round short of being eligible for the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average.
Asked how much that award meant, Woods replied, "Not much."
"I've had a good year," he said. "But if you don't play enough rounds, you don't play enough rounds."
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two