News
Tiger Woods wins the Tour Championship with a final-round 71
Tiger Woods closed the Tour Championship at East Lake with a final-round 1-over 71 for a two-stroke victory over Billy Horschel and his first win since 2013.
Woods began the day with two beautifully struck shots and a smooth 10-footer for birdie at the opening hole, serving notice that he had no plans of relinquishing the three-stroke lead with which he began the final round of the Tour Championship.
1 hole.
1 birdie.@TigerWoods leads by 4 at the @PlayoffFinale. pic.twitter.com/0ONDxipKrG— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 23, 2018
Indeed, if there was any doubt Tiger Woods would win his 80th PGA Tour event, and his first since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, Woods’ steadiness throughout his opening holes put that corrosive quantity to rest — save for a few tense moments over the final few holes.
With a 10-foot putt to save par at the fourth hole, Woods stayed four ahead of Justin Rose and five strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy, who remained stuck in neutral. Rose missed his par effort a hole ahead moments later. For Woods, five strokes clear of the field, the march was on.
Well, sort of. He did flub this delicate pitch after flying the green with his approach shot at the par-5 sixth hole.
It was never going to be easy. pic.twitter.com/K6wWXjgzc2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 23, 2018
And yet, with Woods driving it well (he found the fairway at the 481-yard seventh hole with a 293-yard stinger off the tee following the par at the fifth), it was always going to take torrid play from either Rose or McIlroy to keep Woods from No. 80; the par train would assure him his 43rd victory in 45 tries when leading entering the final round of a PGA Tour event.
Woods parred the second through the ninth holes, making the turn with a 1-under 34. He made the turn at East Lake with a five-stroke lead.
Wayward off the tee at the 10th, Woods punched out from the trees, leading to his first bogey of the day. No matter, as Rose made bogey ahead and Woods lead remained at five.
Steady, smart, it was mostly a story of putting himself on the right side of fairways and the right spots on East Lake’s lightning-quick greens over his next few holes until a 141-yard approach shot set up a 13-foot birdie at the par-4 13th.
Like that, Woods — for whom it’s not hyperbole to say 9 out of 10 golf fans felt he’d never win another tournament as recently as mid-2017 — was five strokes clear of the field with five holes to play.
After narrowly avoiding a water ball at the par-3 15th hole, Woods reasonably assured himself the victory, even though he was unable to get up and down with his pitch from the rough just beyond the water hazard and bogeyed the hole.
Wow.
A big break for Tiger Woods.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/etE6VJksjW
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 23, 2018
But he didn’t make it easy on himself, pulling a wood left off the 16th tee that settled down in the rough, punching the ball forward ultimately bogeying the hole to fall to 1 over on his final round and just two strokes ahead of Billy Horschel, in the clubhouse at 9 under, with two holes to play.
Another wayward effort — again left — off the tee at the 17th, and Woods, already sweating profusely in the Georgia heat, surely perspired further. Ultimately, however, he managed to make par, and summarily pounded a 347-yard tee shot down the fairway at the 18th hole with a two-stroke lead.
Woods found the bunker with his approach, but with little doubt left about the outcome of the tournament, he made the walk to the 18th green amid this surreal scene.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE! pic.twitter.com/si9EaHq5RY
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) September 23, 2018
A tap-in par later, and Woods — who only began hitting full shots in early October of last year following his spinal fusion surgery — captured the Tour Championship and his 80th PGA Tour win.
HE'S DONE IT! ????@TigerWoods has earned his 80th win in storybook fashion at the @PlayoffFinale.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/P03HlMe0uI
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 23, 2018
For context on Woods’ incredible return to the winner’s circle, check out what our Andrew Tursky had to say.
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Morning 9: 58 on the Korn Ferry Tour | Rory on possible return to policy board
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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News
Morning 9: Tiger’s TGL teammates | Woosnam’s criticism of Cantlay | Rory’s return to tour policy board
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