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Perhaps no one in the history of golf has lived up to phrase “Horses For Courses” better than Tiger Woods.  Having begun 2013 by winning for the eighth time at Torrey Pines, then later adding an eighth career triumph at Bay Hill, Woods added a remarkable eighth win at the famed Firestone Country Club via a seven-shot runaway triumph at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.  In point of fact, Woods did virtually all of his damage on Friday, when he tied the course record with a dazzling nine-under-par 61; for the other three rounds, he was even with defending champion Keegan Bradley and two strokes behind Henrick Stenson, the two men who shared second.  But Friday was an impressive day indeed, for Woods opened birdie-eagle-birdie, turned in 30, then reeled off four straight birdies at holes 10-13 to get to nine under on the day – and well within sight of a possible 59 on the par-70 Firestone layout.  Unfortunately, Woods wilted slightly under the pressure, scrambling for a great par at the 14th, then missing short birdie opportunities at the 15th and 17th before scrambling for a great par at the 18th after driving far right, into the trees.  There would be no further fireworks over the weekend, however, as Woods overcame several wayward shots to card a two-under-par 68 on Saturday, then played smart, safe golf on a breezy Sunday to cruise home with a 70 and raise the trophy.  Bradley and Stenson jointly won the battle for second place, while fourth was shared by Jason Dufner, the ageless Miguel Angel Jimenez and Zach Johnson.  The victory was Woods’ 79th on the PGA Tour (bringing him within three of Sam Snead’s record 82) and also made 2013 the 10th season in which he won at least five times.  It was also his 18th career triumphg in a WGC event – exactly six times as many WGC wins as the closest competition.................... Ending a slump which saw him log only a single top 10 (a T9 at the 2012 Frys.com Open) since the 2011 Greenbrier Classic, long-hitting Gary Woodland scrambled his way through the final round to claim the Reno Tahoe Open, winning by a solid nine points under the event's Modified Stableford scoring system.  Woodland came into Sunday with a seven point lead, owing to a strong 16-point third-round performance, but proceeded to struggle somewhat from tee to green, getting up and down thrice from greenside bunkers on the outward half before scoring his biggest blow with a 60-foot chip in for birdie after driving errantly at the short par-4 14th.  A follow-up birdie at the par-4 15th cemented his position before a bogey at the 17th and a birdie at the par-5 18th saw him home to victory.

Posted on Monday, August 5, 2013 at 01:02AM by Registered CommenterDaniel | Comments Off