Slip Another to Woods

LA JOLLA —  Say what you will about Tiger Woods, but he knows how to win. The wins just arrive in different ways.

Sometimes, he blows to victory with the fury of a gale, sometimes he squirms his way to the top and other times victory is simply handed to him.

On Sunday here at the Buick Invitational, Woods’ 47th PGA Tour tournament title was gift-wrapped and specially delivered, when Jose Maria Olazabal missed a four-foot putt for par on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at Torrey Pines.

Woods removed his cap and shook Olazabal’s hand but did not smile. As far as celebrations go, this was not exactly the proper setting for one and neither was it the kind that Woods would have chosen, although it’s familiar to him.

Only three months ago, Woods won the American Express Championship when John Daly missed a three-footer on the second extra hole in a playoff with Woods. This was more of the same, even if did amount to another victory.

“I feel bad,” he said. “I want to win it with a birdie. You don’t ever want to see anyone miss a short one like that. You don’t ever take pleasure out of seeing your friends do that.”

There are cold realities in a playoff, and Olazabal faced up to them. His gritty, three-under 69 that pulled him into the playoff didn’t seem to matter as much as the fast-breaking, downhill putt that he just didn’t make.

“I didn’t hit it hard enough,” Olazabal said. “It was a tricky putt. I had to make it.”

He didn’t, but Olazabal lasted one hole longer in the playoff than Nathan Green, the 30-year-old rookie from Australia, who birdied the last hole in regulation, shot 72 and then took himself out of it on the first extra hole.

Green’s second shot flew into the grandstand. After being given a free drop, he needed three shots to reach the green, and his day was done. Yet with $448,800 in his pocket, the same as Olazabal, Green chose not to be discouraged.

“There’s nothing to be disappointed about,” he said. “I’ve been an overachiever for the week.”

Woods is merely an achiever. Seven weeks after hitting his last shot in competition, Woods started his new year off with a come-from-behind victory and a winner’s check of $918,000. His closing round of 72 and 72-hole total of 10-under 278 weren’t particularly overpowering, but they were effective.

For instance, Woods three-putted for bogey three times Sunday. He missed the fourth fairway with his drive, which landed on the fifth fairway. He was one shot removed from joining Olazabal and Green in a playoff when he reached the par-five 18th -- the 571-yard hole that was shortened to 548 yards to entice the players to try to reach it in two shots.

So that’s what Woods did. With his second shot, a five-wood, he landed the ball about 50 feet from the pin, at the top and the back of the green. From there, he putted the ball eight feet past the hole and had only more chance to make it and join the playoff with Olazabal and Green.

“I kept saying, ‘At least you have a chance.’ I shouldn’t have had the opportunity to get into a playoff. I flipped it into a positive situation ... I hit it ... and it found its way to the bottom of the hole.”

It matched the longest putt Woods had made all weekend.

On the second playoff hole, Woods already had two-putted for par from 35 feet when Olazabal missed his putt to end it, thus making a distant memory of the skillfully played bunker shot that Olazabal stopped just short of the hole.

Olazabal, who turns 40 next week, said he’s prepared to let this one go as soon as he can.

“I think with age you have a tendency to be able to forget these things easier,” he said. “And I’m getting old.”

What happened in Sunday’s final round on the South course isn’t going to be as easily dismissed, essentially because it was so complicated. There were 12 players who owned a share of the lead at times. When Woods rolled in a 12-foot putt to birdie the 12th, he produced an eight-way tie for the lead that also included Olazabal, Arjun Atwal, Green, Phil Mickelson, John Rollins, Jesper Parnevik and Lucas Glover.

Green promptly took over when he holed out from 75 yards to eagle the 541-yard 13th, then made bogey at the 15th and 17th to complicate matters for him and give everyone else some hope.

Mickelson’s day evaporated when he made three consecutive bogeys beginning at the 14th. He wound up tied for eighth with a final-round 73, a position he shared with third-round leader Sergio Garcia, who sank to a 75. Garcia could have become No. 3 in the rankings with a victory but was shaky in the early going, hitting into five bunkers and a hospitality tent in his first eight holes.

Still, Garcia stood over a 60-foot eagle putt at the 18th with a chance to reach the playoff, but missed it, then missed his birdie putt as well.

He wasn’t the only one to waste opportunities. Atwal missed a five-footer at the 18th that would have put him in the playoff, and Glover left a 65-foot eagle putt inches short at the 18th that would have moved him into the playoff.

With five consecutive birdies to end his round of 68, Jonathan Kaye moved from a tie for 17th to a tie for fourth at nine-under 279, just one shot out of the playoff. Rollins, who had a 69, and Glover, who birdied the last hole for a 71, also tied for fourth and were joined by Atwal.

Meanwhile, Woods continued to set himself apart. He took off Sunday night for Dubai to play in a European Tour event, so he had plenty of time to consider his accomplishments. His 47th PGA Tour victory puts him five behind Billy Casper for sixth place. He is now 13-2 in playoffs since he turned pro, and his victory was a record fourth at Torrey Pines. And, if it matters, his career prize money on the PGA Tour is $56.6 million.

After taking the longest break of his career, a stretch of 24 days, he’s off and running. One tournament and one victory into his 11th pro season, Woods said he knows all about expectations from those who follow golf.

“They’re always high,” he said. “I mean, they’ve seen what I can do and they think I can hit some shots. It’s awfully nice that they think I can do that.”

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The playoff

Jose Maria Olazabal, Nathan Green and Tiger Woods finished regulation tied for first at the Buick Invitational. Then:

FIRST PLAYOFF HOLE: 571 YARDS, PAR-5 NO. 18

* Nathan Green: Hits second shot into grandstand, takes two shots to reach green, two-putts for six and is eliminated.

* Jose Maria Olazabal: Lands third shot on fringe, chips within a foot, sinks par putt for a five.

* Tiger Woods: Lands third shot 12 feet from cup, hits birdie attempt a foot past hole and sinks par putt for a five.

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SECOND PLAYOFF HOLE: 227 YARDS, PAR-3 NO. 16

* Woods: Lands tee shot on left front of the green, putts to within six inches, then makes par.

* Olazabal: Hits tee shot into front-left bunker, hits out to four feet of hole, misses par putt.

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In the clutch

Since he turned pro, Tiger Woods has a 13-2 record in playoffs:

*--* Year Event W-L Opponent(s) 1996 Las Vegas Invitational W Davis Love III 1997 Mercedes Championships W Tom Lehman 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic W Ernie Els 1998 Nissan Open L Billy Mayfair 1998 Nedbank Million Dollar Chall. L Nick Price 1999 WGC American Express Champ. W Miguel Angel Jimenez 2000 Mercedes Championships W Ernie Els 2000 PGA Championship W Bob May 2000 PGA Grand Slam W Vijay Singh 2001 WGC NEC Invitational W Jim Furyk 2002 Deutsche Bank -- SAP Open W Colin Montgomerie 2005 Masters Tournament W Chris DiMarco 2005 WGC American Express Champ. W John Daly 2005 Dunlop Phoenix W Kaname Yokoo 2006 Buick Invitational W N. Green and J. Olazabal

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Source: www.tigerwoods.com

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Tiger Woods has won the first PGA tournament he has played in four of his 11 years on the PGA Tour:

*--* Year Event Score Result 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open 277 T-60 1997 Mercedes Championships 202* Won 1998 Mercedes Championships 272 T-2 1999 Mercedes Championships 277 T-5 2000 Mercedes Championships 276 Won 2001 Mercedes Championships 280 T-8 2002 Mercedes Championships 281 T-10 2003 Buick Invitational 272 Won 2004 Mercedes Championships 277 T-4 2005 Mercedes Championships 273 T-3 2006 Buick Invitational 278 Won

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-- Three rounds

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Up next

PGA TOUR

FBR Open at TPC of Scottsdale

* When: Thursday-Sunday.

* Defending champion: Phil Mickelson.

LPGA TOUR

SBS Open at Turtle Bay, Oahu, Hawaii

* When: Feb. 16-18.

* Defending champion: Jennifer Rosales.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

ACE Group Classic at

Twin Eagles Golf Club, Naples, Fla.

* When: Feb. 17-19.

* Defending champion: Mark James.