Tiger back with a roar

MEDINAH (US), AUG 16: Tiger Woods edged Sergio Garcia to win the 81st PGA Championship as the field’s two youngest players staged one of the most dramatic back-nine duels in major tournament history. Woods owned a five-stroke lead with seven holes to play yesterday but hung on for a one-stroke victory over the 19-year-old Spaniard, denying Garcia’s bid to become the youngest major champion in 131 years.

“A five-shot lead can disappear pretty quickly. I made a few mistakes and that’s what happened,” Woods said. “Even though I lost four shots in two holes, I still had the lead. That’s what I focused on. He has better momentum than I do. But he’s still chasing me.”

With fans cheering Garcia and heckling Woods, the 23-year-old American fired a final-round par-72 at Medinah Country Club to finish at 11-under-par 277 and win his second major title, the first being the 1997 Masters. Neither the second-longest course in major history, at 7,401 yards, nor the toughest field in major golf history with anunprecedented 92 of the world’s 100 top-ranked players could compete with Woods and Garcia.

Woods won $630,000 (about Rs 2.7 crore) and the Wanamaker Trophy and reclaimed the world number one ranking from David Duval.