Next Stop, Augusta

[BAMAPHIN 22]

Tiger Woods has won 13 of 24 WGC events, and five of the last seven.


You don't have to worry about Tiger Woods someday starting his own tour. He's already got one. It's called the World Golf Championships.

We may as well officially rename it the Tiger Tour because he has dominated it to the point of being laughable. By capturing the CA Championship Sunday at Doral, he has now won 13 of 24 WGC events, including five of the last seven. He's six-for-eight in the CA Championship. He's won $18 million in Tiger Tour events. That figure alone would rank him in the top 25 on the PGA Tour's career money list, ahead of David Duval, Paul Azinger, Mark O'Meara and Greg Norman.

What makes WGC events so easy for Tiger to dominate? The smaller fields. Only 73 players competed last week. In the field were the likes of Prom Meesawat (he shot 16 over), Hideto Tanihara (17 over), Yong-Eun Yang (13 over), Louis Oosthuizen and John Bickerton (seven over each). Not in the field were the Ryder Cuppers Vaughn Taylor, Scott Verplank, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. The WGC fields are top-heavy but not very deep, and thus easier to win. As if Tiger needs any extra help.

Add Doral to the list of courses where Woods is money, such as Firestone, Augusta National and St. Andrews. He is 74 under through 20 rounds at Doral  31 under on the front, 43 under on the back. That par-5 opening hole? It's not a par 5 for Woods. He has birdied or eagled it 18 of the last 20 times, including the last 16 in a row. This is three wins in a row at Doral, the last two coming in the defunct Ford Championship.

"I love this golf course," Woods said. "I always play well here."

He showed it Friday, firing a 66 in gusty conditions, then backing it up the next day with a 68 to open a four-shot lead going into the final round. The tournament seemed over before Sunday because Tiger was 38-3 with a 54-hole lead  make that 39-3.

http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1602784,00.html

 

[Roman529]

I still like Phil Mickelson more than Tigger.

 

[BAMAPHIN 22]

Is Field to Blame for Woods' Dominance?

Louis Oosthuizen was making his first trip to America. Prom Meesawat was playing his first PGA Tour event. Brett Quigley was making his 293rd start on the PGA Tour without winning. They were among the players Tiger Woods had to beat this past weekend in the CA Championship at Doral. And that makes it worth asking whether these World Golf Championships are as tough to win as they sound.

"The best players in the world are here," Woods said Sunday after his two-shot victory over Brett Wetterich, who was playing a Nationwide Tour event in Louisiana at this time a year ago.

OK, no more name dropping.

The Blue Monster hosted the top 50 in the world ranking, and even Justin Rose pulling out with a back injury and Davis Love III withdrawing Saturday when a friend died did not dilute the star power in Miami.

Bay Hill winner Vijay Singh was there. So were Jim Furyk and Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, Adam Scott and Geoff Ogilvy.

Woods beat them all, as he usually does.

His record in the World Golf Championships is astounding. Woods has played these events 24 times since they began in 1999, and he already has 13 titles and more than $17 million.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2982863