Tiger Woods Back On Top

Tiger Woods had an answer for everyone Sunday on another methodical march to victory in the British Open.

One month after missing the cut for the first time in a major, Woods was ruthless as ever on the brown-baked links of Royal Liverpool, making three straight birdies to turn away a spirited challenge by Chris DiMarco and win golf's oldest championship for the second straight year.

He closed with a 5-under 67 and became the first player since Tom Watson in 1982-83 to win consecutive titles.

Woods tapped in for par for a two-shot victory over DiMarco, and pent-up emotions tore through his lips as he screamed "Yes!" He then buried his head in caddie Steve Williams' shoulder and sobbed, his chest heaving.

This was his first victory since his father, Earl Woods, died May 3 after a brutal bout with cancer. Some questioned whether Woods could regain his focus, especially after he was sent packing after two rounds at Winged Foot in the U.S. Open.

His face was contorted in raw emotion as he walked off the green and sobbed again while hugging his wife, Elin, and his trainer, Keith Klevin.

"I could not stop it," Woods said. "I miss my dad so much."

Through it all, no one could stop Woods from winning his 11th career major at age 30. He is tied with Walter Hagen for second on the career list and is one step closer to the 18 professional majors won by Jack Nicklaus, the only mark that matters to Woods.

But there were doubts that followed him around Royal Liverpool, host of the British Open for the first time in 39 years.

Not only did he miss the cut at the U.S. Open, dominance in the majors was slowly shifting to rival Phil Mickelson. And even with Mickelson out of the picture and Woods clinging to a one-shot lead over a strong cast of contenders, Woods was grilled about his conservative style of play because he hit driver only once all week.

The answer was in his hands, the silver claret jug.

But he had to work for it, courtesy of another gritty performance by a familiar foe also coping with the death of his parent.

DiMarco's mother, Norma, died of a heart attack July 4 in Colorado, and he made sure his father joined him on this trip to the northwest of England as a chance to heal. DiMarco, who pushed Woods into a playoff at the Masters last year, did all he could to deliver.

He made a 25-foot birdie on the par-3 13th to pull within one shot of Woods, then made a 50-foot par save on the 14th to stay in the game, a putt that rattled the cup and made everyone wonder if he had help from above.

"I had a lot of divine intervention out there," DiMarco said. "I had my mother with me all week."

Woods followed with another low, penetrating iron into 8 feet on the 14th for a birdie. And after DiMarco scrambled for a birdie on the 16th to keep his hopes alive, Woods answered with an 8-foot birdie into the heart of the hole at No. 15.

Woods finished at 18-under 270, missing an 8-foot birdie putt that would have matched his record (19 under) set at St. Andrews six years ago.

His father was with him for his first taste of links golf in the 1995 Scottish Amateur at Carnoustie, when Woods was a 19-year-old amateur. As he walked up the 18th fairway with a two-shot lead, his ball safely behind the green, memories of Dad poured forth.

"After the last putt, I realized my dad's never going to see this again, and I wish he could have seen this one last time," Woods said at the trophy presentation. "He was out there today keeping me calm. I had a very calm feeling the entire week, especially today."

For DiMarco, his third runner-up finish in the last eight majors came with a consolation prize. He earned enough Ryder Cup points to move from No. 21 to No. 6 in the standings, virtually making him a lock to be on the U.S. team in Ireland two months from now.

Ernie Els, among three players who started the day one shot behind, was the only one to catch him, briefly. He couldn't keep up with Woods, lost ground to DiMarco and had to settle for a 1-under 71 to finish alone in third at 275.

Jim Furyk birdied two of the last three holes for a 71 and fourth-place, earning enough money to be No. 1 on the PGA Tour money list for the first time in his career.

Mickelson finished before the leaders even began the final round. Coming off his collapse in the U.S. Open, he was never a factor during the weekend and closed with a 70 to finish 13 shots behind in a tie for 22nd.

Even with so many players in contention on the gustiest day of the week, it didn't take long to sort out the contenders.

Furyk, two shots behind and the only U.S. Open victim who contended at Royal Liverpool, dropped shots on his first two holes and quickly fell out of the race. So did Angel Cabrera, with a triple bogey at No. 2.

Still, the biggest slide belonged to Sergio Garcia.

With his best chance ever to prove he could stand toe-to-toe with Woods, the 26-year-old Spaniard had three-putt bogeys on the second and third holes to slip three shots behind, then found a fairway bunker on the par-5 fifth and had to scramble for par as Woods was making eagle.

Garcia closed with a 73, the second time this year he has played with Woods in the final group and didn't break par.

Els had a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fifth to join Woods at 13 under, but that didn't last long. Woods threaded an iron up the front of the fifth green to 25 feet, then raised his putter aloft in his left hand when the eagle putt fell.

It was an icy, methodical way to celebrate such a big putt, but that's what Woods brought to the links for the final round.

He had a plan — control his tee shots with a 2-iron or 3-wood — and he stuck to it. This was Woods at his absolute dullest, which was how he mapped out his final round. Warm applause followed him around Hoylake as he found fairways and the middle of the green, taking advantage of the par 5s.

Only when DiMarco applied the heat did Woods respond.

Clinging to a one-shot lead after his only bogey of the round at No. 12, Woods lagged a 60-foot putt to within inches for par at the 13th, then strung together three straight birdies to give himself a comfortable margin walking up the 18th green.

It was his 49th career victory, and the $1.3 million for first place pushed him over $60 million for his career.

The next stop for Woods is the PGA Championship at Medinah, where he won in 1999.

Woods now has three British Open titles, the same as Nicklaus, and his victory at Hoylake was littered with other comparisons. The first time Nicklaus missed a cut in a major, at the 1967 Masters, he won the next major he played.

And the first major Nicklaus won after his father died was the 1970 British Open.