Associated Press Associated Press ADVERTISING BETHESDA, Md. — Congressional reopened its gates Sunday to thousands of spectators who got what they expected in the AT&T National — another win by Tiger Woods. Only this win didn’t follow a typical script.
Associated Press
BETHESDA, Md. — Congressional reopened its gates Sunday to thousands of spectators who got what they expected in the AT&T National — another win by Tiger Woods.
Only this win didn’t follow a typical script.
Caught in a tense duel with Bo Van Pelt on another sweltering day, it looked as though Woods blinked first until Van Pelt matched him with mistakes of his own. Woods closed with a 2-under 69 and won by two shots when Van Pelt finished with his third straight bogey and had to settle for a 71.
Woods won for the third time this year, the most of anyone on the PGA Tour, and it was the 74th win of his career. That moved him past Jack Nicklaus into second place on the tour list, eight short of Sam Snead.
Woods, who finished at 8-under 276, moved to the top of the PGA Tour money list and the FedEx Cup standings for the first time since September 2009.
He effectively clinched the win with a 9-iron down the hill toward the peninsula green on the 18th, a shot so pure that Woods started walking and twirled the club moments after he made contact.
And so ended a wild week in Washington — record heat Friday, followed by a wind storm that topped dozens of trees at Congressional and forced the tournament to keep spectators out Saturday. They were back in force for the final round, and they were treated to some pretty good theater.
Adam Scott went out in 31 and was briefly tied for the lead until a few bogeys on the back nine. He had to settle for a 67, which put him alone in third at 5 under.
Billy Hurley, the Annapolis graduate who spent five years in the Navy, closed with a 72 and tied for fourth along with Robert Garrigus (70), Jhonattan Vegas (71) and Seung-yul Noh of South Korea, who had a 73.
SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Joe Daley won the Senior Players Championship for his first Champions Tour title, closing with a 2-under 68 for a two-stroke victory over Tom Lehman.
The 51-year-old Daley, winless in his brief PGA Tour career, had a 14-under 266 total at Fox Chapel. He earned $405,000 and full Champions Tour status for a calendar year.
Lehman finished with a 69. He was trying to win his second straight Champions Tour major after taking the Regions Traditions in his previous start.
Olin Browne was third at 11 under after a 65. Mark Calcavecchia, tied with Daley for the third-round lead, had a 72 to match 2011 winner Fred Couples at 10 under. Couples finished with a 71.
Daley capped the victory with a 15-foot putt on the final hole for his tournament-high 24th birdie.
Couples, fighting chronic back problems all weekend, bogeyed Nos. 15 and 16 to drop out of contention.
Lehman also faltered late in the 90-plus-degree heat, bogeying three of the final six holes.
NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP
ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — Ai Miyazato shot a 6-under 65 to overcome a five-shot deficit and win the NW Arkansas Championship for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year and ninth overall.
The Japanese star made a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to reach 12 under for the tournament, and her victory at Pinnacle Country Club was secured when Mika Miyazato missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on No. 18. Ai Miyazato had seven birdies and one bogey in the final round to finish a stroke ahead of Mika Miyazato and Azahara Munoz.
Ai Miyazato also won the LOTTE Championship in Hawaii in April, and has 15 Japan LPGA victories.
Mika Miyazato had a 67, and Munoz closed with a 65. Veronica Felibert, the rookie from Venezuela who opened the day with a four-shot lead, shot a 72 to tie for fourth at 10 under.
IRISH OPEN
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Wales’ Jamie Donaldson won the Irish Open for his first European Tour title, shooting a 6-under 66 for a four-stroke victory at historic Royal Portrush.
Donaldson finished at 18-under 270. Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay shot 66 to finish tied for second with England’s Anthony Wall.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy had a 67 to finish at 11 under.
UNITED LEASING CHAMPIONSHIP
NEWBURGH, Ind. (AP) — Peter Tomasulo won the United Leasing Championship for his third Web.com Tour victory, beating David Lingmerth with a par on the fourth hole of a playoff in triple-digit heat.
The 30-year-old Tomasulo bogeyed the final hole of regulation for a 2-under 70, leaving him tied with Lingmerth at 11-under 277 on the Victoria National Golf Club. Lingmerth finished with a 68.
The victory capped a 21-month comeback from injuries that included a broken bone in his foot, stress fractures in his ribs and a pair of surgeries this year.
Tomasulo, making only his third start of the 2012 calendar, earned $99,000 and jump from 200th to No. 21st on the money list. The final top 25 will earn 2013 PGA Tour cards.
