Tiger burning still bright

AS DRY runs go, this latest win by Tiger Woods in the Buick Open on Sunday – the 69th of his career on the US Tour and his fourth of the season – has thrown out further reminders, as if they were ever needed, of the world number one’s dominance.

Now, it is all about him catching an elusive major, that particular failure being the only drawback to his comeback season after knee surgery. He has recorded four wins in 11 starts on tour this season.

For sure, it was an impressive response to, firstly, his missed cut in last month’s British Open and, secondly, to a first round in Michigan which left him trailing in 95th position.

Philosophical as ever after his win, which sets him up well for a return to this week’s €5.9 million WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Akron, Woods remarked, “that’s what golfers do. You win a golf tournament, you miss a cut. Either way, you gotta put it behind you because it doesn’t do a damn bit of good the next week. It’s a whole new tournament.”

This insight proves why he is different to all others. He has that ability to eke out a win – the all-important “W” in his lexicon – and the significance of this latest win should be placed alongside the achievements of the only two men who have won more on the US Tour, Sam Snead (82 wins) and Jack Nicklaus (73 wins). The difference? Woods has reached win number 69 at the age of 33 years and seven months, almost seven years quicker than Nicklaus and eight years sooner than Snead.

Woods – who has now won 21 of 39 starts on the US Tour, dating back to his win in the 2006 British Open and has occupied the world number-one position for the past 217 straight weeks – will break new ground in the coming weeks, as his decision to play Akron (where he has won six times in 10 stagings of the tournament) means he will play two successive weeks ahead of a major, next week’s US PGA at Hazeltine, for the first time in his career.

Perhaps as pertinent is the fact that Woods goes into Hazeltine in a position where he doesn’t hold any of golf’s major titles; and, despite this latest win, he heads to Akron aware there are aspects of his game which need to be worked on.

“It’s starting to feel better . . . I made a little bit of progress. I worked on it (the swing) pretty good last week. Hank (Hainey) and I worked at it pretty good, and felt very comfortable coming in, and unfortunately didn’t do a very good job the first day (in Michigan), but after that I got it going pretty good.

“I know what I’m doing wrong. It’s just a matter of getting enough reps in. Next few days I’ll be able to do that and hopefully solidify come Thursday. You know, Firestone’s always a difficult track, especially if it’s dry. If we don’t get any rain down there, it’ll be hard and fast. The scores are never really that low if it’s dry and fast,” said Woods, of a return to a place where he has won more frequently than anywhere else.

While Woods tuned up for two of the biggest weeks on tour with a win, four of Ireland’s representatives in the field at Akron – Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke – were on a week-off, while Shane Lowry, who makes his debut in a WGC on the back of his Irish Open win in June, suffered a narrow missed cut in the Czech Open.

Unfortunately for Gareth Maybin, his late collapse in the final round of Czech Open on Sunday proved costly. Apart from failure to notch up a maiden tour win having been in strong contention over the closing holes, the Ulsterman’s failure to break into the world’s top-100 (he is currently 115th) meant he failed to earn an exemption into the US PGA at Hazeltine. The top-100 in the world on yesterday’s rankings were guaranteed places in the season’s final major.

Phil Mickelson returns after spending time away from the game to be with his wife and mother, both of whom are undergoing treatment for breast cancer. His last appearance was the US Open, where he finished tied second, and in March he won his first WGC event at the CA Championship.

“I have had a great six weeks at home,” said Mickelson. “Things are going very well and I am excited about the opportunity to start playing some tournaments again.”

Meanwhile, American Fred Funk coasted to a six-shot victory at the US Senior Open in Carmel, Indiana, on Sunday, firing a seven-under-par 65 for a tournament record total of 20-under 268.

One week after losing out in a play-off for the Senior British Open at Sunningdale, the 53-year-old was able to celebrate his second major crown on the over-50 circuit.

Funk secured his fifth Champions Tour title and a cheque for €326,000 after finishing six strokes clear of compatriot Joey Sindelar (70).

American left-hander Russ Cochran (68) was alone in third at 12 under, one ahead of Australian Greg Norman (73) and Senior British Open champion Loren Roberts (64) of the US.