Tiger makes another major move

Though Crouching Tiger failed to scoop the top award at the Oscars on Sunday, America's king of the species achieved his anticipated dominance of the $6 million Players Championship here on the Stadium Course yesterday. A closing round of 67 for 274 - 14 under par - gave Woods a one-stroke victory over Vijay Singh for this coveted title.

Normally content that his golf should proclaim his brilliance, Woods, runner-up to Hal Sutton last year, couldn't resist a little post-round stab at the media. "Some slump, huh?" he said, having added a top prize of $1,080,000 to his victory at Bay Hill eight days previously.

Though clearly delighted with his win, he acknowledged it was "not as meaningful as a major". Then, looking towards Augusta, he added: "I have all my major trophies over the fireplace at home, and there's room for another one."

His journey to the winner's podium became longer than scheduled when Sunday's final round was suspended because of a lightning storm. So the final pairing of Woods and Jerry Kelly could play no more than nine holes before darkness closed in. When they resumed yesterday morning, the world number one was a stroke clear of Kelly and Singh at the top of the leaderboard.

The climax of the tournament provided much greater drama than the bare statistics would indicate. And Bernhard Langer contributed handsomely, proving that, at 43, he retains the skill to handle difficult terrain. Remarkably, the German carded a two-under-par back nine which contained only one par, to claim third prize of $408,000.

For raw courage, however, Singh's performance stood apart. By sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the short 13th to go to 13 under for the championship, he actually shared the lead for a few minutes, until Woods, in the two-ball behind, sank a similar putt for a birdie at the 12th.

Then came what proved to be a disastrous drive for the Fijian at the 467-yard 14th. In attempting to fade the ball off the water guarding the left side of the fairway, he came over the top to impart a ruinous hook. Almost inevitably, three putts followed later for a triple-bogey seven.

This left Woods on 14 under par, three strokes ahead of Langer and Kelly, with Singh seemingly out of it a stroke further back. But an intense rivalry which caught fire between himself and Woods during the President's Cup matches last October sparked an amazing fight-back.

Using the toe of his putter, he dunted a 20-foot recovery straight into the hole for an eagle three from the water's edge on the long 16th. And with a nine-iron to four feet for a birdie at the 17th, he had the audacity to look back across the water at Woods, a hole behind.

The gauntlet was thrown down; and gladly picked up. Supremely confident of his game after hitting a wedge almost into the hole for a birdie on the 10th, and then holing a five-footer at the 12th for another birdie, Woods was ready for a challenge. But until Singh's rally, there was little indication that anyone was prepared to offer him a serious fight for the title.

"I suppose I became too anxious and too aggressive and you cannot afford to make mistakes like that. It seems that every time you're in contention you learn something," said Singh.

By reaching the long 16th in two, Woods had a two-putt birdie which opened up a two stroke lead once more. And of a rather indifferent tee-shot on the 17th, which finished inches from the water to the right of the green, he later said almost dismissively: "It was a pitchfade which slid on the wind."

So, with a two-stroke advantage on the 18th tee, he could afford to finish with a bogey and win. Which he did, though not intentionally. On a hole which he had negotiated in double-bogey, birdie, bogey over the previous three rounds, he was left with no option other than to lay up after pushing a two-iron tee-shot into the right rough.

Langer, who had already been twice runner-up in this championship, had 16 putts for the back nine - a fairly unremarkable statistic until one considers that it consisted of two threeputts, three two-putts and four singles. All of which led to five birdies, three bogeys and a solitary par.

For 34-year-old Kelly, it became a fascinating learning experience from his 25-year-old partner. "I enjoyed watching how steady he was," he said. "Even after making poor chips, he steadied himself on the putts and made good strokes. Right now, that's probably the difference between us, besides 30 or 40 yards off the tee."

And, of course, the small matter of about $20 million in tournament earnings.