Woods just better than the rest

British Open: The journey to greatness doesn't take a definitive route. It's not achieved by blindly following a road mapped out by cartographers, or by using a compass to plot a course through a jungle, or by employing a sextant and the stars to navigate a way to that special place.

As Tiger Woods has discovered, it's achieved by doing things better than others, which is how he clinically claimed his 11th career major in winning the British Open championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club yesterday.

On a day when the wind finally blew over the flat terrain in the Wirral, to accentuate the challenge of fast fairways and firm greens, Woods remained untouchable. He has never gone into the final round of a major in the lead and lost. He didn't intend to start yesterday.

And the world's number one golfer was relentless in pursuit of the claret jug, shooting a final round 67 for 270, 18-under, that left him two clear of his fellow-American Chris DiMarco.

Others with aspirations to claim the title flattered only to deceive. Ernie Els finished alone in third after a 71 (for 275), and Jim Furyk took fourth place, also with a closing 71 (for 276).

But Sergio Garcia, paired with Woods in the final match, and tasked with attempting to end the European drought in the majors which dates back to 1999, failed to make a worthwhile challenge and eventually required a birdie at the 15th and eagle at the 16th simply to claim a share of fifth place, finishing with a 73 (for 277).

For the two principals in the drama, who each lost a parent in recent months, it was an emotional finale. However, Woods, whose father, Earl, died in May, and DiMarco, whose mother, Norma, died earlier this month, succeeded in detaching emotion from the requirement to play tough. Woods shot a 67, DiMarco a 68. The latter's runner-up finish jumped him from 21st to sixth in the American Ryder Cup team and sealed his place for the match at The K Club in September.

Woods started the day a shot clear of Garcia, DiMarco and Els. And, just as it was a year ago at St Andrews, he dictated the proceedings. Within three holes, Garcia's old failings with the putter had resurfaced and proved costly as the Spaniard suffered bogeys at the second and third to effectively become little more than a bit player.

Els, too, played his way out of contention with a mid-round glitch that saw him incur bogeys on the eighth and 11th, errors compounded by his failure to birdie the long 10th. "It got away on that stretch, which is not very tough," conceded the South African. "I made two bogeys there instead of two birdies. If I'd played them in two-under instead of two-over I'd have had half a chance."

Of those seeking to usurp Woods' reign, DiMarco made the best fist of it. Although he bogeyed the first, it was to be the only dropped shot as he gamely battled for that elusive maiden major. DiMarco secured birdies at the sixth, 10th, 13th, 16th and 18th holes, and also showed tenacity by saving par whenever he got into trouble, particularly his up-and-down from heavy rough on the 14th where he holed a 40-footer to keep the pressure on Woods.

Woods, who had made a 15-footer for eagle on the fifth, moved three ahead of DiMarco by birdieing the 10th. His only error came when he dropped a shot on the 12th, with DiMarco, in the match ahead, almost simultaneously getting a birdie on the 13th when he holed from 20 feet.

The margin between the two at that stage was reduced to just one shot, but Woods' reaction was masterly. He grabbed a hat-trick of birdies from the 14th, and drove home the message that nobody was tugging the claret jug from his grasp.

Unlike others who claim not to look at scoreboards, Woods looked at each and every one. "I was aware of what Chris and Ernie were doing up ahead of me. Chris made a little bit of a run on that back nine. He kept pushing me. Luckily, I was able to make three in a row to give myself a chance to get some breathing space," admitted Woods.

DiMarco had gone head-to-head in majors before with Woods. In last year's US Masters he lost in a play-off, and had seen his conqueror hole an unbelievable chip at the 16th hole of the final round. He stepped up to the plate again here. It was not to be, however.

"Tiger's got an uncanny ability to just turn it up to another level, when somebody gets close to him. It's just hard to catch him."

Woods fully deserved his latest major title. He arrived at Hoylake unsure of how to play the course but, after hitting some drivers in practice, felt it would be best to leave the club in the bag. In fact, he used it just once in four days, on the 16th hole of Thursday's first round.

"I developed a strategy to play this golf course that I thought suited me and I felt comfortable with. I went out there and executed my game plan. I adjusted clubs off the tees, just because the wind conditions kept changing, but as far as the overall game plan, I never deviated."

Throughout the four rounds, Woods' superiority was clear. He was first in fairways hit (85 per cent) and second in greens-in-regulation (80 per cent). Most importantly, he took fewer strokes than anyone to get the ball into the hole. In becoming the first player since Tom Watson in 1983 to successfully defend the British Open championship, Woods was just one shot shy of equalling his low total of 19-under-par set at St Andrews in 2000.

It was, truly, masterful.