Woods wraps up 50th US victory

US Tour news: The slick, fine-tuned machine just keeps on purring; and, for Tiger Woods, and his insatiable appetite for victories, this latest career milestone, reaching his 50th win on the US Tour quicker than anyone in the history of the sport, is an ominous sign for his peers ahead of next week's final major of the season, the US PGA, which takes place at Medinah, outside Chicago.

Unlike his emotional win in the British Open a fortnight earlier, the win in the Buick Open was different. It was every bit as controlled and clinical as that victory achieved at Hoylake, but it was more a case of business as usual as he beat Jack Nicklaus's old record. The Golden Bear was 33 years, six months and 21 days when he claimed his 50th (US) tour win (in his 262nd event), Woods was 30 years, seven months and six days when he holed out his 264th stroke in the Buick, in what was just his 196th tournament on the US Tour.

Thoughts? "I've had a lot of just really wonderful things happen to me on tour in my career so far in 10 years, (I've) been very blessed. (I) Started out my career just hoping to get my card and I was able to do that, and lo and behold, I got on a nice little run there. It's been just a great ride, really," said Woods, in his understated way.

In a year when Woods's competitive schedule has been considerably reduced due to the illness and subsequent death of his father Earl, the world number one's grip on professional golf remains as tight as ever. In just 12 outings worldwide, he has won five times, including a foray to the Dubai Desert Classic and last month's British Open.

"I didn't play well at the US Open (at Winged Foot, missing the cut for the first time in a major as a professional) at all, but I went back to the drawing board . . . . (my) swing's getting better. You never get there (fully). It's a lifelong ambition to get better, and as an athlete, you're always trying to get better no matter what.

"I came here to win a golf tournament. I was in the golf tournament. Hence, I came here to win it. I was fortunate enough to get it done. There's plenty of times when it does not happen, but you know, your intention should be to win the championship, and that's my intent that I have."

While Woods has reached the 50 tournament wins mark on the US Tour quicker than anyone, he ranks only seventh in the all-time list and trails Sam Snead by 32. When asked after this latest tournament win if he could see himself reaching 83, Woods replied: "Well, hopefully, hopefully. It's a long way away. That's also a big number. You know it's going to be a lifetime, a career basically, to get to that point and attain something like that. It doesn't happen overnight and it's not going to happen next year. It's going to take a long time. It took me 10 years to get here."

More immediately, Woods's thoughts and focus next turn to Medinah, where he won the PGA title in 1999, memorably holding off Sergio Garcia's final-round charge. Naturally, given his recent form since the missed cut at Winged Foot, which has seen him go second-first-first in his last three tournaments, Woods's confidence levels are high.

Of this latest win, which brought his season's winnings over the $5 million mark for the fifth straight year, Woods remarked: "It sure does give you a big boost of confidence that the things you're working on are positive.

"I was able to control my ball there (in Hoylake) and I was able to control my ball here (in Michigan, where he shot four successive 66s for 264, 24-under-par), and more importantly, I was able to putt well. I really controlled my pace on the greens, and that's what you have to do to win tournaments."

The emotion that followed his British Open win , however, was absent in Michigan.

"Not quite the same, no," agreed Woods. "The British Open was something that really hit home pretty hard because Augusta hurt a lot more than any tournament I played in because my dad would never watch me in another major tournament again and I knew that. I had an opportunity on the back nine (in the US Masters) and didn't get it done and that hurt a lot; and hence, he never saw me play again.

"So winning the British Open, a major championship, two majors later, was a huge thing for me, and I just wish I could have done it two major championships earlier."

Jim Furyk, the world's number four who closed the gap on Vijay Singh in the rankings after this runner-up finish to Woods in the Buick Open, led the praise for Wood's accomplishment. "He obviously has a knack of being able to finish off tournaments. He puts himself in position a lot, and when he gets there, more often than not, he ends up winning the golf tournament. We haven't seen an equal of that in the last, I don't know how many years. Definitely my era hasn't seen it. He's a tough guy. He's not giving much up. You have to go out there and chase him."

Unfortunately for those doing the chasing, Woods tends to make it a futile effort. Sunday's win was the 38th in 41 times that he has led going into the final round and finished off the job.