Buick Open title Woods’ fourth of year
Tiger Woods has another trophy for his overflowing collection.
Woods shot a 69 Sunday and coasted to a three-shot victory with a 20-under 268 at the Buick Open at Grand Blanc Township, Mich., for the 69th PGA Tour title of his career.
“This one feels good,” he said.
He improved to 36-1 when he has the outright lead after 54 holes. Woods has four wins this season – doubling the total of his nearest competitors – in just 11 starts since returning from knee surgery.
Roland Thatcher (64) briefly shared the lead at 17 under and finished tied for second with Greg Chalmers (68) and John Senden (70).
Woods moved into first place in the FedEx Cup standings and padded his lead on the money list with another $918,000 after winning his third Buick Open, tying Vijay Singh’s record total.
His career victory total trails Jack Nicklaus (73) and Sam Snead (82).
Dating to the 2006 British Open, Woods has won 21 of 39 starts on the PGA Tour.
Woods hit the ball relatively poor in the third round, but made enough clutch shots to finish with a 65 and a one-shot lead going into Sunday.
Without much of a sweat, he avoided losing an outright lead after 54 holes for the first time since 1996 and improved to 47-3 when he at least shares the lead following three rounds.
Thatcher shot a 9 under Sunday and shared the lead briefly.
LPGA
Catriona Matthew won the Women’s British Open for her first major title, beating Karrie Webb by three strokes just 10 weeks after giving birth to her second child.
The 39-year-old Scot birdied three straight holes on the back nine to hold her third-round lead. She closed with a 1-over 71 to finish at 3-under 285 at historic Royal Lytham and St. Annes, England. Webb finished with a 68.
U.S. Senior Open
Fred Funk won the U.S. Senior Open by six strokes, closing with a 7-under 65 at Crooked Stick at Carmel, Ind., for a tournament-record 20-under total.
Joey Sindelar (70) finished second at 14 under, Russ Cochran (68) was 12 under, and Loren Roberts (64) and Greg Norman (73) followed at 11 under.
Tennessee amateur Tim Jackson, the leader after the first two days, tied for 11th at 6-under 282, the lowest score by an amateur in event history. He closed with a 76.
Solheim Cup
Michelle Wie was selected as a wild card to make her Solheim Cup debut for the United States on Sunday, and Catriona Matthew made Europe’s team after capturing the Women’s British Open.
American captain Beth Daniel also picked Juli Inkster, who will make her eighth Solheim Cup appearance and at 49 will become the oldest player to compete in the matches.
Wie and Inkster will team with Paula Creamer, Christie Kerr, Angela Stanford, Nicole Castrale, Brittany Lang, Morgan Pressel, Kristy McPherson, Christina Kim, Brittany Lincicome and Natalie Gulbis.