Contributed
by Vartan Kupelian of GlobalGolfPost
Nothing gets Tiger Woods' adrenalin flowing or his golf
game soaring like the thought of matching a Jack Nicklaus record.
Woods went one better Sunday. Not only did he move into a share of second place with Nicklaus on the all-time list of PGA Tour winners
– with 73 – Woods did it in Nicklaus territory. He did it at Muirfield Village
Golf Club on a course Jack built and at Jack's Memorial Tournament.
"It’s awfully special to
have won and do it here," Woods said. "Just makes it that much more special."
It was the fifth victory
for Woods at the Memorial Tournament. He birdied three of the last four holes –
including an uncanny hole-out at the 16th hole – to chase down the faltering
duo of Rory Sabbatini and Spencer Levin.
Woods shot a final-round
5-under-par 67 for a 279 total, 9-under par. Sabbatini shot 72 to tie Andres
Romero (67) for second, two shots behind Woods. Levin shot 75 to tie for fourth
at 283.
The victory enabled
Woods to complete the Legends Slam this year. In March, Woods won the Arnold
Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for his first victory in 27 Tour events. It was
the seventh time Woods won that event.
And now only Sam Snead, with 88 career
victories, is ahead of Woods and Nicklaus.
Nicklaus called the
hole-out at the 16th hole, "The most unbelievably gutsy shot I’ve ever seen."
"Leave it short, the tournament
is over," Nicklaus said. "If it goes long, it's in the water and the tournament
is over. He takes a full swing and lands it exactly where you have to land it
and it trickles into the hole like a two-foot putt."
Right. And the
tournament was over.
"I’ve seen a lot of
shots in golf," Nicklaus said. "I don’t think I've ever seen a better one under
the circumstances."
For good measure, Woods
finished with a birdie at the 18th hole. He also made birdie at the par-5 15th
to start the key sequence.
Woods' victory comes two
weeks before the U.S. Open at The
Olympic Club and once again entrenches the man who has won 14 major
championships as a favorite.
"I had it all," Woods
said of his ball-striking at Muirfield Village. "To birdie three of the last
four holes was a nice finish. To pull off that shot at 16 was pretty sweet, too
... I went for it and I pulled it off. For it to land as soft as it did was
kind of a surprise. I didn't think it was going to get there."
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