Woods maintains impressive record in title play-offs
timesonline.co.uk
The Times
February 06, 2006
From Peter Dixon in Dubai
THERE is a saying that you should never catch a tiger by the tail, but that if you do, then do not let go. The advice applies equally, it would seem, to those who try their luck against one of golf’s big cats: Tiger Woods.
Woods yesterday won the Dubai Desert Classic at the third time of trying when he beat Ernie Els, his long-standing rival, at the first hole of a play-off over the Emirates Course, having finally caught the South African with a birdie at the last hole of regulation play to draw level on 19 under par.
It was a victory that kept going a remarkable run for the world No 1, who only the previous week had beaten José María Olazábal, of Spain, and Nathan Green, of Australia, in a play-off for the Buick Invitational in the United States, in what was his first tournament of the season.
Put simply, Woods is virtually unbeatable in play-offs. Last week and this, he had played considerably below his best — spraying tee shots to all parts — but once he got himself into a head-to-head contest, he assumed, rightly, that victory was his for the taking.
It is a confidence that comes from his previous tally of 11 wins and one defeat in play-offs around the world since he turned professional ten years’ ago and the knowledge that his previous defeat was as far back as 1998, when he lost to Billy Mayfair at the Nissan Open.
No matter how well Woods’s opponent may have been playing until that point, most seem to crumble under the pressure of going into extra holes against the man with ten major championships to his name — as witnessed by John Daly’s missed three-foot putt at the WGC American Express Championship last year. And Els, yesterday, was no exception.
Over the first four rounds, the world No 5 had three birdies and an eagle at the par-five 18th.
And yet when he returned to the hole in the company of Woods, he made a mess of it. After Woods had teed off first and found the middle of the fairway, Els hooked his tee shot into sand and among trees and then watched as his great rival, using a fairway wood, flew the water guarding the green with his second shot.
Woods still had a difficult chip, downhill and out of rough at the back of the green, but Els, fearing a birdie was already assured, unwisely took on a hugely difficult shot. Choosing not to lay up, he went for the green, ended in water, took a penalty drop, pitched long and missed the ensuing putt. It allowed Woods the luxury of two putts for victory from about 15 feet and he happily took them.
“It was very stressful, but I was somehow able to come out on top. I don’t know how,” a relieved Woods said, and was quick to acknowledge that he had been out of sorts for most of the round. He had no idea if the ball was going to go left or right and by the time he had reached the turn, a two-shot lead over Els at the start of the day had been turned into a one-shot deficit.
Els, for his part, was playing beautifully and finished with a round of 67 that included five birdies and no bogeys. At one point he was two shots ahead of Woods, as was Richard Green, the Australian, who unexpectedly came to the 18th tee leading Els, his playing partner, by one shot after a run of four birdies in five holes from the 13th. But when Green bogeyed the last and Els birdied it, the stage was clear for two of the game’s biggest players.
In a spectacular finish Woods birdied the last two holes. He drove the green at the 359-yard par-four 17th and comfortably found the fairway at the last to give himself a shot at the green. His round of 69 included four birdies, one bogey and a succession of scrambled pars.
Others, among them Anders Hansen, Retief Goosen and Miguel Angel Jiménez, had good chances to pull away, but they failed to take advantage of Woods’s relatively poor form. Woods has mastered the technique of “winning ugly” and did just that. “Like last week, the guys had an opportunity to run away with it and didn’t,” he said. |
