Tiger Woods was rarely in trouble during his final round at Bay Hill Tiger Woods snapped the longest winless drought of his career with a dominating five-shot victory over Graeme McDowell at the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in the early hours of this morning. It marked the first PGA Tour victory for Woods in 30 months, ending a winless spell that coincided with the personal turmoil that followed a 2009 sex scandal.
“It’s not like winning a major championship or anything,” Woods said. “But it certainly feels really good.”
Woods drained a short par putt on the par-four 18 to complete his round of two-under 70 and post a 13-under 275 total at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge course. The 14-time major winner, wearing his Sunday red and black pants, celebrated his 72nd PGA Tour victory with a fist pump then the customary shaking of hands with runner-up McDowell, who finished at eight-under 280.
“Today was unbelievable. The conditions were rough and those pins,” he said.
England’s Ian Poulter finished in third seven shots behind Woods, while South Africa’s Ernie Els was part of a group of seven golfers who tied for fourth at the $6 million event.
“I am thankful for a lot of people helping me out,\" he said of those who worked with Woods to rebuild his game and indeed his life since his well-documented personal problems. \"You all know who you are. It has been tough.\"
Sunday’s official PGA Tour win was the largest margin on the Tour since Rory McIlroy won the 2011 US Open by eight shots. Now with the Masters just a couple of weeks off, Woods heads to Augusta where he will try to continue his march towards Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors.
“I am excited no doubt,” Woods said. “It is always fun to play it. I am looking forward to the momentum I have built here and the things I have worked on with my game. It is all coming together at the right time.”
Woods entered the final round with a one-shot lead on McDowell then seized command on Sunday with a flurry of birdies on the front nine. He compiled a four-shot lead midway through the round by making four birdies on the front.
“It does feel good,” Woods said. “It feels really good. A lot of hard work.
“I’ve gotten better, and that’s the main thing. I’ve been close for a number of tournaments now. And it was just a matter of staying the course and staying patient, keeping working on fine-tuning what we’re doing. And here we are.”