Woods Silences Criticism with Memorial Tournament Win

Tiger is back. The golf celebrity was able to clear up any remaining doubts about his game at the Muirfield Village Golf Club, where he clinched the final round of the Memorial Tournament on Sunday.

Woods shot 12-under par-276 at the tournament, finishing the final round 4 strokes ahead of his closest opponents. He was able to finish with two final birdies that broke him out of a four-way tie and gave him a one-stroke victory over Jim Furyk, who shot at 69. Woods finished with 65 and gained his second title of the year.

Woods managed a strong performance for the entire week. On the fairway, he displayed a driving performance reminiscent of the 1998 Masters. He hit 49 of 56 fairways, and hit every fairway in a single round. Nor did Woods let up in the final round of the tournament. He began the last round behind Mark Wilson and Matt Bettencourt, who were tied for the lead. As the day progressed, Wilson and Bettencourt slipped to 10-under, behind Jonathon Byrd, who grabbed the lead when he made eagle at the seventh hole.

Woods approached the seventh with a shot that left his ball on the rough, some 44 feet from the hole. He seemed likely to par and Byrd seemed likely to maintain his lead.

But neither was to be.

Woods wedged the ball, popping it into the air and bringing it to the green, where it rolled gently into the middle of the hole. The crowd exploded; the eagle brought Woods up to second, just behind Byrd.

Byrd tried to maintain his lead at the 12th with a birdie, but when he faltered at the 13th and 14th with a three-putt and double bogey, respectively, Woods gained ground. Woods birdied again at the 15th and seemed to clinch the title, but his sure victory was upset by a bogey on the par-3 16th.

Then came his resurgence. At the 17th, Woods shot to within 9 feet and managed a birdie; at the 18th, he birdied again, hitting a 7-iron to within a foot of the hole.

Overall, Woods finished with 7 birdies, 1 eagle, and 2 bogeys. His phenomenal win, giving him 67 PGA Tour victories, silenced the criticism that had plagued him since his return from knee surgery last year.

“I knew I could do this,” Woods said. “It was just a matter of staying with it and giving it time to come around. I just hadn’t been as consistent as I wanted to be. Now, here we are.”

“It was just a matter of time.”

Apparently, Woods was beleaguered not by a loss of skill, but by a lack of practice. It wasn’t until the Master’s that he was able to hit balls after a round; then at the Quail Hollow Championship, he was able to do so after just two of the rounds. What he needed, he explained, was more practice time at home; once gained, he was able to return to vintage Tiger.

“I wish you’d all quit pissing him off,” Furyk said jokingly of Woods, referring to the criticisms that had surrounded the star player this year. “Wish you’d quit chapping him so much and make him come back and keep proving stuff. Tiger Woods is always Tiger Woods. He can’t be 100 percent every week, but I’m sure he answered a lot of questions today.”

Answer questions he did. Now the only one left on our minds is how long it will take Woods to beat Nicklaus’ record: 18 major championship victories.