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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 12, 2009

Woods propels U.S. to Cup win


Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Tiger Woods

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SAN FRANCISCO — Tiger Woods provided a fitting conclusion yesterday to a perfect week at the Presidents Cup, for him and an American team that remains perfect at home.

With a flop shot out of the trees to set up one last birdie, Woods won the point that clinched the cup and made him only the third player in the Presidents Cup to win all five matches.

His 6-and-5 victory over Y.E. Yang was a tiny token of revenge for Woods blowing a final-round lead to Yang in the PGA Championship this summer. Even so, it was the first time in either the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup that Woods earned the decisive point.

And he didn't even know it.

"Oh, perfect," Woods said, an apt choice of words. "All I knew was I was trying to get my point, and I was 5 up trying to make it 6."

Phil Mickelson wrapped up another anticlimactic finish with a 7-foot birdie putt for a 2-and-1 victory over Retief Goosen, leaving Mickelson unbeaten (4-0-1) in the Presidents Cup for the second time in the last three contests.

The Americans won 19 1/2-14 1/2, the same margin as last time against an overmatched International team.

"They are just one hell of a team," Ernie Els said. "We have to pretty much go back to the drawing board, because they are a pretty well-oiled team, and it's hard to beat that kind of team."

The United States leads 6-1-1 since the Presidents Cup began in 1994, and it improved to 5-0 on home soil, the previous four victories coming across the country in Virginia.

"I'm sure we tried our best all week," Geoff Ogilvy said after his 2-and-1 victory over Steve Stricker. "Coming in today, we had too much to do and the U.S. team was obviously very motivated."

British Open champion Stewart Cink put the first point on the board by overwhelming Adam Scott, a questionable captain's pick who contributed only one point for the week.

Sean O'Hair and Anthony Kim followed with big victories of their own, and Hunter Mahan eventually won his leadoff match over Camilo Villegas of Colombia.

That set the stage for Woods, whose performance has been mediocre since he started playing these team competitions in 1997.

He won four holes in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the round, pouring in one birdie putt after another, then sealed it with a 9-foot birdie on the 13th hole.

Woods went 5-0 for the week, joining Mark O'Meara (1996) and Shigeki Maruyama (1998) as the only players to win all five matches in the Presidents Cup. Woods has 18 victories, the most of any player in this event.

"It's one of my better Cup experiences — we won, and that's the name of the game, whether you go 0-5 or 5-0," Woods said.

ELSEWHERE

Madrid Masters: England's Ross McGowan won the Madrid (Spain) Masters for his first European tour victory, beating Finland's Mikko Ilonen by three strokes. McGowan followed his third-round 60 with a 71 to finish at 25-under 263 at Centro Nacional. Ilonen had a 66.

Chattanooga Classic: Canadian Chris Baryla won the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Classic for his first Nationwide Tour victory, beating Troy Kelly by a stroke. Baryla finished with a 2-under 70 for a 19-under 269 total. Kelly shot a 65.