Woods Survives Playoff to Win at Torrey


SAN DIEGO - A new decade for Tiger Woods brought back some familiar images. Stalking the 18th green at Torrey Pines, he sized up the 8 feet of grass between his ball and the cup, a putt he simply had to make to get into a playoff Sunday. Then came that pounding of the fist when it dropped for birdie, matching the longest putt he made all weekend.



And when the Buick Invitational ended somberly, there was Woods holding another trophy.

Returning from the longest self-imposed break of his career, the 30-year-old Woods began his 10th full season on the PGA Tour with clutch shots down the stretch and two pars in a playoff to outlast two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and Australian rookie Nathan Green.

Woods' only regret was how it ended.

Olazabal played a splendid bunker shot on the par-3 16th to 4 feet, but missed the par putt on the second playoff hole. Woods closed his eyes and briefly bowed his head, bringing back another familiar scene.

His last PGA Tour win was the American Express Championship four months ago at Harding Park, where John Daly missed a 3-foot par putt on the second extra hole.

"You don't ever take pleasure out seeing your friends do that," Woods said. "I would have felt fired up if I made the putt in the playoff for birdie on 18 and ended it right there, but not when a friend of mine misses a short one."

Still, Woods could not have asked for a better start to a new season.

Improving his playoff record to 12-1 worldwide, Woods became the first four-time winner of the Buick Invitational and won in his season debut for the fourth time in 10 years.

"You either win or lose right here and now," he said of his birdie for an even-par 72. "Either you get it done or you don't. Over my career, I've done a pretty good job of it."

So ended a dynamic afternoon along the bluffs of the Pacific Ocean, where a dozen players had a share of the lead at one point and eight players shared the lead with six holes to play.

Olazabal was the first to reach 10-under 278 with a two-putt birdie on the 18th for a 69. Green, who made two crucial par saves in only his second PGA Tour event, holed a nervy 7-footer for birdie for a 72.

Woods never expected a chance, not after three-putting three times and getting fooled by the speed of the greens on a South Course where he has played since he was 12.

But in 10 years and 47 career victories, he doesn't miss many putts with so much on the line.

"I shouldn't have even been in the playoff," Woods said, surprised that none of the other 11 players atop the leaderboard ran off with a string of birdies. "Of all the things that happened today, I kept saying, 'At least you have a chance.' I flipped it around, turned it into a positive situation. It felt good coming off the putter and found its way to the bottom."

Woods has won four times on four courses — Torrey Pines, Augusta National, Firestone and Bay Hill.

Green did all he could to pull of an improbable victory.

The 30-year-old Aussie, who once worked in his parents' crematorium, built a two-shot lead by holing a 77-yard wedge on the par-5 13th for eagle. Then, he held on for dear life by making two clutch par saves, and the birdie on the 18th hole. But he didn't last long.

The only player to hit the fairway on No. 18 in the playoff, his 3-wood went into the grandstand. After taking a free drop, his pitch didn't reach the green and he chunked the next one, moving it only inches and making bogey.

"There's nothing to be disappointed about," Green said. "I've been an overachiever for the week."

That sent Woods and Olazabal to the 16th, and the 39-year-old Spaniard appeared to escape trouble as he often does. His bunker shot hopped into the first cut, then the fringe, then trickled downhill toward the cup. But his 4-footer was downhill, and Olazabal hit it too softly to take away the break.

"It doesn't matter who beats you," Olazabal said, a runner-up for the first time to Woods. "Obviously, he's No. 1, but it (upsets you) the same way."

Two players were inches away from joining them in the playoff.

Lucas Glover had a 65-foot eagle putt on the 18th that was headed for the center of the cup, but stopped just short. In the same group, Arjun Atwal left himself a 5-footer for birdie, but he pushed it right of the cup.

Also missing the playoff by one shot were Jonathan Kaye, who birdied the last five holes for a 68, and John Rollins, whose back-nine theatrics included an eagle from 117 yards on No. 10 and a 60-foot birdie on the 14th.

Phil Mickelson looked like a winner with one of majestic flop shots to save par on the 11th, and a birdie on the 13th that pulled him to within one shot. But Lefty, also trying for a fourth win at Torrey Pines, missed three consecutive par putts inside 6 feet and wound up with a 73, two shots behind.

"I had a bunch of three-putts, which I haven't been doing over the last couple of years, and made a lot of mistakes, felt pretty good with the driver, and yet I lost by two," he said. "So I look at that as a positive."

Woods skipped the season-opening Mercedes Championships, and for those who didn't think the PGA Tour began until he showed up, the No. 1 player was part of a terrific show.

When he holed an 8-foot birdie on the 12th to reach 9 under, eight players were tied for the lead.

Anyone could have won. Every shot mattered.

Woods earlier hit one tee shot so badly on No. 4 that it landed in the fifth fairway. But when the pressure was on, he started ripping them long and straight, enough to give himself a chance.

"It's always more meaningful to do it whenever you have to," Woods said.

Even after 10 years on the tour, that's one area of Woods' game that never seems to change.

Divots:@ Co-leader Sergio Garcia, playing in the final group with Woods for the first time since the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage, hit into five bunkers and a beer tent on his first eight holes and went out in 40. He needed an eagle to get into the playoff, but three-putted for a 75. Rod Pampling, the other co-leader, shot 76. ... Woods has won 10 times in California, more than any other state. ... Henrik Bjornstad, the first PGA Tour player from Norway, was among the 12 players atop the leaderboard Sunday until finishing in a tie for 10th.