A Memorable Memorial for Woods

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June 7, 1999 12 AM PT

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From Associated Press

When Tiger Woods was growing up in Cypress, he used to take golf balls and throw them into the trees just so he could work on his short game.

That practice paid off Sunday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

Woods extricated himself from a series of trouble spots with par saves--including a chip-in at the 14th hole--to hold off Vijay Singh and win by two strokes.

“The short-game shots, I’ve always loved hitting them. I’ve always loved chipping and scrambling,” Woods said after a three-under 69 left him at 15-under 273 at Muirfield Village Golf Club. “I was so wild when I was younger, I had to hit those shots.”

This wasn’t the Woods of the 1997 Masters, lapping the field while piling up a succession of birdies as the rest of the world’s best players shook their heads in disbelief.

Instead, Woods--who said he is playing at his peak at the age of 23--had an imperfect round that was salvaged by patience and timely shot-making.

His second PGA Tour victory of the year was worth $459,000. It was his second win in as many tournaments as he won a European PGA Tour event last month in Germany. It marked the seventh time in his pro career he carried the lead into the final day--and the sixth time he still had it at the finish.

Starting the day with a two-stroke lead over Singh and a five-shot margin on David Duval, Woods saved par on each of the first two holes from off the green. It was to be a trend.

At No. 5, he lobbed a short wedge from shoe-covering rough to two feet for a birdie to match Singh and maintain his lead.

Singh finally cut the lead in half at the par-five 11th, two-putting from 20 feet to get to 13 under, then caught a break when his iron to the par-three 12th soared over the green and slammed into a bank, rolling back within six feet of the cup.

But Woods, 15 feet above the hole, dropped his birdie putt and denied Singh the chance to pull even when he also birdied.

That set the stage for 14, where Woods again flew the green and ended up with a nasty downhill lie from 15 yards off the green. He muffed his next shot, moving it only about six feet closer to the hole.

Seconds after tournament host Jack Nicklaus, speaking on the CBS telecast, said Woods would be fortunate to make a bogey five, Woods slid his wedge under the ball and watched as it rolled 20 feet across the green and nudged the pin before nestling into the cup.

“As it was rolling down there I said to myself, ‘Hmm, that has potential,’ ” Woods said.

Woods characteristically pumped his fist again and again.

Singh, who also shot a 69 to get to 13-under 275, never threatened again.

Allen Doyle overcame painful back spasms to win the $1.1 million Cadillac NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J., beating Joe Inman in a four-hole playoff.

Despite limping all day and seeing his four-shot lead evaporate, Doyle picked up his third win of the year and became the first Senior PGA Tour player to pass the $1 million mark in earnings by rolling in a five-foot par putt.

It came after Inman, who had forced the playoff by shooting a six-under 66, lipped out an eight-foot par putt on the 215-yard, par-three 17th.

Bruce Fleisher is the only other player on the senior tour with three wins this year.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Final Scores

MEMORIAL--Par 72

Final 72-hole scores

273 (-15)--$459,000

Tiger Woods: 68-66-70-69

275 (-13)--$275,400

Vijay Singh: 68-67-71-69

279 (-9)--$132,600

Olin Browne: 72-70-72-65