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Woods' 63 Clinches BMW Title

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The Associated Press

Published: September 10, 2007

LEMONT, Ill. - Playing next to Tiger Woods for two days was daunting enough. It was when Steve Stricker watched him from 200 yards away on an elevated tee that he realized how tough it would be to beat him Sunday in the BMW Championship.

He arrived on the par-3 12th tee in time to see Woods, in his customary black pants and red shirt, rap a putt that traveled from one side of the green to the other until the ball disappeared after a 50-foot journey and gave Woods an unlikely birdie.

'It looked like he looked back to make sure that we were watching him make birdie,' Stricker said.

Not so, Woods replied.

'I didn't do a Sergio,' Woods said with a smile, referring to when Sergio Garcia stared him down at nearby Medinah eight years ago in a fruitless chase at the PGA Championship.

Woods only cared about making birdies, and he got enough of them at Cog Hill to close with an 8-under 63 for a two-shot victory over Aaron Baddeley. Along the way, Woods shattered the tournament scoring record, collected his 60th career victory on the PGA Tour and moved atop the standings in the FedEx Cup with one week remaining.

'If you wanted to win this tournament, you had to make putts,' Woods said. 'And I just happened to make them today.'

The 63 matched Woods' lowest final round to win, and he finished at 22-under 262 to break by five shots the 72-hole record at Cog Hill first set by Scott Hoch in 2001 and matched by Woods two years later.

And while his 60th tour victory surprised him, the amazement wore off when he was reminded that it was only 13 months ago at the Buick Open that everyone made a fuss out of Woods winning No. 50.

Baddeley gave him a good chase until he ran out of birdies on the back nine and settled for a 66. Stricker was tied for the lead until his 3-iron clipped a tree and came up well short on the 12th, leading to a bogey no one could afford. He wound up with a 68 to finish alone in third, enough for him to move to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings.

'There isn't a lot you can do,' Stricker said. 'I would have had to shoot 63 today to beat him. When you see him ahead of us making the birdies and hearing the roars, you know that he's on a roll and not making many mistakes. It's tough.'

It also might be tough to catch him in the FedEx Cup, which concludes next week at the Tour Championship.

Woods goes to East Lake in Atlanta with a 3,133-point lead over Stricker and a 4,120-point margin over Phil Mickelson, who decided not to play this week.

Mickelson, the Deutsche Bank Championship winner Monday, will have to win to have any hopes of capturing the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize. If Stricker does not win at East Lake, Woods could win the cup by finishing second.

Only two other players - Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi - have a mathematical chance.

'Winning takes care of everything,' said Woods, whose best is a runner-up at East Lake.

Rogers The 'Winner' In Bizarre LPGA Finish

ROGERS, Ark. - Stacy Lewis finished atop the leader board - and she even received a big trophy.

Is she the champion? Not really.

Lewis was the first-round leader at the rain-shortened LPGA NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday - and she'll have to settle for that. The LPGA Tour shortened the event from 54 holes to 18, setting up a strange finish on a nearly empty course at Pinnacle Country Club.

Only 32 players hadn't finished when play resumed Sunday, and the final day was closed to the public. Lewis, an amateur who plays college golf at nearby Arkansas, finished her first round the previous day at 7-under 65.

'Yesterday was just a roller coaster of emotions,' Lewis said. 'Going from playing my best competitive round ever to - it kind of felt like a knife in your heart. You don't get a chance to win.'

The LPGA was pretty clear on that point. Lewis, the NCAA champion, isn't considered an official winner because the tournament did not last at least 36 holes.

'From the LPGA's standpoint, this is not a tournament,' said Doug Brecht, the LPGA's vice president of rules and officials. 'It's extremely unfortunate, obviously, for a lot of different reasons. ... It's obviously not official, and we just don't consider it an event at all.'

The tournament began 4 1/2 hours late Friday, and play was suspended again around 11 a.m. Saturday. Rain wasn't a problem Sunday morning, and the sun even came out from behind the clouds - but the LPGA had already decided Saturday the event would end after one round.

Tournament organizers cited dangerous course conditions caused by heavy rain as a reason for keeping fans away Sunday.

Jin Young Pak was the only player with a reasonable chance to catch Lewis. Pak, a rookie, started her first round Friday and finally finished it Sunday. She birdied No. 7 - her 16th hole - to move within one of the leader. A bogey on No. 8 dropped her back.

WALKER CUP: At Newcastle, Northern Ireland, Jonathan Moore hit a 4-iron into 4 feet for eagle on the 18th hole to give the Americans the final point they needed to capture the Walker Cup, the first time in 16 years they have won away from home.

The Americans won the Walker Cup for the second straight year against Britain-Ireland and hold a 33-7-1 record in the series.

PGA EUROPEAN: At Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland, Brett Rumford holed a 30-foot chip from the fringe on the first playoff hole to beat Phillip Archer at the European Masters.

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