For someone whose career has long been weighed against legends, Tiger Woods is used to competing with unseen foes.
Anthony Kim and Woods both entered the AT&T National’s final round on Sunday 10-under. Hunter Mahan? He was six shots back.
Kim won the tournament last year and set a Congressional Country Club record on Thursday. Fans relished Woods facing the young challenger. However, this is literally Woods’ tournament. The host hadn’t lost a final-day lead since 2004. Kim spent more time on the left than Nancy Pelosi to never truly threaten Woods after the latter made up three strokes in three holes on the front nine.
Kim largely spent the afternoon two shots back of his boyhood idol. And that was bad for Woods. The icon plays best when pressed, and his only competitor loomed seven holes ahead. Mahan matched Kim’s earlier 8-under course mark with his own 62 to tie Woods at 12-under while the latter was on No. 11.
“What the hell happened here?” joked Woods over suddenly tied by Mahan. “What Hunter did today was impressive. I didn’t see that score out there.”
No. 11 was Woods’ black hole once more. He bogeyed it to finish plus-5 on No. 11 in the tournament, tying his worst career mark of a hole. But, it merely created some short-term drama. Woods wasn’t losing to someone in the clubhouse dining room sipping ice tea. He finally birdied No. 16 for the eventual one-shot margin over Mahan en route to a 67 and minus-13, 267 overall.
“I wouldn’t say there was more pressure being the host,” Woods said. “There was pressure by the score posted by Hunter.”
Woods needed some icy long putts to offset lipping out on No. 8 and slipping off some fairways. Woods rarely hit an ugly shot, but there weren’t many gems, either. That is, until sinking a 20-footer on No. 16. Woods birdied the hole each of the first three rounds. This was his looming ace in fending off Mahan and Woods cashed it.
It was a fabulous tournament with perfect weather and Open-like crowds. Each round attracted the most people ever in the three-year-old tournament. While many professional teams blame the recession for attendance woes, Woods’ tournament proved a good product attracts fans.
Washingtonians will truly miss the holiday event during its two-year hiatus in Philadelphia. Still, 2012 will be the Year of the Tiger once more.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail [email protected] Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or
e-mail [email protected].
