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Woods wins Sixth Grand Slam title
POIPU BEACH , Hawaii , AP |
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Tiger woods, who battled a stomach virus in the opening round, won the exclusive 36-hole PGA Grand Slam of Golf for the record sixth time Wednesday, closing with an 8-under 64 for a seven-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson.
Woods pocketed US$400,000 (euro339, 675) and finished with a 13-under 131 total.
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Mickelson, the PGA champion, shot a 68 to earn US$250,000 (euro212, 300). U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell shot a 70 to finish 12 strokes back, collecting US$200,000 (euro 169, 850). Vijay Singh was another stroke behind after a 69. He took home US$150,000 (euro127, 400). |
Woods was never seriously threatened. He opened with a 67 for a three-stroke lead over Mickelson, and quickly widened the gap to five with birdies on Nos. 2 and 3.
He finished with two eagles, five birdies and a bogey in relatively calm conditions on the Oceanside 7,123-yard Poipu Bay Golf Course. He was bogey-free on the back nine for the second day.
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On the 573-yard sixth hole, Woods spilt the fairway with a 344-yard drive and hit a 5-iron, to set up a 55-foot, uphill putt that curled to the left and dropped into the cup. The gallery roared as Woods sheepishly grinned. |
On the par-5 14 th , Woods drove 293 yards into the wind and blasted a 3-wood from 244 yards out onto the green. |
“Oh baby, how about this shot I just hit,” he said, watching the towering shot. “That was pretty cool.”
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He then holed a 12-foot eagle putt.
Woods also barely missed a long eagle putt on the final hole.
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Woods showed no sings of a virus that caused him to vomit during the opening round and miss Monday's pro-am, or the ankle he twisted while successfully defending his Dunlop Phoenix title last weekend in Japan . |
Woods won six times on tour this year, including the Masters and British Open, and finished atop the money list with more than US$10 million (euro8.49 million). He last qualified for Kauai in 2002, when he earned his fifth straight Grand Slam title by beating Davis Love III and Justin Leonard by 14 strokes. |
Mickelson, who had a 13-under 59 to win the Grand Slam by five strokes over Singh last year, birdied Nos. 5, 6 and 8 to cut Woods' lead to three strokes at the turn. |
But Mickelson's tee shot landed in the pond on the 193-yard 11 th and Woods birdied the hole to take a six-shot advantage, virtually sealing the win. |
Campbell had a shaky start, but managed three birdies on his bogey-free back nine to finish the tournament under par. |
Singh, selected as an alternate in the event based on his performance in this year's majors, birdied the first two holes of the day, but couldn't make a move, parring the next 10 holes. |
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