Tiger Woods had yet another incredible moment in his incredible run on the PGA Tour, winning a dramatic 18-hole duel with Payne Stewart on Sunday in the Disney Classic.
Woods shot a 6-under-par 66 at the Magnolia Course to finish at 21-under par. It was one stroke ahead of Stewart, whose 10-foot birdie putt for a tie at No. 18 grazed the left lip of the cup.Taylor Smith, a 29-year-old tour rookie seeking his first tour victory, also finished at 21-under, but was disqualified for having an illegal grip on his putter.
Smith was notified of the disqualification on the ninth hole when he was 18-under and trailing Woods by two strokes. Tour officials allowed him to keep playing while he appealed, and he made an 8-foot birdie putt on No, 18.
Smith used a putter that was slightly longer than normal and had two grips that were not equally round, a violation of Rule 4-1c. Smith's appeal to the USGA was denied.
The $216,000 winner's check gave Woods $734,794 in just seven pro starts. He is No. 23 on the money list, which qualifies him for next week's Tour Championship at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.
"He can do things that I can't do," Stewart said.
Woods, who won his first pro title two weeks ago in Las Vegas and finished second last week in the Texas Open, has had an unprecedented run of success since he turned professional eight weeks ago after winning his third straight U.S. Amateur title.
"I was just hoping to get my card," Woods said, standing on the 18th green with the Disney character "Tigger."
"I had seven chances, and if I couldn't get my card I was going to go to Q-school," he said. "Luckily, I was playing real well coming off the Amateur."
Woods learned of Smith's disqualification after the round.
"I'm sorry that happened to Taylor that way," he said.
Woods had to fight 18 holes against Stewart, a winner of seven tournaments and two major championships.
They began the round at 15 under, one off the lead. Stewart hit every green in regulation. Woods missed only one, on the first hole when he hit into a fairway bunker, played a draw through a chute of trees into a greenside bunker and saved par with a 15-foot putt.
"That was the biggest putt all day," Woods said.
Woods had three three-putts, including one from 50 feet on No. 9 that dropped him back to 19 under in a tie with Stewart.
Woods made a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 10th hole, then gave it back with a three-putt from 25 feet. He took the lead for good on the par-3 12th with a 9-iron from 159 yards that stopped 18 inches from the hole.
Stewart knew he couldn't keep up with Woods' length and played a smart round, hitting the fairways in the right spots and leaving himself good chances of birdies.
He simply couldn't will them into the cup. Stewart had only two putts longer than 15 feet all day, but made only five of the short ones.
Woods nearly let the tournament get away. His 10-foot birdie putt on No. 17 ran 5 feet past the hole, and he missed it coming back to reduce his lead to one.
With the gallery five deep on No. 18 and some people sticking their heads through the mesh from under the bleachers, Woods left his 25-foot birdie putt about 18 inches short, then had to wait as Stewart missed his birdie chance.
WORLD MATCH PLAY
VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) - Ernie Els became the first player to win the World Match Play title three consecutive years Sunday when he defeated Vijay Singh 3 and 2.
Els, a former U.S. Open winner, prevailed on a day when neither player was especially sharp. The latest victory brought the South African's cumulative earnings in the tournament to $780,000.
"The first thing I'd better do is buy a couple of rounds in the bar," Els said. "I didn't play all that great today but, hey, it was good enough."
Winner over Colin Montgomerie in 1994 and Steve Elkington last year, Els tapped in a 2-footer at the 16th to clinch a victory that brought him $265,200. Singh won $140,400.
"It's a great feeling to have won it three times in a row," Els said. "Now I will be back next year again. I had to play well because I knew this man would come after me."
Singh, one of the four unseeded players in the competition, had to play eight rounds of golf in four days and beat the leader on the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, U.S. Open champion Steve Jones and then British Open champ Tom Lehman to reach the final.
"I played OK in the final but I wish I could play it all over again," the Fijian said. "I had a chance at the 12th hole to get back but I gave the tournament away then. I chipped and I putted really poorly today.
"If you give holes to Ernie he's a very hard person to win holes from. I gave him five."
Singh even led by two holes after three of the first 18, but Els quickly pulled back and was 1 up after the round. He then won four holes between the fourth to the eighth on the second round to move away for his ninth match victory in a row since he made his debut in the tournament three years ago.
WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Sweden's Annika Sorenstam shot a 2-under-par 70, beating compatriot Helen Alfredsson by a shot Sunday to win the World Championship of Women's Golf for the second straight year.
Sorenstam started the round with eight pars, then made three birdies before her lone bogey at the 13th hole
She thrilled 6,000 spectators at the 9th and 14th holes, both par-4s, with long par-saving putts. She won with a 274, 14-under at the 6,377-yard Ildong Lake course.
Starting the day five shots behind Sorenstam, Alfredsson rallied. She made an eagle at No. 12, and with four birdies posted a bogeyless 66 - the best score of the final round.
The victory was worth $125,000 to Sorenstam. That increased her LPGA earnings for this year to $780,000, third-best on the circuit.
Sunday's round was played under a crisp autumn sky with light winds. Only three of the 16 players shot over par.
South Korea's Park Se-ri, beginning the day only a shot behind Sorenstam, briefly joined her after sinking a birdie at No. 8. But she fell back and closed with a 72 to finish at 277.
Americans Kris Tschetter and Jane Geddes shared fourth place at 279 after both closed with 68s. Karrie Webb of Australia , American Val Skinner and Liselotte Neumann of Sweden were next at 282.
NIKE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) - Stewart Cink, the 1995 college player of the year at Georgia Tech, shot a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday for a four-stroke victory in the season-ending Nike Tour Championship.
Cink, who had a 7-under 281 total on the Settindown Creek course, earned $45,000 for his third victory of the year to push his tour-record total to $251,699. The top 10 on the money list qualified for the 1997 PGA Tour.
"To win this tournament in my hometown, against a field like this on this course, it's like a dream way to end a dream year," said Cink, who also earned $108,710 in five starts on the PGA Tour this year.
"The Nike Tour really trains you about how to play against good players, there's not a lot of hype out here, and that really helps."
David Berganio Jr., closed with a 74 to finish second. He made $28,375 to finish fourth on the money list with $146,047.
Lee Porter and Glen Hnatiuk tied for third at 286, with Porter jumping from 15th to eighth on the money list with $108,030.
Michael Christie ($193,971) also secured a PGA Tour card along with Joe Durant ($159,386), Brett Quigley ($123,763), Dave Rummells ($122,778), P.H. Horgan III ($120,760), Skip Kendall ($107,396) and Eric Johnson ($103,929).