ATLANTA — Bart Bryant wondered if he belonged with the elite players at the Tour Championship. He wound up leaving them in the dust Sunday, closing with a 3-under 67 in a record performance that capped off a remarkable year.
Bryant birdied his first two holes to open a six-shot lead and led by at least four shots the rest of the way around East Lake, winning by six shots over Tiger Woods to capture the $1.17 million prize — more money than he won in his first 18 years as a pro.
Bryant, 42, got up-and-down from behind the 18th green for par to finish at 17-under 263 and break by four shots the 72-hole record at the Tour Championship set five years ago at East Lake by Phil Mickelson. His victory margin matched the largest by Tom Lehman at Southern Hills in 1996.
He opened with a course-record 62 and never showed any signs that he would buckle, not even after back-to-back bogeys early in the final round. He played a simple game of fairways and greens to put Woods away.
"That little spurt in the middle of the back nine clinched it for him," Woods said.
Woods had three birdies in a four-hole stretch to give himself a chance, but the best he could do was a 69 to finish at 11-under 269. Woods earned $715,000 and finished his six-win, two-major year with $10.6 million.
Retief Goosen, trying to become the first back-to-back winner of the Tour Championship, never did find his swing and bogeyed four of the first five holes on the back nine, sending him to a 74.
Bryant, who didn't win on the PGA Tour until last year in the Texas Open, added two big trophies this year — the Memorial in June, and the season-ending Tour Championship for the top 30 on the money list.
MIZUNO CLASSIC: At Otsu, Japan, Annika Sorenstam birdied four of the last five holes Sunday and closed with an 8-under 64 in a steady drizzle, winning by three shots to become the first player in LPGA Tour history to win the same tournament five straight times.
"I had the chance to do something today that nobody else has done, so of course I felt some pressure all week," Sorenstam said. "That is what motivates me. That is why I play this game. To come here and do something like this, it's just very gratifying."
No one on the PGA Tour had ever won a tournament five straight times. Woods, Gene Sarazen and Walter Hagen have won the same event four straight times. On the women's tour, Laura Davies won the Standard Register Ping in Arizona from 1994-97.
Sorenstam finished at 21-under 195 and earned $150,000, pushing her season total to over $2.3 million.
Jennifer Rosales closed with a 66 to finish three shots behind. Young Kim of South Korea, who had a one-shot lead going into the final round, shot 70 and tied for third at 16-under 200 with Yuri Fudoh and Sophie Gustafson, who earned enough money to move into the top 30 on the money list.
SOUTHERN FARM BUREAU CLASSIC: At Madison, Miss., Heath Slocum shot a 6-under 66 for a two-stroke victory. With his father — former Mississippi club pro Jack Slocum — as his caddy, the younger Slocum finished at 21-under 267 after four rounds at the par-72, 7,199-yard course at Annandale Golf Club.