Tiger wins 10th major

Tiger Woods romped to victory by five shots at the 134th British Open on Sunday to clinch the 10th major title of his career. The world No.1...

Tiger Woods romped to victory by five shots at the 134th British Open on Sunday to clinch the 10th major title of his career.

The world No.1, champion at St Andrews in 2000, hardly put a foot wrong as he become only the second player after Jack Nicklaus to win each of the Grand Slam events at least twice.

Back to his very best form, the 29-year-old American fired a two-under-par 70 in breezy conditions on the Old Course to finish at 14-under 274. He now stands third in the all-time listings for major winners, behind fellow Americans Nicklaus (18) and Walter Hagen (11).

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“It’s a dream come true to win at the home of golf,” Woods said. “Looking at that leaderboard anything could have happened… I hit the ball so good, it was so much fun to control the ball the way I did today. Around the loop I hit some good shots and I really played well coming in. All the hard hours I’ve put in…this is one of the reasons I’ve made the changes, so I could be back here again at this level.”

Leader from day one after opening with a 66, Woods was never headed during the week although his advantage was briefly cut to one on the last day when he bogeyed the par-four 10th after driving into a greenside pot bunker. His playing partner Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain and Briton Colin Montgomerie had been his closest challengers but both fell away soon afterwards.

Twice U.S. Masters champion Olazabal dropped shots on 12, 13, 15 and 17 but birdied the last on his way to a 74 and a tie for third at eight under while Montgomerie’s challenge ended with bogeys on 11, 13 and 16.

The 42-year-old Scot returned a 72 to secure second place at nine under, his best Open finish in 16 starts but only his second top-10. It was his fourth runner-up placing at a major, and his first since he placed second in the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional.

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American Fred Couples, the 1992 U.S. Masters champion, finished level with Olazabal in third place after reeling off five birdies and a bogey on his way to a four-under-par 68. U.S. Open winner Michael Campbell carded a 72 to finish in a seven-way share of fourth at seven under, level with world No.2 Vijay Singh (72), Spaniard Sergio Garcia (73) and double U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (74).

Two strokes clear of the field overnight, Woods held off the initial challenge of his nearest pursuers with birdies at the fifth, ninth, 12th and 14th sandwiched around a solitary bogey at the par-four 10th.

A strong finisher when leading or holding a share of the lead after 54 holes, Woods has now triumphed 37 times worldwide from 42 attempts. His major record is perfect in that regard, winning all 10 of his titles after leading with one round to play. (Reuters)