Tiger Woods Wins Bayhill in Dramatic Fashion

Each generation has an athlete that everyone has to see in person. For me growing up, it was Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Jr.

I never got to see Junior play, but I did see Jordan in exhibition play way back in the day…well, like 1992 "back in the day."

Since Jordan's retired and with Griffey in the twilight of his career, there are new kids on the block. There is LeBron in Cleveland, Kobe in Los Angeles, and Tiger in a little town called Windermere, Fla.  

I got the chance to see Kobe drop 41 points on Orlando back in December, and yesterday, I hit the jackpot: I saw Tiger come back from five down to win Bay Hill live and in living color.

The Set-Up

Sean O’Hair came into Sunday with a score of 7-under par. Tiger was right behind him at 2-under, but five shots away from his sixth win at Bayhill. Oh, and Zach Johnson was paired with the two at third with a score of 1-under par.

The start of the fourth round was delayed a couple of hours due to inclement weather, as the skies opened and poured buckets of water onto Arnold’s course off of Apopka-Vineland.

But anyone who knows the weather in Orlando knew that by noon or 1 o’clock, the sky would turn blue and the greens would dry.

As I stood on the driving range watching the likes of Retief Goosen, Mike Weir, Kenny Perry, and Vijay Singh warm up, I hear a roar behind me, as Tiger’s caddy Steve slowly walked toward the practice range.

He picks up Tiger’s range balls and walks toward the left side of the range.

A gentleman yells, "Ropes!” and the crowd parts like the Red Sea. I see an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy in front of the man that’s only six and a half hours away from grabbing history by the throat: Tiger Woods.

He quickly walks past a crowd of admirers as people ask for autographs and pictures, all for naught, as Tiger is so focused he unknowingly ignores them.

Unable to get a clear shot of Tiger, I walk around the MasterCard Clubhouse to a sea of people hoping to catch a glimpse of the greatest golfer of our time.

As I approach, I see Tiger hitting iron shots right next to Vijay, as both are gearing up for what is sure to be a great day of golf.

The rain subsides and the sky is starting to clear.

Tiger’s tee time was scheduled for 2:48pm eastern, so around 2:30, I walked toward the first tee to get a good look at him tee off.

Fast forward past the first three holes to the par-4 fourth. Tiger’s tee shot goes left and into the trees; he’s going to have to scramble to get in back on the fairway for a decent shot at the green.

The crowd starts to gather around him and grew to at least five deep, as he surveyed his shot.

He takes out his iron and lines it up.

Pow!!

Back on the fairway, as he saved himself from double bogey.

Editor's note: I have no idea how he maneuvered the ball around the 35 trees surrounding his ball.

As the day progressed, Tiger either trailed O’Hair by one or two shots up until the 16th hole. This is when the drama begins.

Daylight was starting to crest, as darkness slowly approached. Sean got aggressive with his iron shot and went straight for the pin.

Splash! In the water his ball went.

He has to take a drop, and now, Tiger smells blood in the jungle.

After the 16th, Tiger was up one shot as they approached 17. Tiger takes a forceful advance toward the pin on the par-3 17th. As his tee shot sails toward the flag, his ball lands in the sand right above the water.

After 17, Tiger and Sean are all even, heading into the last hole of the day.

The Finish

Walking up the 18th green on a day like yesterday was a thing of beauty. The crowds were at least 10 deep, hoping for a chance to see Tiger make another miracle putt like last year.

I’m standing about 150 yards away from the pin, as I can see the tee box on one side and the green on the other.

Once Tiger tee’s off, his shot races down the middle of the fairway and lands in perfect position for a shot at the pin. Sean’s shot landed to the right; just short of the first level of rough.

Sean goes and lands about 25 feet away from the hole. Tiger is next and his shot is about 18 feet away.

As they make their walk up toward the 18th green, the crowd starts to go crazy as there could be another Tiger miracle about to emerge.

Zach Johnson goes first and pars the hole to finish in third place.

Now the magic starts.

Sean putts for birdie, trying to either get it in or leave it short enough for an easy par putt.

He misses and leaves the ball about five inches short.

Now the crowd silences. There was no noise—not even from the Snoopy blimp.

Tiger walks back and forth, analyzing the shot, as this is exactly what he wanted: to test himself in a pressure situation.

He sets up, and we wait patiently for his putt.

Dink.

The putt is on its way, and I could hear my heart start to beat.

Tiger starts to back up as the putt slowly marches toward the hole.

He drains it, and the crowd goes bananas! Tiger Woods has just won the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second year in a row.

What a round. What a tournament. What a match!

I got to see Tiger Woods, in person, win a golf tournament in dramatic fashion on the very last hole of the day.

It doesn’t get any better.

-JH