Tiger Pounces O'Hair to Win Sixth Palmer Invitational Title

Even though it was a repeat of last year’s dramatic finish, with Tiger making a birdie putt on the 18th green, it wasn’t exactly the same.

“This time it was a little bit different. I hadn't been in the mix since the U.S. Open, so it was neat to feel the heat on the back nine again, and got myself into the hunt and into contention,” said Tiger, reflecting on this win compared to last year’s.

Maybe it was because of the left knee injury and being off tour for eight months, or maybe it was simply the putt. After all, Tiger is the master tactician, and sees and thinks about what happens on a golf course like no other person in the world.

“This putt was so different. This putt was uphill. The other [one was] downhill left to right. This one was uphill; not only that, it was into the grain left to right. This was totally different. I kept telling myself, obviously, with the temperature getting a little cooler, this putt is going to be a little bit slower because of that. If anything, if you make any mistake, miss it—over-release the blade and miss it left so at least it has a chance with all the dew on the ground with the grain that it could snag and come in. I hit a pure putt. I hit it really solid and it held its line all the way there.

“I got a lot out of my rounds of golf, good saves, and big putts at certain times, and that's what you have to do in order to score, and I was able to score this week.”

Tiger is back all the way back and then some.

“You just remember how to do it," said Tiger. "It hasn't been that long for me, but you just have that feel of what to do and it's a matter of getting it done.”

Well, it may have not been a long time for him, but it certainly has been a long time for us, specifically since that U.S. Open Monday playoff win over Rocco Mediate.

Exactly nine months and 13 days ago.

How does Tiger see his competition?

“I'm trying to beat them. They're trying to beat me. It doesn't change. It's just about being there and somehow timing it right and making putts at the right time and pulling off shots at the right time. We're all trying to do it. It's just fun, some guys put themselves in contention more times than others; but still, we're all trying to win tournaments.”

Sean O’Hair, the third round leader by five strokes, was there in the final twosome last year, too. Tiger shot 66 last year on Sunday to beat him by three strokes, and Bart Bryant by one, when he made a 25-footer on the 18th green.

Ironically, O’Hair’s Sunday 69 from last year would have gotten the job done this year.

Tiger birdied No. 2 to set the tone for what would become a two-man match for the rest of the day. O’Hair’s bogey on No. 3 and Tiger’s second consecutive birdie led to the first of two two-stroke swings, narrowing the lead quickly to only two strokes. But Tiger bogeyed No. 4. Then, the second two-stroke swing occurred on No. 7, and the lead was only one stroke. O’Hair birdied No. 9 to increase the margin to two strokes at the turn.

But the Tiger had his prey right where he wanted him.

“The whole goal today with being five back was to try to cut it to two or three at the turn," said Tiger. "I had it down to one through 8; (Sean) made a great birdie at nine, so I thought I accomplished my goal on the front nine."

Then O’Hair gave a stroke right back with a bogey on No. 10. Then it was quiet for four holes, with Woods and O’Hair matching pars. There is always that false sense of calm right before the tiger pounces on its prey. Woods birdied No. 15 to pull even with O’Hair at 5-under par.

Then came the 16th, where O’Hair hit a good drive and second shot...or at least he thought he did, until it ran out of air-time and dropped into the water in front of the green.

“I made a good swing, good contact; right on the line, and unfortunately I think it ballooned on me," said O'Hair. "The wind got me a little bit. Even so, you know, my normal distance, it should have still carried. But I think what happened is when the sun was going down a little bit, I guess that kind of proved to me that the ball wasn't quite going as far. The ball was kind of going its normal distance all day, and that was just a stock 7-iron that I hit solid and didn't get there.”

Tiger had the lead in the tournament for the first time.

But Woods had some difficulty adjusting to the coolness of the late evening that stemmed from overnight rains.

“I made a mistake at 17, and I gave the lead right back up," said Tiger. "The ball wasn't flying as far. When I hit that 4-iron on 17, I hit it perfect. I flushed it, and it obviously didn't carry.”

Bogey. Match tied with one hole remaining—the spectacular 441-yard par-4 finishing hole.

Woods birdied the 18th to win shooting a 3-under par 67. O’Hair parred to lose, shooting a 3-over par 73.

The difference of six strokes in the Sunday performance enabled Woods to win again, making it his seventh win in his last 11 PGA TOUR events, dating back to the 2007 BMW Championship.

Sean O’Hair can take consolation in this being his fourth top 10 finish in eight starts this year.  

“I'm obviously just disappointed that I couldn't bring the ball-striking into today," said O'Hair. "But all in all, obviously, I've got to look at the positive side of this. I'm playing great, and the swing changes that I'm making are coming around.

"I think all in all, I take nothing but positives from this. Obviously it's just a little bit disappointing that I couldn't close it."

Tiger might have won this tournament on the practice putting green even before he or the contenders teed off.

While others like O’Hair struggled with adjusting to the softer, slower putting greens from the overnight rains, Tiger did not. O’Hair admitted as much saying, “I struggled with my putting speed today. They were a lot slower, and I just was disappointed that I couldn't adjust. It was hard to trust the adjustment out there. The rain definitely made it a lot more playable today and it changed the conditions a little bit, but I just didn't do a good job adjusting."

Tiger made a similar assessment, but was more proactive, duplicating the anticipated playing conditions and foretelling his winning putt on the last hole.

“Yeah, I hit a lot of putts on the putting green that were uphill into the grain to make sure I hit them hard enough," said Tiger. "I kept leaving them short, and most of them were lag putts, and I said, 'All right, I'll drill putts uphill for a while and make sure I get my pace so when I go out on the golf course it won't seem like such a big shot.' It worked.”

The tournament host—Mr. Palmer, as he is referred to nowadays as he nears his 80th birthday—put Tiger's win into perspective when questioned about his chances of winning:

“Well, knowing Tiger as I do, that's a good question. He has been off a long time, and I think there is the possibility that it might take him a couple tournaments to get back up to speed, although it looks to me like he's hitting the ball very well, and I'm sure that he's going to do everything he possibly can to win as quickly as he can. Am I putting that out of reach? No, not in any way, shape, or form. I think he could win any tournament he wants to at this point in time.”

One can’t help but think the golf gods and Tiger’s father, Earl, are looking down upon Tiger, giving him that little extra edge. Mr. Palmer knows the essence of Tiger in that regard, too.

“Tiger and his father had a great relationship, as I did with my father, and I think Tiger is very aware of that," said Palmer. "And I'm sure that as I did, he will for a number of years miss his dad and the things that he used to talk to him about, as I did with my father. I think the relationship is something that is much regarded and very high on the agenda. I think that he will remember that, and when he has a situation like he did here last year, that will come very fresh in his mind.”

Mr. Palmer echoed those sentiments to Tiger as he greeted him for the first time all week when he came off the 18th green with his sixth championship at Bay Hill.

"I think your dad would have been proud of how you competed and came back and won the tournament," said Palmer to Tiger.

Tiger Woods is back—all the way back and then some.

Tiger takes this week off and then competes in the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.

“It's always nice to win a tournament pre-Augusta, and I was able to do that again this year," said Tiger.

"It feels great. As I look back at my three tournaments I've played this year, I've gotten better at each one, and that was the whole idea—to keep progressing to Augusta.”

Who will he pounce to win his fifth green jacket?

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]