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Tiger Woods Ties Sam Snead with 82nd Career Win at ZOZO Championship 2019

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured ColumnistOctober 28, 2019

Tiger Woods of the United States attempts a putt on the 9th green during the final round of the Zozo Championship PGA Tour at the Accordia Golf Narashino country club in Inzai, east of Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Lee Jin-man/Associated Press

Nobody in PGA Tour history has won more tournaments than Tiger Woods.

Woods tied Sam Snead for the most tournament victories of all time with a three-stroke win over Hideki Matsuyama at the 2019 Zozo Championship in Chiba, Japan, on Monday. Woods shot a three-under 67 in the final round, clinching the 82nd tournament win of his illustrious career at 19 under for the tournament.

It is another notch on one of the all-time greatest resumes in sports history for the competitor who is second in PGA Tour history with 15 major championships. It was also a statement with the Presidents Cup quickly approaching.

Jason Sobel @JasonSobelTAN

Sam Snead’s 82 career victories happened during the 29-year period from 1936-1965. Tiger Woods’ 82 have taken place in the 23 years from 1996-2019.

Jay Busbee @jaybusbee

Tiger Woods the Presidents Cup captain on whether Tiger Woods the player played his way onto the team with a victory at the Zozo Championship: “The player definitely got the captain’s attention."

Here is a look at Woods and the rest of the top finishers:

1. Tiger Woods, -19

2. Hideki Matsuyama, -16

T3. Rory McIlroy, -13

T3. Sungjae Im, -13

5. Gary Woodland, -12

T6. Billy Horschel, -11

T6. Corey Conners, -11

         

This tournament was a test of endurance over everything else for Woods, who underwent surgery on his left knee for the fifth time just two months ago.

Cameron Morfit of PGATour.com noted Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club received 10 inches of rain, which delayed the second round before it even started. What's more, the final round was suspended for darkness and resumed Monday morning in Japan with Woods holding a three-stroke lead over Matsuyama.

Woods finished his third round at 1:12 p.m. local time on Sunday and then started his fourth round at 2 p.m.

"I think it's the mind," Woods said when asked what the most difficult part of the quick turnaround was, per Morfit. "Being in it for 10 hours is a long period of time ... the mind tends to wander a little bit and just got to grab it and make it come back and be 100 percent committed on the shot."

PGA TOUR @PGATOUR

Tiger in prime time. 🤩 The chase for 82 continues tonight at 6:30pm ET on Golf Channel. https://t.co/tLcbsTYjL1

Will Gray @WillGrayGC

Imagine telling your 2016 self that reigning Masters champ Tiger Woods would fly to Japan to tie the PGA Tour’s all-time wins record and ensure that he’d pick himself for the Presidents Cup.

Matsuyama was the only realistic threat to Woods when play resumed in the final round. Nobody else was within six strokes of the victor, who had seven holes remaining, while the nearest challenger pulled within three with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 before the delay.

It was a welcome turnaround for the second-place finisher after he was inconsistent with two birdies and two bogeys on his way to even par on the front nine.

Still, Woods just needed steady play to finish the win after he shot a combined 16 under par in the first three rounds. He started strong with birdies on three of the first six holes but saw his lead drop to two with a bogey on No. 12.

The 14th eliminated much of the drama, though, as Matsuyama missed a tap-in putt for birdie that would have closed the gap to one. Woods then drilled a long birdie putt on the same hole in the ensuing group, completing the drastic swing and giving him even more breathing room for the stretch run.

PGA TOUR @PGATOUR

Hideki had this to pull within one ... The leads remains at two for @TigerWoods. Five holes left on @GolfChannel. 📺 https://t.co/gBxXBx7RDA

PGA TOUR @PGATOUR

Tiger Woods is on the prowl. Walking in putts and leading by 3. #LiveUnderPar https://t.co/Ikc58mJzEB

It came in handy because Matsuyama birdied No. 16 to cut the lead to two. However, he failed to sustain his momentum by missing a birdie putt on 17 and finding the sand twice on 18, meaning Woods was fine closing with three straight pars and a birdie to join Snead atop the record books.