|
 |   |
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
|  |
Respect given Woods, May tip their hats to one another
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNNSI.com) -- The PGA of America might want to rethink its decision 42 years ago to forgo match play. After what transpired Sunday afternoon on the greens of Valhalla Golf Club, it's hard to imagine a more exciting form of competition. Tiger Woods and Bob May went toe-to-toe in a classic battle that is sure to go down in history as one of the most thrilling final rounds of a major ever, one that featured two clutch birdie putts on the 18th hole of regulation and a stunning three-hole playoff. This one was simply too good to finish. The sight of Woods pumping his fist and screaming in excitement after following May's brilliant 15-footer with a 6-footer of his own to stay alive on the final regulation hole was good enough. It got even better on the first playoff hole when Woods was prancing toward the cup on No. 16, pointing in glee toward the bottom of the hole as his ball rolled in from 25 feet to give him the lead he would never relinquish. The putter that was so unsteady most of the week was masterful when needed most, with Woods one-putting all three overtime holes to win by a shot. "I just had to stay patient," Woods said. "Once I found the rhythm and got into the flow of the round, I knew I had a chance of winning this championship." Woods needed only 12 putts over the final nine holes of regulation, then three more on the three playoff holes to win his third straight major championship and his second straight PGA. It was a complete turnaround from the opening holes, when Woods missed relatively short putts on four of the first six holes to lose his lead and fall two shots behind his playing partner. "I putted terrible starting out,' Woods said. 'It was just a matter of time before the putter came around and finally it did." When it did, the match was on. Woods made a short birdie putt on No. 7 and followed it with his best putt of the day to that point - a 15-footer on the par-3 8th hole that tied him with May at 13 under. From then on, Woods hardly missed. And when he badly needed to make a putt, he did every time. "He never made another bad stroke from the eighth hole on in," said Butch Harmon, Woods' instructor. That was never more apparent than on 15, when Woods made the putt that may have kept his chances alive. May was only 4 feet from the hole for birdie while Woods was facing a 15-footer for par after missing the green with his approach shot. If Woods missed and May made his short putt, the lead would be three shots with three holes to go. "I knew if I made it, his putt would get a bit longer," Woods said. Woods did just that, rolling in the right-to-left breaking putt. And May pulled his putt, missing on the left. "That was big," Woods said. "Critical," May agreed. There were still more critical putts left. The first came on the 17th hole of regulation, when Woods put a sand wedge 4 feet away and made the putt to tie. That only set up the dramatics on 18, when both seemed destined to 3-putt for par and both ended up making birdies to break the PGA Championship scoring record at 18 under. May putted first, from about 80 feet up a ridge on the par-5. He judged the speed badly, and the ball rolled just off the green into the first cut of fringe about 15 feet above the hole. Woods had the advantage, but also had a difficult putt he would have to hit up a big hill, then have it break left and stop quickly. He managed to get that 6 feet from the hole. May's putt went in, but he readied himself for a playoff anyway. He knew the putt would go in. "I never counted him out all day," May said. And what a day it was. "It was one memorable battle today," Woods said. "We never backed off one another. Birdie for birdie, shot for shot. We just never backed off."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
