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Weir reigns in Spain Canadian wins American Express as Woods fades
Updated: Monday November 13, 2000 6:22 PM
SOTOGRANDE, Spain (AP) -- One of the greatest years in golf ended with a bang, just not the kind Tiger Woods had planned. As Mike Weir of Canada rapped in his final putt Sunday to win the American Express Championship, Woods twice slammed his foot into his golf travel bag while changing to leave Valderrama Golf Club. Just like last year, the diabolical 17th hole took the best shot Woods had to offer and deposited the ball into a pond. Only this time, Woods never got a second chance to win in a playoff. And his spectacular season ended without a perfect 10 -- the first $10 million man in golf, the first player in 50 years to win at least 10 times on the PGA Tour. "I played well for most of the day," Woods said. But not good enough to catch Weir, who played better than anyone on the weekend and came away with a two-stroke victory in the World Golf Championships event. Having watched another horror show unfold before him on the par-5 17th, Weir found dry land and made a deft par save from behind the green. That allowed him to coast in for a 3-under 69 and a two-stroke victory over Lee Westwood. "It's a huge win, a world championship," Weir said. "With the quality of the field, that's what makes it so special. Any time Tiger plays in the tournament you win, it makes you feel great because he's far and away the best player in the game right now." Weir finished at 11-under 277 and earned $1 million.
Woods will have to settle for a year that even one crazy hole at Valderrama can't spoil -- nine victories, over $9 million in earnings, three consecutive wins in majors, the career Grand Slam, and the lowest raw scoring average -- 68.24 -- in PGA Tour history. And there was one other winner. With the $500,000 for finishing second, Westwood moved ahead of his good friend Darren Clarke on the European tour money list and claimed the Order of Merit, ending the amazing seven-year reign of Colin Montgomerie. "It's more emotional than I have ever been," said Westwood, who finished $346,000 ahead of Clarke, plus a British pound from a bet they made with each other in August. "It was a very, very long day out there." Woods was emotional, too. He needed a birdie on the 17th, a green he can reach in two with an 8-iron, but put his drive into the trees and couldn't advance it out to the fairway. Bang! He slammed his club into the side of his bag. Weir had yet to play the 17th, a hole that produced four double bogeys and two triple bogeys, a par by Woods would leave him some hope. His fourth shot landed a foot behind the hole -- and then spun back, gathering just enough speed to reach the front of the green and trickled down the shaved slope into the water. Bang! Woods kicked his bag again in the scoring tent, having signed for a double bogey on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th, where he had to hole a 6-foot putt for his 72, extending his streak to 51 rounds at par or better. "Every ball I've hit in the water has been good shots," he said. "It's not a very well-designed hole." The only consolation was that the American Express is moving to St. Louis next year, so Woods and everyone else won't have to come back to Valderrama. "We're not going to come back ever again," he said with a smile. Duffy Waldorf was the top American, making par on the 17th and closing with a 69 to finish at 280, tied with Vijay Singh (68). Sergio Garcia had a 64 on a day when the tricky winds took a day off. He wound up in the group at 281 that included Woods, Price (72) and Padraig Harrington (70). Hidemichi Tanaka, who had a one-stroke lead over Weir to start the final round, stumbled to a 77. Five players had at least a share of the lead at some point Sunday, including Woods with an 8-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fourth. Weir, who tries to pattern his swing after Ben Hogan, had Hogan-like precision from the start. After fixing his posture late Friday, when he was eight strokes back, Weir was deadly accurate on a course that requires nothing less. He took the outright lead with a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 8, and only a half-dozen birdie putts that lipped out allowed for some drama on the back nine. That, and the 17th. Weir's lead was down to one stroke over Price and two over Woods when he arrived at the 17th tee and heard nothing but groans over the hill. Price laid up, but chunked his approach into the water. He took a drop, then hit his fifth shot so fat that it trickled into the front of the pond. Price took 8, and after a bogey on the 18th, he stormed away from Valderrama without comment. Weir was on top of the hill when he saw Woods take his drop. "It's just a very dangerous hole," Weir said. The Canadian never looked at a leaderboard until he got to the 17th, and with a two-shot lead -- and seeing the woes of Woods -- he decided to lay up. His third shot went over the back of the green, but his chip nearly went in and he had his par. "The 17th hole is a very difficult hole, a controversial hole," Weir said. "But it adds to the flavor of this event and this golf course." It was Weir's second PGA victory, but much more significant than winning the Air Canada Championship last year in Vancouver. Along with his sound play in the Presidents Cup, Weir continues to emerge as one of the top players. "Three years ago, I was playing when $100,000 Canadian was the total purse," he said. "To win $1 million is far and above what I ever dreamed." Woods had his chances at this 10-10 year. This was the third straight week he was within two shots of the lead going into the final round and failed to win. That's a streak he would like too stop, but he'll have to wait until January.
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