Woods Is Witness to a Record : PGA Junior: Cypress golfer shoots 72, but Chris Couch ties Gary Player’s course record with a 63 to win title by 10 strokes.

Tiger Woods wanted to make history by becoming the youngest player to win the PGA Junior Championship. The 14-year-old from Cypress didn’t figure to become a footnote to history, but that’s what happened Friday at the PGA National Golf Club.

Chris Couch, 17, of Coconut Creek, Fla., shot a Champion Course record-tying 63 to bury Woods and the rest of the field and win the tournament with a record score of 10-under-par 278.

Woods, who trailed Couch by one stroke going into the final round, shot par-72 but finished 10 strokes behind Couch in second place.

“I thought I played pretty well, but I got my butt kicked good,” Woods said. “I’ve never seen anybody play like that before. He was awesome.”

Couch’s round of 32-31 included nine birdies and no bogeys. His 63 tied the course record set last April by Gary Player in the third round of the PGA Seniors Championship. Couch’s 72-hole total of 278 broke the boys’ tournament record of 286 shared by three golfers.

Woods’ round of 33-39 included four birdies and two double-bogeys.

Woods tied Couch after three holes by going par-birdie-birdie. Both golfers parred No. 4, but then Couch went back ahead with a birdie on No. 5 when he dropped in a 10-foot putt.

Woods never tied or led after the fifth hole, and he lost any chance of catching Couch when he made double-bogey on 14. His second shot landed on the cart path behind the green and rolled out of bounds. He took a penalty stroke, chipped on and two-putted.

Couch, meanwhile, drove into a trap on 14. But he hit a wedge onto the fairway, hit another wedge to within eight feet of the pin and made the putt for par.

“I was six up after 14 and I felt pretty comfortable about my chances,” Couch said. “I started thinking about the record on 17.”

Couch birdied No. 17 and needed another birdie on par-five 18 to tie Player. His chances didn’t look good when his second shot landed in a bunker in front of the green. But Couch hit a wedge to within a foot of the pin and tapped in for the birdie that gave him a share of the record.

“I seemed to hit everything great, but the big thing was that I putted really well,” said Couch, who needed only 25 putts. “Tiger is a great player and he was putting pressure on me early. But then I got in a groove and everything went in.”

Woods thought he still had a chance when he finished the front nine only two strokes back. But the double-bogey on 14 turned him from a competitor into a cheerleader.

“I was cheering him on the last three holes because I knew he was looking at a 63,” Woods said. “I only hit one bad shot all day and that was the one that went out of bounds. But I couldn’t keep up. Chris just made too many birdies.”

Woods, who shot a 69 Thursday to move into contention, said he felt no pressure playing for the championship.

“The only pressure I felt was on the back nine. I was four under and getting my butt kicked,” Woods said. “Chris played so great, there was really nothing I could do. Actually, I was glad I played with him. I enjoyed seeing him shoot a 63.”

The 63 isn’t Couch’s best score. He shot a 59 in July 1989 playing with some friends. But Couch called Friday’s round his best because of the circumstances.

“I had to qualify, and everyone here was a great player,” he said. “Plus, there was pressure on me because I’m from the area and I’d led all three rounds.

“This definitely was my biggest win. It’s hard to explain right now, but I feel spectacular.”

Couch begins his senior year at Coconut Creek High School next week. He’ll also play in the Canon Cup at Lake Nona Golf Course near Orlando starting Aug. 31. The Canon Cup is for the American Junior Golf Assn.’s elite players and matches the best juniors from the east against the west in a Ryder Cup format. Couch will play for the east and Woods for the west.

Defending PGA Junior boys’ champion Bobby Collins of Atlantis, Fla., shot a 76 and finished at 303, tied for 11th.

Vicki Goetze of Hull, Ga., shot a 75 and won her record third girls’ championship with a 278, nine shots ahead of her nearest competitor. Her 72-hole total broke the tournament record of 287 set by Heather Farr of Phoenix in 1982 at the PGA National Champion Course.

Coto de Caza’s Kellee Booth shot 76 to finish at 311.