Insurmountable Woods Holds Off Els in Florida

The big question on the PGA Tour has gone from when will Tiger Woods win to when will he lose.

Woods won for the sixth time in nine tournaments Sunday, finishing with a 17-under-par 271 to defeat Ernie Els by one stroke and win the National Car Rental Classic at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The troubling trend for everyone else is that Woods keeps winning, and no one is quite sure when--or if--he is going to stop.

Not even Woods.

“I’m not going to put any limits on where I think I can go,” Woods said after a final-round, one-over-par 73 in which he missed five putts from 10 feet or less on the 7,190-yard Disney Magnolia course. Despite the less-than-impressive finish on a day when only 24 players broke par, there doesn’t seem to be anything the other golfers can do to stop Woods.

“Nobody can touch this guy at the moment,” Els said. “He has gone to another level where I don’t think the rest of us can really [match him]. The guy is great right now.”

Els hit into the water trying to lay up on No. 14 and had a 35-foot birdie putt roll off the green on No. 17 that led to a bogey. He wound up with a 71.

“I probably hit my worst shot of the year,” Els said of the shot on 17. “That took a lot out of me.”

Bob Tway was tied with Woods to start the final round and led by two strokes at the turn, but fell out of contention by hitting into the water on the par-three 12th and taking a triple bogey. Tway had a 76 and tied for third with Franklin Langham at 14-under 274.

“A couple of years ago when he won the Nelson and said he won it with his ‘C’ game . . . I guess he wasn’t kidding,” Els said.

Woods earned $450,000, pushing his earnings past $4.7 million. His six victories this season are the most since Tom Watson won six times in 1980 when Woods was 4. At 23, he is the youngest player to win this often since Horton Smith won eight times in 1929 at age 21.

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Bruce Fleisher tied the Senior PGA Tour rookie record with his seventh victory of the year, defeating Allen Doyle by one stroke to win the Kaanapali Classic in Hawaii. Fleisher had a four-under 67 in the final round for a 54-hole total of 14-under 199 on the 6,590-yard Kaanapali North Course. The winner’s purse of $150,000 extended his lead on the money list to more than $300,000 ahead of Hale Irwin and put him at $2,288,005. His seven victories duplicate the record set by Bruce Crampton in 1986 and matched by Lee Trevino in 1990.

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Sweden’s Robert Karlsson recorded his first European victory in nearly two years Sunday, shooting a five-under 66 to win the Belgacom Open at Knokke, Belgium. Karlsson earned $137,500 with a 12-under 272. . . . Kumiko Hiyoshi shot a one-over 73, giving her a five-under 211, to win the Hisako Higuchi Kibun Ladies at Soja, Japan by one stroke over Michiko Hattori and earn a $118,800 payday. . . . Shigeki Maruyama shot a four-under 68 and won the $207,000 in the Bridgestone Open at Cheba, Japan, by five strokes over Nobutoshi Izawa. Maruyama finished at 20-under 268.

Finish Line

PGA: $2.5-MILLION DISNEY NATIONAL CAR RENTAL CLASSIC

At Lake Buena Vista, Fla.--Par 72

271 (-17)--$450,000

Tiger Woods: 66-66-66-73

272 (-16)--$270,000

Ernie Els: 68-65-68-71

274 (-14)--$145,000

Franklin Langham 67-67-68-72

Bob Tway: 67-65-66-76

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SENIOR PGA: $1-MILLION EMC KAANAPALI CLASSIC

At Kaanapali, Hawaii--Par 71

199 (-14)--$150,000

Bruce Fleisher: 65-67-67

200 (-13)--$88,000

Allen Doyle: 70-64-66

TIGER TRACKS

Going into the Memorial Tournament on June 6, Tiger Woods had played in 11 tournaments, with one victory and three other top-five finishes. A look at what he has accomplished since:

Tournaments: 8

Victories: 5

Top Five: 1

Top 10: 3

Earnings: $3,276,386.50

OVERALL IN 1999

Tournaments: 19

Victories: 6

Second: 1

Third: 3

Top 10: 14

Earnings: $4,716,585*

* Record

Note: Does not include victory and earnings from tournament in Germany.