Woods Has That Winning Feeling

Say goodbye to the slump.

Whatever questions anyone had about what was wrong with Tiger Woods were answered Sunday when he hit a five-iron from 195 yards off a dead patch of trampled grass, the ball piercing through the wind as it carried over the water and stopped 15 feet from the hole.

“If I blow it at all, it’s in the water,” Woods said. “I hit that shot so flush.”

His winning putt broke gently to the right and dropped for birdie as Woods let out a roar and punched his fist three times in the air.

Woods was a winner again in the Bay Hill Invitational, relying on a fortunate bounce off a spectator’s neck and his spectacular shot to the 18th green for a one-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson.

The putt wasn’t easy, but Mickelson had no doubt that Woods would make it “just because he normally does that.”

Indeed, the world of Tiger Woods was back to normal.

Woods closed with a three-under-par 69 and became only the second player to repeat as Bay Hill champion. More importantly, it was his first victory of the year in seven tournaments, the longest he has gone without winning to start a season.

The timing wasn’t bad either, with the Masters only three weeks away.

“It’s always nice to win,” Woods said. “It was not a pretty round of golf, but I got the ball in the hole. I was able to get some wonderful breaks down the stretch.”

It wasn’t easy, and Woods needed some luck.

Mickelson had a six-under 66, making consecutive birdies to take the lead from Woods and then saving par with a lob wedge from 82 yards that came agonizingly close to going in for birdie on the 18th hole.

“I felt like I did what I needed to do to ultimately win,” Mickelson said. “And Tiger did the same.”

Woods, who hit only three fairways on the back nine, appeared to be in trouble on No. 16, a par-five easily reachable in two, when he hooked his drive left of the bunker and about four feet away from the out-of-bounds fence.

One stroke behind, with the final two holes into the wind, Woods went for the green and it paid off. His seven-iron came out high and long, clearing the pond and hopping up to the back shelf for a two-putt birdie from 35 feet.

Woods, who hit only one fairway with his driver, had little choice but that club on the 18th, and he pulled it badly.

It appeared to be heading out of bounds until it hit a spectator in the neck and dropped next to the cart path.

“With that many people over there, it was more than likely it was going to smoke somebody,” Woods said.

A woman picked up the ball and immediately dropped it--maybe the Nike swoosh and the word “Tiger” stamped on the ball gave her a clue. Woods got a free drop, anyway, because his feet were on the cart path.

He picked out his line, the American flag waving under cool, cloudy skies behind the green, and the ball never left its target.

“That was probably the best shot I’ve hit all week,” Woods said.

Woods, who finished at 15-under 273, earned $630,000 for his 25th career victory in just his 96th start on the PGA Tour. Until this year, the longest he had gone without winning to start the year was five tournaments when he turned pro as a 20-year-old in 1996.

Grant Waite had a 69 and finished third at 278. Chris Perry had third place locked up until hitting two wild approach shots on the 18th, making triple bogey and costing him $137,000.

So ended the best show on the PGA Tour this year, a dramatic duel even though Woods and Mickelson were separated by two holes. Cheers resounded back and forth across Bay Hill as Mickelson surged ahead and Woods fought back.

Woods was in control until his biggest mistake of the round, hitting a two-iron off the tee on the 438-yard 11th hole, into the wind. He left himself 222 yards to the green, missed it left and had an impossible chip.

“How stupid was that?” Woods muttered to himself just off the green. He made bogey to fall back to 12 under and into a tie for the lead with Mickelson.

As Mickelson walked across the bridge to the 16th green for an eagle putt up the slope, he heard a loud cheer from 1,000 yards away. It was for Woods, who rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt on the 14th.

The victory was extra sweet for Woods because of his victim--Mickelson, who rallied to defeat him in the Tour Championship last November and denied Woods a chance to become the first player in 50 years with 10 victories in a season.

Mickelson’s last two victories had come with Woods in contention.

“It was nice to sneak one out on him,” Woods said.

It was a little surprising too, considering how shaky Woods was from start to finish. He hit only seven fairways. He nearly went out of bounds on three holes, saved by either a branch or a spectator.

“It was ugly,” Woods said. “I didn’t hit the ball that solid. I didn’t know where it was going to go but forward. I was just trying to hit the ball between the O.B. markers.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

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* Thursday through Sunday--The Players Championship, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

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SENIOR PGA

* Friday through Sunday--Emerald Coast Classic, Milton, Fla.