Woods Is on the Way to Thirtysomething

Tiger Woods began his march to the Masters in style, hitting smart shots and playing bogey-free golf down the stretch in the Bay Hill Invitational at Orlando, Fla., for his first victory this year, a four-stroke margin that felt a lot tighter.

Phil Mickelson only raised more questions about his game--and his decisions.

In a duel between the top two players in the world rankings, the 26-year-old Woods became the youngest player in PGA Tour history with 30 victories, closing with a three-under-par 69 on Sunday to win at Bay Hill for the third consecutive year.

“It was quite a fight out there,” Woods said after finishing at 13-under 275. “I tried to hang in there and give myself a lot of looks at birdie and not make any bogeys. You needed to play smart, and I was able to do that.”

Mickelson could hardly say the same.

Leading by one stroke, he bogeyed four of the last five holes, including a questionable decision to go for the green on the par-five 16th hole from under the trees.

“It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible,” Mickelson said.

Ultimately, it decided the tournament.

Mickelson said he had no shot to the fairway because the ball would have run into rough on the other side. He saw an opening, 198 yards to the pin on a brick-hard, elevated green, 180 yards to clear the water.

“I had to catch it a little thin to get underneath the branches,” he said. “I caught it a little too thin. I don’t feel like the play was bad. I just didn’t execute it.”

The ball never had a chance, splashing in the middle of the pond. He walked off with bogey and a two-stroke deficit, then bogeyed the last two holes and tied for third.

“I’m not going to use this as a negative,” Mickelson said. “I played some good golf today, and just didn’t finish it.”

Woods became the first player to win three consecutive titles at three tournaments, having already accomplished the hat trick at Firestone and the Memorial.

“In this day and age, that’s an amazing thing,” tournament host Arnold Palmer said. “But he continues to do amazing things.”

Michael Campbell of New Zealand holed a 42-foot chip on the 18th for birdie to close with a 71 and finish second at 279, his best finish on the tour.

Len Mattiace, who played in the final group with Woods, had a 73 and tied for third at 280 with Rocco Mediate (70), John Huston (72) and Mickelson.

A year ago, Woods rode the momentum of his first victory of 2001 into history--first The Players Championship, then his second victory in the Masters to become the first player to sweep the four professional majors.

“It’s not life or death,” Woods said about winning before he gets to Augusta. “It’s more important for the media than for me.”

He’s more interested in his game, and there are still some kinks to smooth over.

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The turning point Sunday was No. 14. Mickelson hit at the flag, which was at the front of the green, and the ball hopped hard and wound up behind the green. He flubbed his chip to 20 feet and made bogey, about the time Woods got up-and-down for birdie on the par-five 12th.

It was a two-shot swing that gave Woods the lead, and he refused to surrender it.