Woods’ Lunch, Round Don’t Agree With Him

The streak is now seven for Tiger Woods, who knew long before he closed with a one-under 71 Sunday that his major-less drought wasn’t going to end. Woods finished at two-over 290, which matched his worst score at the Masters as a professional.

At least he wasn’t sick about it. Actually, Woods was ill when he started the round and vomited after he bogeyed the first hole.

He said he ate something at lunch that didn’t agree with him.

Woods had only 15 birdies for the week, along with three double bogeys and 11 bogeys.

“I didn’t make any putts this week,” he said. “You have to make them. You can’t go around here and not putt well.

“I’m disappointed because I didn’t win. I felt like I hit the ball well enough to do it.”

This morning, Woods turns in his golf clothes for fatigues when he goes to Ft. Bragg, N.C., to replicate basic training and also put on a clinic for soldiers stationed there.

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Nineteen-year-old Casey Wittenberg, the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur, showed he wasn’t out of place with the pros.

Wittenberg shot a 69 and finished at even-par 288 in a tie for 13th.

It was the best finish by an amateur in the Masters since Charlie Coe was ninth in 1962. Because he finished in the top 16, Wittenberg earned an invitation to come back in 2005.

Wittenberg had two eagles, one Saturday and one Sunday, and his 31 on the back nine Sunday set a record for amateurs.

“It was spectacular, unbelievable,” Wittenberg said. “I couldn’t have written a better script.”

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The total prize money of $6.5 million was a record and so was the winner’s share of $1,170,000 picked up by Phil Mickelson. The previous money record was a year ago when Mike Weir took $1,080,000 out of a $5,881,800 purse.

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Stephen Leaney may have started slowly, but he finished fast -- six under the last eight holes -- and posted a 69. He eagled the 13th by hitting a six-iron to three feet, hit a seven-iron to four feet at the 14th, another six-iron that led to a two-putt birdie at the 15th and then finished it off with a birdie at the 17th.

“When you’re seven over, you’re more relaxed than the leader and you’re firing at pins,” he said. “If you get a run going, you don’t feel uncomfortable on the greens. But when you go backward, you start getting defensive.

“That’s what this course does to you. This is the hardest course mentally that I have ever played.”

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How do you figure Steve Flesch? He isn’t sure, either.

He had a 69 Sunday and a 67 Friday, but he also opened with a 76 and had a 77 Saturday.

“I don’t know who the guy was who played on Thursday and Saturday,” Flesch said.

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Justin Rose, the first- and second-round leader, wanted to hide after his nine-over 81 on Saturday took the 23-year-old Englishman out of the tournament.

But Rose recovered to shoot one-under 71 on Sunday and two-over 290 for the tournament.

“It was a roller-coaster week,” Rose said. “I learned a lot.”

Rose said he received several nice comments about the way he handled himself after Saturday’s 81.

“It’s embarrassing enough to shoot 81, let alone behave badly and make yourself look like a real idiot,” Rose said.

“There were some nice comments which made the day a little more bearable. It was almost so bad you had to smile about it.”

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There were three holes in one at the Masters for the first time in tournament history.

Chris DiMarco made the first at the sixth hole Thursday.

Sunday, Padraig Harrington and Kirk Triplett scored holes in one on the 16th hole.

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Sergio Garcia just missed tying a Masters record when he made six straight birdies on the 12th through 17th holes.

Steve Pate made seven straight birdies during the third round of the 1999 tournament.