Woods’ Sunday Punch Vaults Him Into Top 10

It doesn’t happen often, but this week, Tiger Woods’ Sunday best wasn’t quite good enough.

Woods shot seven-under 64 in the final round of the Nissan Open at Riviera Country Club. It tied for best round of the day and was his best round on the course, eclipsing the 65 he shot in the final round last year, but was good only for a seventh-place tie.

It was a victory of sorts, however, considering he began the day tied for 44th place and 14 shots out of the lead. He finished seven strokes behind winner Mike Weir.

“The goal for today was to at least try and get in the top 10 or, if not, at least try and build some positive momentum going into next week,” Woods said. “At least get this one in and play really solid so we can get some positive vibes.”

During a one-over 72 Saturday, there wasn’t much positive for Woods to talk about, so he didn’t. He bypassed reporters requesting interviews and instead went home for a workout.

“I took out my frustrations on the weights,” he said.

He then took it out on Riviera, which has been particularly vulnerable this year.

He made a rare Sunday start on the 10th tee, but began with consecutive birdies and kept rolling. He had eight birdies and a bogey.

Woods said he ironed out some problems with his iron play Sunday morning on the range and finally was able to get the ball close enough to make some birdies.

He hit 13 greens in regulation and needed only 25 putts. He hit to within 10 feet six times.

“I’m actually halfway decent from the fairway, excluding the first three rounds here,” Woods said. “I couldn’t hit a green with a wedge in my hand.”

The last time Woods could recall making a weekend start on the 10th hole was last year at the Masters. He shot 66 that day and got into contention.

“I didn’t like it,” Woods said of starting on the 10th. “I haven’t done that too often. I did it at Augusta on Saturday and I made a pretty good run, so I said I’ll see if I can play the same way, put myself up there and at least make a run.”

He did, and made it three top-10 finishes in three events this year. He has finished among the top 10 in 10 of his last 12 events dating to last season. Competitors aren’t surprised to see him climb the leaderboard even when he is seemingly out of contention.

“He never dogs it,” Fred Funk said. “I’ve never seen him dog it, no matter what he shoots, 75 or 62. He gets upset, but he’s gonna try.”

His score Sunday tied playing partner Jay Williamson for the best round of the day, but it wasn’t enough to get Woods an elusive victory in his hometown tournament. He is 0 for 6 in the Nissan, the only tournament he has played at least three times without winning.

“It’s frustrating, yes, but it’s one of those things where you have to play good for all four days, and I haven’t done that,” Woods said. “This week I played well for two days.”

Woods shot rounds of 72, 66 and 72 before his 64 Sunday. His 10-under total would have been good enough to win two of the last three Nissan Opens.

“If I could put four solid rounds together more often,” Woods said, “I like my chances.”

*

Weir had quite a Canadian contingent in his gallery. Among the spectators from Weir’s homeland was Eric Tomeo, 32, a Los Angeles resident from Montreal who carried a Canadian flag while walking all 18 holes with Weir.

He said he followed Weir last year and the gallery was subdued, so he wanted to liven things up.

“Last year when he won it was pretty quiet out here,” Tomeo said. “I just wanted to show some Canadian support. Everybody is coming up to me and saying they are Canadian.

“I think everyone would like to show it, but they are a little shy.”

*

Jeff Brehaut had an unfortunate stretch on the second and third holes Sunday. He five-putted No. 2 and four-putted No. 3. Brehaut finished with 37 putts in his round of 76.

*

Announced attendance Sunday was 30,925. The total for the week was 83,524.

*

Here’s the daily fashion report on Jesper Parnevik: black turtleneck, blue and black argyle V-neck sweater with white back, black waterproof slacks with orange zippers, white belt, black and white shoes.

*

The next time Woods plays will be Wednesday in the first round of the $7-million Accenture Match Play Championship, where his opponent will be John Rollins. The 28-year-old, four-year pro from Richmond, Va., missed the cut at Riviera, but he has one victory on the PGA Tour, the Bell Canadian Open in 2002.

He is ranked No. 67, but made the field because Ernie Els, Kirk Triplett and Jim Furyk pulled out.

“I don’t know much about him,” Woods said. “I know he hits it very long. But anything can happen in 18 holes of match play, so it’s important to get off to a good start there.”

Times staff writer Thomas Bonk contributed to this report.