Woods Proves to Be at Least a Cut Above

Tiger Woods tweaked the index finger of his right hand during a moment of frustration on the back nine Sunday in the Ford Championship at Doral.

After he hit a poor putt on the 14th hole, Woods sliced the finger when he angrily slapped his hand against his leg, cutting it with the forked divot-repair tool he was carrying in his pocket. He flexed the stinging digit, shook it, pulled on it and inspected it for several minutes.

“No biggie,” he said later.

We’ll be the judge of that. After all, an hour or so later, he had to figuratively wave it aloft again. Finally.

Woods not only held off a confident Phil Mickelson by a stroke after rolling in a 28-foot putt for birdie on the 17th hole, but also regained the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, set a tournament scoring record and survived one of the most memorable duels in years on the PGA Tour.

More important, after an uncharacteristically sloppy 2004, Woods reclaimed his reputation as the game’s top player.

His weary exhale after putting out on the final hole was almost audible.

He’s back. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.

“I was grinding so hard on that back nine, because of the ebb and flow of the match,” Woods said. “It was like, ‘Who is going to flinch first?’ ”

Neither really did, actually. Woods shot a six-under-par 66 and rallied from a two-shot deficit before the round to deny Mickelson his third consecutive stroke-play title of the year.

In a battle that delivered on the hype and drama, the two produced 27 birdies for the week, each setting personal highs for a 72-hole event.

It wasn’t over until Mickelson’s chip shot for birdie from 31 feet on the last hole lipped out and Woods stoically drained a six-foot putt for par to break the Doral scoring record by a shot at 24 under (264).

“The thing that made it special today was that we both played well,” Woods said. “Win or lose, we both played well.”

Don’t tell that to a miffed Mickelson, who shot 69 and felt as if he had been backhanded on the cheek. He was clearly miffed for again failing to deliver against his old rival.

“With all the feeling I have about losing today, this is probably the best thing that could have happened to me heading into the majors because I felt like I was playing better than anybody after [winning] AT&T; and Phoenix,” he said. “I just knew that I was going to win today and when I didn’t, it’s a great slap in the face, because I’m going to work my tail off to salvage a couple of more shots. Because when I head to the Players Championship and the Masters, I’m going to be ready.”

Woods and Mickelson were primed for action and it showed. They traded body blows and birdies all day, with Woods seemingly taking control with a memorable eagle on the 12th hole, a 603-yard par five. Woods powered his three-wood approach shot, flying the ball onto the green from 293 yards, and holed a 27-foot putt for an eagle to take a two-shot lead.

Mickelson countered with consecutive birdies to pull even. Still even when they played the 17th, Woods seemingly willed a birdie putt into the hole and struck a pose that hasn’t been seen as often these days -- his defining fist pump.

Woods, whose next start is expected to be at the Bay Hill Invitational on March 17, potentially added to his career aura. He claimed his second victory in a row after starting the final round behind the leaders, after his previous 11 had come after holding the 54-hole lead. Now he’s a comeback kid too?

Woods and Mickelson matched or bettered the Doral scoring record of 23 under, set by Greg Norman (1993) and equaled by Jim Furyk (2000). By virtue of the victory, Woods’ second this year, he unseated Vijay Singh in the rankings, a perch Woods held for five years before losing it in September. Singh shot 66, but finished five shots back in a tie for third with Zach Johnson.

About 35,000 turned up Sunday, according to tournament estimates, a number that compares to some daily U.S. Open tallies.

“It was electric, there’s no doubt about it,” said Woods, who has won 22 different tournaments on the tour and 42 overall. “When we’d get to the tee box, my ears were ringing.”