Tiger Woods wins the JBWere Australian Masters at Kingston Heath by two shots Posted by admin | November 16th, 2009

Tiger Woods has won the JBWere Masters at Kingston Heath, the world No.1 carding a four-under-par final round to claim the title by two shots from Greg Chalmers. “I really felt comfortable with my swing today … I did some rehearsals last night, and felt very comfortable with what I was trying to do today.” – Tiger Woods The world No.1 rediscoved his A-game for the final round at Kingston Heath.

The American provided immediate validation for the massive hype and his $3 million appearance fee when he won for the first time in Australia.

Tiger Woods, who finished 14-under-par on 274, after rounds of 66, 68, 72 and 68, defeated Chalmers, from Western Australia, who was outright second ahead of Jason Dufner, from the United States, and Francois Delamontagne, from France, in equal third at 10-under-par.

Adelaide’s Adam Bland carded the best round of the day, a 67, while former Masters champions Craig Spence and Aaron Baddeley matched Woods’s 68.

Defending titleholder Rod Pampling fired a final-round 73 to finish equal-14th at four-under, while Victorian Alistair Presnell finished five-under, in a tie for 12th place, to retain top ranking on the Australasian Tour Order of Merit.

Tiger Woods said after his round that he had achieved all that he had travelled Down Under to do.

Tiger Woods produced an outstanding performance in the pressure-packed final round, in which pundits

such as Jack Newton pondered whether the world No.1 would be able to overcome the travails he experienced in the third round.

Chalmers, the 1998 Australian Open Champion, made early birdies to remain in contention, but missed birdie opportunities at the 14th and 16th holes proved costly.

Australians Nitties and Chalmers had gone into the final round sharing the lead with Tiger Woods at 10-under.

But Tiger Woods began his day confidently when he opened with a birdie at the par-five 1st, and he was three-under when he reached the turn in 33.

Woods broke out of a tie to seize the outright lead when he moved to 12-under-par with a birdie three at the 5th hole.

He was then able to keep his pursuers at bay, and he stretched his break to three shots when he moved to 14-under with a birdie at the par-five 12th hole.

Tiger Woods dropped a shot at the 13th hole, his only bogey of the day, only his fourth of the week, after his approach shot bounced through the green, but he rebounded when he picked up a shot at the par-three 15th.

That birdie virtually assured the world No.1 of the title, but he was nevertheless disappointed to miss a birdie chance to consolidate his advantage at the 16th hole.

Tiger Woods parred his closing three holes, and he was assured of the victory when Chalmers, who needed an eagle two at the last to force a play-off, failed to hole his second shot at the 18th.

Tiger Woods’s victory was the 93rd of his professional career, and the seventh of the year.

He will next play his final tournament of the season, the Chevron World Challenge at Thousand Oaks, California, from December 3-6.

Tiger Woods Mea Culpa Fails To Explain Crash

Golf superstar Tiger Woods took responsibility for an "embarrassing" late-night car crash, but declined to tell his story to police even as he lashed out at "unfounded and malicious rumors."

Tiger Woods, 33, posted a statement on his website Sunday saying he was solely responsible for the accident outside his Florida home, which left him with facial cuts, some bruises and a welter of unwelcome publicity.

"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," the 14-time major golf champion said. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

But Tiger Woods again declined to speak to Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers, who had expected to talk with him as part of their investigation into the accident.

Officers, who were turned away on both Friday and Saturday, were to meet Tiger Woods at his home and discuss how his car came to hit a fire hydrant and then a tree near his two million-dollar home in the suburbs of Orlando.

Instead, FHP spokeswoman Sergeant Kim Montes said troopers who arrived at the house were met by Woods' lawyer Mark Nejame, who said Tiger Woods would not be meeting with them on Sunday.

"It has not been rescheduled," said Montes, who said the crash remains under investigation and could still result in charges. Under Florida law Tiger Woods is not obliged to give a statement.

"Mr. Woods' attorney provided the troopers with Mr. Woods' driver's license information, registration and current proof of insurance as required by Florida law," Montes said.

Authorities have already said alcohol wasn't a factor in the crash. Montes said that investigators wanted to give Tiger Woods an opportunity to give his version of events.

Early FHP reports that Tiger Woods was seriously hurt sparked worldwide interest. Even as it became clear Tiger Woods was not seriously harmed, speculation swirled as to why he was leaving his house at 2:25 in the morning and how he came to crash just after exiting his home.

Tiger Woods chose not to address those questions.

"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said.

Leading the speculation, the celebrity news website TMZ.com reported that a dispute between Tiger Woods and his wife, former model Elin Nordegren of Sweden, was at the center of the incident.

By the website's account, Nordegren confronted her husband about tabloid reports that he was having an affair with a New York club hostess.

"The only person responsible for the accident is me," Tiger Woods said. "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."

The FHP released a recording of a 911 emergency call in which a shaken neighbor of Tiger Woods tells dispatchers that a black Cadillac Escalade hit a tree outside his house.

"I have someone down in front of my house," says the caller, who is not identified and never mentions Tiger Woods by name. "I see him, he's laying down."

During the call, a woman yells out in the background "What happened?"

The neighbor responds that he has police on the line to report an accident. Not long after, the poor telephone connection is lost.

Daniel Saylor, police chief of the Orlando suburb of Windermere, has said Woods' wife used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help extricate him after she heard the crash from inside their home.

"This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me," Tiger Woods said. "I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be."

Tiger Woods is one of the best-known athletes in the world. According to Forbes business magazine, he is the first athlete to break through the billion-dollar earnings mark.

He and Elin have been married for five years and have two children, daughter Sam Alexis, born in 2007, and son Charlie Axel, born in February.

At age 25, Tiger Woods won the US Open, the British Open, the USPGA and the Masters on a roll to make him the first simultaneous holder of all four major championship titles.

Tiger Woods is scheduled to play his last tournament of 2009 next week, when he hosts the Chevron World Challenge in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks.

The annual event benefits his charitable foundation.

Tiger Woods was scheduled to hold a news conference there on Tuesday, and organizers said Sunday they had not been notified of any change.

For 3rd time, Tiger Woods Cancels Meeting With Police

Tiger Woods finally gave his side of the story Sunday — on his Web site, not to police — and took the blame for an "embarrassing" car crash that gave him cuts, bruises and public scrutiny like never before.

His statement failed to clear up any questions about the middle-of-the-night accident outside his Isleworth estate in which his wife told police she used a golf club to smash the back windows of the Cadillac SUV to help him out.

"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Tiger Woods said on his Web site. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

The statement was posted around 2 p.m. Sunday, about an hour after Woods' attorney told the Florida Highway Patrol that for the third straight day golf's No. 1 player would be unavailable to talk to troopers.

This time, the meeting was not rescheduled.

Even so, Sgt. Kim Montes of FHP said troopers went to Tiger Woods' $2.4 million estate anyway, only for attorney Mark NeJame to turn them away. The attorney gave troopers Woods' driver's license, registration and insurance as required by law for such accidents.

TigerWoods said the crash was a private matter, and he intended to keep it that way.

"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said. "The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."

Tiger Woods is scheduled to compete at his Chevron World Challenge, which starts Thursday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., although his tournament director did not know Woods' status for the tournament — whether he would play or even attend.

"We have been informed by the Florida Highway Patrol that further discussion with them is both voluntary and optional," Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said in an e-mail. "Although Tiger realizes that there is a great deal of public curiosity, it has been conveyed to FHP that he simply has nothing more to add and wishes to protect the privacy of his family."

Woods' wife turned troopers away from their home in the exclusive gated community outside Orlando on Friday, the day of the accident, because she said he was sleeping. Steinberg called troopers en route to Woods' house on Saturday and postponed the meeting until Sunday.

"We're just continuing our traffic crash investigation," Montes said. "If we have somebody who we feel is pertinent to the investigation, then we will interview them."

She said the 911 caller was interviewed Saturday, and investigators might speak with other people who were at the scene as well.

The FHP released the 911 call from an unidentified neighbor on Sunday.

"I have a neighbor, he hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he's laying down," the neighbor told dispatchers without ever identifying the victim as Woods.

Asked if the victim was unconscious, the neighbor replied, "Yes."

Part of the call were inaudible because of a bad connection. At one point, the voice of a woman is heard yelling, "What happened!"

"We're just trying to get the police here right now," the neighbor says to the woman. "We don't know what happened. We're figuring that out right now. I'm on the phone with the police right now."

According to the FHP accident report, Tiger Woods had just pulled out of his driveway when he struck a fire hydrant and then a tree. Tiger Woods said he had cuts, bruising and "right now I'm a little sore."

Montes said the Woods' car was towed for "safekeeping," and authorities have already documented where the damage is on the vehicle and the point of impact.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Tiger Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Tiger Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Tiger Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred confirmed she was representing Uchitel when she was reached by the AP on Sunday.

"She is with me in L.A.," Allred said later in an e-mail to the AP. "We plan to meet and then we'll decide on the next step, which we do not plan to announce to the press."

Uchitel arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Sunday morning, where she was met by Allred and escorted out of the baggage claim area and into a black car. Uchitel did not speak to reporters except to ask that she be left alone.

Aside from occasional criticism of his temper inside the ropes, Tiger Woods has kept himself out of the news beyond his sport. In an October posting on his Facebook account, Tiger Woods wrote, "I'm asked why people don't often see me and Elin in gossip magazines or tabloids. I think we've avoided a lot of media attention because we're kind of boring. ..."