Woods fixes putting flaw to win PGA

LARRY FINE MEDINAH, Illinois – Tiger Woods had one of his best ever putting rounds to clinch the PGA Championship on Sunday after spotting a flaw in his stroke while watching TV.

Woods claimed his 12th major crown by five shots with an awesome display of putting that included a pair of 40-foot birdie efforts on the front nine. “I told Hank (coach Haney) that I saw what I did yesterday on 16 on the highlights last night on TV,” Woods said, referring to his three-putt bogey in the third round.”I saw how my putter blade went back, and I didn’t like that very much at all.I rehearsed it a little bit last night, came out this morning and I just felt like, hey, this is back to how I putted two weeks ago at the Buick.”Woods followed last month’s British Open triumph with four rounds of 66 to win the Buick Open and continued his roll with another dominant performance at Medinah, where he shot 68 to win with an 18-under-par total.”It was a special day out there.I just had one of those magical days on the greens today.I just felt like if I got the ball anywhere on the green I could make it,” he said.”If you read them right, they’re going to go in,” Woods said he felt after leaving the practice green.”I just had that feeling today.I don’t have that feeling very often, but it’s special when you can have it the entire 18 holes on Sunday of a major.”Woods, 30, made another tactical move that paid off on Sunday, relying on his five-wood off the tee to place the ball at the corners of the many doglegs among Medinah’s holes.ERRANT SHOTS He began the day by hitting five-wood off the tee after opening each of his first three rounds with errant shots using his three-wood.”It was fun to hit the fairway there,” said Woods, who sank a 12-foot birdie putt to break his tie with joint overnight leader Donald.Woods conquered Hoylake last month to win the British Open, hitting his two-iron off the tee to stay short of bunkers and out of the rough.”The five wood was pretty handy,” he said.”I hit my five wood farther than my two iron.If I hit two-iron off the tees, I couldn’t have gotten to the corners.I couldn’t carry the trees on 16, couldn’t carry the trees on 11, so that shot was out.The five wood just was a perfect club this week.”Woods believes he is on a roll similar to the one that carried him to his 2000-01 ‘Tiger Slam’, when he held all four major titles at once.Scarily, he considers himself a better player now given his added experience.”I feel like I’m controlling my ball pretty good right now, and more importantly I have a better understanding of how to get more out of my round and how to handle emotions better,” he said.”I feel like mentally I’m so much better prepared now to handle situations than I was then.Physically, I feel like I’m hitting the ball extremely well.I have a better understanding of my mechanics and my putting stroke now.”I feel like things are pretty darn good right now.”Woods snapped his tie with Walter Hagen on the all-time majors list and now is sole second behind childhood idol Jack Nicklaus and his total of 18.Woods, who has won 12 majors by age 30 compared to eight by Nicklaus, said it was too early to get excited about his chances of achieving that goal.”It’s still a long way away,” he said.”It’s not something I could get next year.It took Jack over 20 years to get to his.It’s going to take a career, and I’ve just got to keep plugging along.”Nampa-Reuters”I told Hank (coach Haney) that I saw what I did yesterday on 16 on the highlights last night on TV,” Woods said, referring to his three-putt bogey in the third round.”I saw how my putter blade went back, and I didn’t like that very much at all.I rehearsed it a little bit last night, came out this morning and I just felt like, hey, this is back to how I putted two weeks ago at the Buick.”Woods followed last month’s British Open triumph with four rounds of 66 to win the Buick Open and continued his roll with another dominant performance at Medinah, where he shot 68 to win with an 18-under-par total.”It was a special day out there.I just had one of those magical days on the greens today.I just felt like if I got the ball anywhere on the green I could make it,” he said.”If you read them right, they’re going to go in,” Woods said he felt after leaving the practice green.”I just had that feeling today.I don’t have that feeling very often, but it’s special when you can have it the entire 18 holes on Sunday of a major.”Woods, 30, made another tactical move that paid off on Sunday, relying on his five-wood off the tee to place the ball at the corners of the many doglegs among Medinah’s holes.ERRANT SHOTS He began the day by hitting five-wood off the tee after opening each of his first three rounds with errant shots using his three-wood.”It was fun to hit the fairway there,” said Woods, who sank a 12-foot birdie putt to break his tie with joint overnight leader Donald.Woods conquered Hoylake last month to win the British Open, hitting his two-iron off the tee to stay short of bunkers and out of the rough.”The five wood was pretty handy,” he said.”I hit my five wood farther than my two iron.If I hit two-iron off the tees, I couldn’t have gotten to the corners.I couldn’t carry the trees on 16, couldn’t carry the trees on 11, so that shot was out.The five wood just was a perfect club this week.”Woods believes he is on a roll similar to the one that carried him to his 2000-01 ‘Tiger Slam’, when he held all four major titles at once.Scarily, he considers himself a better player now given his added experience.”I feel like I’m controlling my ball pretty good right now, and more importantly I have a better understanding of how to get more out of my round and how to handle emotions better,” he said.”I feel like mentally I’m so much better prepared now to handle situations than I was then.Physically, I feel like I’m hitting the ball extremely well.I have a better understanding of my mechanics and my putting stroke now.”I feel like things are pretty darn good right now.”Woods snapped his tie with Walter Hagen on the all-time majors list and now is sole second behind childhood idol Jack Nicklaus and his total of 18.Woods, who has won 12 majors by age 30 compared to eight by Nicklaus, said it was too early to get excited about his chances of achieving that goal.”It’s still a long way away,” he said.”It’s not something I could get next year.It took Jack over 20 years to get to his.It’s going to take a career, and I’ve just got to keep plugging along.”Nampa-Reuters