The ultimate goal for Tiger Woods is to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record for victories in professional majors. Along the way, he also hopes to break Sam Snead’s mark for PGA Tour wins.
Woods won his 50th PGA Tour title Sunday, shooting his fourth straight 6-under-par 66 for a three-stroke victory over Jim Furyk in the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Mich.
“I’ve had a lot of wonderful things happen to me in my career so far on tour in 10 years,” he said. “It’s been a great ride.”
Woods reached a season-low 24-under and made a career-high 28 birdies in the tournament to hold off Furyk – who closed with a 64 – for his fourth win of the year. Woods earned $864,000 to push his tour-leading total to $5,127,563.
He picked up his latest win after his emotional victory in the British Open and before he shoots for his 12th major in two weeks at the PGA Championship, where he hopes to close in on the record he covets: Nicklaus’ 18 pro major championships.
Woods became the seventh member of the PGA Tour’s 50-win club and improved to 21-for-21 when leading by more than one stroke after three rounds. The 30-year-old Woods beat Nicklaus’ record pace to the milestone, which Nicklaus reached in 1973 at 33.
Snead is atop the PGA Tour’s career wins list with 82, ahead of Nicklaus (73), Ben Hogan (64), Arnold Palmer (62), Byron Nelson (52) and Billy Casper (51).
Woods said “hopefully” he’ll have enough success to catch Snead.
“It’s going to be a lifetime, a career, to get to that point and attain something like that,” Woods said. “It took me 10 years to get here. Hopefully I can continue playing well over the next 10, 20 years.”
Nicklaus won his 50th title in his 280th start.
Woods bogeyed the 12th hole, allowing Furyk to tie him briefly. Woods took the lead alone for good at 13 when his approach from 105 yards landed close enough for a tap-in birdie. At 15, Woods’ birdie gave him a two-shot lead and essentially clinched his second Buick Open win.
Joe Durant (67) finished four shots back, alone in third.
LPGA: Sherri Steinhauer shot an even-par 72 to win the Women’s British Open for the third time, and the first since it became a major.
The 43-year-old American finished at 7-under 281 in Lytham St. Annes, England, for her second major title. She also won in 1998 at Royal Lytham and 1999 at Woburn.
Cristie Kerr (71) and Sophie Gustafson (72), the 2000 winner, tied for second at 4-under, and Juli Inkster (73) and Lorena Ochoa (74) finished at 3-under.
Michelle Wie shot her third straight 74 to finish at 6-over 294.
Champions Tour: David Edwards won the 3M Championship for his first Champions Tour title, birdieing five holes in a six-hole stretch en route to a 5-under 67 and a two-stoke victory over Brad Bryant and Cherry Hills’ Craig Stadler in Blaine, Minn.
Edwards, making his 11th start on the 50-and-over tour, birdied Nos. 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 to reach 11-under, added four pars and closed with another birdie for a 12-under 204 total.
Stadler finished with a 68 for his third straight runner-up finish in the event, and Bryant closed with a 67.
After Stadler missed a 10-foot birdie putt on 18, Edwards needed a par on the par-5 closing hole for the victory. He put his third shot within 12 feet and rolled in the birdie putt to end any drama.
European PGA: Scotland’s Marc Warren won the Scandinavian Masters for his first European tour title, beating Sweden’s Robert Karlsson with a par on the second hole of a playoff in Loddekopinge, Sweden.
International: The list of participants listed on page 5E of today’s International preview section was updated Sunday to include golfers Steven Bowditch, Michael Connell, Robert Damron and Jon Engler Jr. Troy Matteson is no longer in the field.
