The FedEx Cup didn’t change anything but Tiger Woods’ bank account.
The PGA Tour’s “new era in golf” came to a familiar conclusion Sunday when Woods captured the Tour Championship in record-setting fashion, closing with a 4-under-par 66 for an eight-shot win in Atlanta and his seventh title of the season.
The only difference? This was the first time Woods, who is 75-under par in his last five tournaments, walked away from one tournament with two trophies.
Along with winning the Tour Championship and its $1.26 million prize, Woods was a runaway winner of the FedEx Cup and the $10 million that goes into a retirement account.
If this was supposed to be the Super Bowl of golf, Woods spent most of the final round running out the clock.
He stretched his three-shot lead to four at the turn, and the only drama was whether he would break the PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record. He had to settle for a 23-under 257, his career low on tour and breaking the Tour Championship record by six shots.
Masters champion Zach Johnson closed with a 68 and tied for second with Mark Calcavecchia, who shot a 71.
Steve Stricker closed with a 67 and wrapped up second place in the PGA Tour playoffs, giving him a $3 million retirement bonus.
And while Woods, 31, has to wait at least until he’s 45 to tap into the $10 million, the $1.26 million he earned Sunday pushed his season total to $10,876,052, the second-highest mark in PGA Tour history.
Woods is $29,114 short of the record set by Vijay Singh in 2004, although Singh earned that in 29 tournaments. Woods has played in only 16 this year.
Solheim Cup: The U.S. team used a top-to-bottom blowout in singles to overcome a one-point deficit in Halmstad, Sweden, and win one of the biggest prizes in women’s golf.
Paula Creamer’s tap-in on the 15th hole ensured the Americans of the 14 points they needed to retain the Cup, and Nicole Castrale’s 8-footer moments later wrapped up their second straight win.
By the time the matches and the blowout were over, the United States had gone 8-3-1 in singles to win the tournament 16-12.
Champions Tour: R.W. Eaks won his second tour title of the year, closing with a 2-under 70 to hold off Jay Haas and Rod Spittle by two strokes in the Greater Hickory Classic in Conover, N.C.
“Winning earlier this year, I still didn’t believe I could win,” said Eaks, a Colorado Springs native who attended Northern Colorado. “Now that I’ve won twice, I can’t wait to win a third time.”
