GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Tiger Woods won the Buick Open for a third time and claimed his 69th PGA Tour victory.
Ho-hum.
Not quite.
Woods shot a 3-under-par 69 and coasted to a three-shot victory with a 20-under 268 total at Warwick Hills, which hosted its first Buick Open in 1958 and seemed to stage its final one Sunday.
“I’ve played all around the world, and I’ve never seen a day like this,” said Woods, also the 2002 and 2006 winner at Warwick Hills. “This event has always been special, but today was something else.”
He acknowledged thinking about his walk up 18 at Warwick Hills being his last, leading to him throwing his ball with a lot of velocity back down the fairway to fans. He also tossed a ball into the gallery at 17.
“I never do that, but today was different,” Woods said. “We aren’t coming back here, and I wanted to thank all these people.”
GolfWeek Magazine reported on its website that General Motors Co. would end the PGA Tour’s longest partnership, and The Associated Press confirmed it with a person briefed on the decision.
Woods improved to 36-1 when he has the outright lead after 54 holes. Woods has four wins this season — twice as many as anyone else on the PGA Tour — in 11 starts since returning from knee surgery.
Roland Thatcher (64), Greg Chalmers (68) and John Senden (70) tied for second.
Woods broke a tie with Thatcher with a 21-footer at No. 4, then two-putted from 43 feet to birdie the par-5 seventh. Woods picked up his final birdie with a two-putt on the par-5 16th.
With the 69 wins, he trails just Jack Nicklaus (73) and Sam Snead (82).
Woods reached victory No. 69 at the age 33 years, 7 seven months — almost seven years quicker than Nicklaus and eight years sooner than Snead.
