Victorious Tiger ties PGA record
Win in Japan gives him 82 Tour titles, matching Snead
Tiger Woods tied Sam Snead’s PGA Tour record of 82 career titles by winning the inaugural ZOZO Championship by three strokes on Monday morning in Chiba, Japan.
Woods led by three shots at 18-under after playing 29 holes on Sunday in the weather-delayed event. He finished at 19-under 261 after playing seven holes on the restart. He bogeyed the par-4 12th when he returned to the course, but got the stroke back with a birdie at the par-5 14th.
Woods missed a chance to expand his three-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama when he slid a short birdie putt on the 15th to the left of the hole, while Matsuyama, playing in his home country, moments later inched closer at 16-under with a birdie at 16.
Woods, 43, was still up by two shots on the tee at the par-5 18th, putting his tee shot in the fairway.
After Matsuyama tapped in for a par at 18 for a final-round 67, Woods put his 5-wood approach into a greenside bunker.
He blasted out to within several feet of the hole and drained the birdie putt for a final-round 67.
Woods has 82 titles in 359 PGA Tour starts — 66 fewer than what Snead needed to set the record.
Northern Irishman Rory Mcilroy (3-under 67 on Sunday) and South Korea’s Sungjae Im (65) tied for third at 13-under. Gary Woodland was alone in fifth at 12-under.
Woods won his fifth Masters title and 15th major in April but missed the cut in two other majors — the PGA Championship and Open Championship — and underwent surgery to repair minor cartilage damage in his left knee in late August. He finished 42nd in the Fedex Cup standings.
Woods’ first PGA Tour title came at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, and he earned his 79th triumph at the World Golf Championship-bridgestone Invitational in early August 2013. But he was stuck on that number while he battled health issues for the next five years, undergoing a spinal fusion procedure amid four back surgeries.
He showed signs of better health in 2018 before he put it all together at the TOUR Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. His 81st victory came at the Masters.
Nearly 10 inches of rain wiped out Friday’s second round, forcing tournament organizers to play as many holes Sunday as possible.
Canada’s Corey Conners finished tied for sixth at 11-under.
Adam Hadwin finished tied for 41st at 1-under.
KLPGA star Ha Na Jang edged American Danielle Kang in a three-hole playoff on Sunday to win the inaugural BMW Ladies Championship at LPGA International Busan in South Korea.
Jang birdied the 17th hole to tie Kang at 19-under and force a playoff, then matched Kang over the first two playoff holes before tapping in a birdie on the third to seal the victory.
“I played to the level of this game which is the best,” said Jang. “I’m also happy that I went into a playoff with one of my closest friends, Danielle Kang.”
A former LPGA member, Jang can accept a membership and return to the tour thanks to the win.
Alena Sharp was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 28th at 5-under, while Brooke Henderson shot 3-under to finish tied for 38th.
Kang played the best round of the tournament on Sunday, shooting 8-under 64 with no bogeys.
Jang had the tournament’s second lowest round at 7-under 65.