Woods has some major momentum

AKRON, Ohio — Tiger Woods can’t wait to get to the PGA Championship.

Woods grabbed a big lead with a second-round 61 and then closed out the field with safe and smart even-par 70 on Sunday to roll to a seven-shot victory at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Next up? The year’s final major championship at Oak Hill.

“Do I want it any more? No, it’s the same,” said Woods, winless in his past 17 major championships. “Each and every major, I always want them. I’ve been successful 14 times, and hopefully next week it’ll be 15.”

That confidence is a product of his eighth win at the Bridgestone — matching the PGA Tour record he already shared for vic- tories in a single tournament.

He grabbed a seven-shot lead with a stunning, career besttying 61 on Friday and maintained it through a 68 on Saturday to arrive at 15-under 265.

On Sunday, he avoided any major mistakes and waited for a challenge that never came from an elite field.

“As blustery as it was, it was going to be really hard for someone to shoot 62 or 63,” Woods said.

“If I didn’t give any shots away and played my game and shot even par or better, I’d force these guys to go and shoot something super low on a golf course that wasn’t going to give it up.”

The victory was Woods’s 79th on the PGA Tour, drawing him within three of Sam Snead’s record 82 triumphs.

“The total body of work is pretty good,” Woods said. “One of the things I’m proud of, obviously, is how many times I’ve won, plus won World Golf Championships and how many years I’ve won five or more tournaments in a season. What is it, like eight or nine times? Ten? That’s not bad, either.”

Lest anyone think he’ll have difficulty surpassing Snead’s total, consider that Woods is more than 10 years younger (he’s 371⁄ 2) than Snead was when he won his 82nd and final event, the 1965 Greater Greensboro.

Defending champion Keegan Bradley, who tied for second with Henrik Stenson, was a huge fan of Woods when he was a kid. He was asked if he liked seeing Woods dominate as he did a decade or so ago.

“It’s difficult because I really want to get up there and contend with him. But he’s just ... this week he’s playing really well.”