Sunday Golf Recap – Tiger Wins the Buick

Another great day of golf, as three of the big tournaments wrapped up, with some surprising and not so surprising outcomes. Let’s get to it!

BUICK OPEN

After Retief Goosen let me down last week when I picked him to win the RBC Canadian Open, it seemed only natural that Tiger Woods would lift my spirits by winning the Buick Open this week after I picked him on Wednesday. I know, not exactly a bold prediction, but surely Tiger would win a tournament after missing a cut, right?

Woods finished at 20-under par for the championship, after shooting a 69 for the final round.

Roland Thatcher shot an excellent 64 today, finishing three shots behind Tiger at 17-under. Greg Chalmers and John Senden also finished three shots back.

It wasn’t exactly Mickelson or Harrington chasing Tiger this week, but a win’s a win. And I’m sure Tiger will take it, considering this may very well be the final Buick Open, as it’s unlikely to return due to financial reasons.

Other notables:

Woody Austin -14

Justin Leonard -13

Paul Goydos -11

Jim Furyk -11

Chad Campbell -11

Rocco Mediate -5 (rebounded from yesterday’s 79 to shoot 67 today)

WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN

Third round leader Catriona Matthew was able to contain her lead and win the championship, finishing at 3-under after shooting a 71 for today’s round.

The next closest person to her was Karrie Webb at even par for the tournament after shooting a 68 for the final round.

The foursome of Paula Creamer, Hee-Won Han, Christina Kim, and Ai Miyazato all finished at 1-over par, tying them for third.

Congrats to Matthew on the big win, as she definitely had a great tournament this week and was able to keep her competition at a comfortable distance.

Other notables:

Cristie Kerr +3

Michelle Wie +4

Lorena Ochoa +10

Morgan Pressel +13

U.S. SENIOR OPEN

Fred Funk also finished a tournament at 20-under par, and won the U.S. Senior Open in doing so by a whopping six strokes. Funk shot a 65 for today’s round, and the 20-under total is a tournament record.

Joey Sindelar was your second place finisher, ending the tournament at 14-under par. Russ Cochran ended up third at 12-under after shooting a 68 in today’s round.

Other tournament favorites, Loren Roberts (my pick) and Greg Norman both finished at 11-under for the championship. It was another disappointing final round for Norman, as he shot 73 today, taking him completely out of contention.

It’s good to see Funk get the win this week after he seemed to be in complete control during the Senior British Open last week, only to eventually lose in a playoff. And another bad finish for Norman. I’d really like to see him win a tournament here very soon, but he’s gotta start correcting those final round mistakes.

Other notables:

Mark O’Meara -9

Tom Lehman -8

Tim Jackson (a) -6 (shot a 76 today)

Larry Mize -4

Bernhard Langer -2

Tom Watson +2

Yet another exciting week of pro golf action! Feel free to leave your comments on the events this week!