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| |  Sunday, 14 April, 2002, 18:06 GMT 19:06 UK Round Four: Tigerwatch Woods was in the lead throughout round four Hole-by-hole coverage of reigning champion Tiger Woods' triumphant fourth round at the Masters. Tiger Woods tees off at 1910 BST under grey skies, beginning his final round by driving into the sand. But he recovers well with a good chip from the bunker to the green. His birdie putt ends six inches away from the hole, leaving him with a tap in for par. Woods is unhappy with his second shot towards the green, but he enjoys some fortune as the ball falls in the light rough between the crowd and the bunker. His third shot is a beauty, however, as he chips to within five feet of the hole - and he sinks the putt for a birdie to move two clear of the field.
A textbook drive off the tee is followed by a fine wedge shot on to the green. Woods confidently sinks the putt for a birdie - his second in the first three holes. Unfortunately for the rest of the field, the reigning champion does not appear in the mood to make many mistakes today. Woods judges the 205-yard distance to the pin well, although the ball drifts to the right and lands on the rough above the hole. But he quite comfortable makes in down in two to save par. Thirteen under Woods' drive from the tee does not go at all well as the ball flies into the trees. But he enjoys some fortune with the lie of the ball as he has a sight of the green. And then he produces a remarkable bending shot of which even David Bechkam would be envious to reach the green. But his first putt is wayward, and Woods subsequently drops his first shot of the day to offer the chasing pack some hope.
After his error on the fifth, normal service is resumed with a sublime chip in from off the green for a brilliant birdie. It moves Woods three shots clear. Thirteen under The seventh sees Woods pick up a relatively straightforward par to maintain his three-stroke lead. Thirteen under Another par for Woods - but his nearest rivals, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh are not making any inroads on his lead as he approaches the half-way point of his round. Thirteen under Woods' second shot to the green on the par four ninth is a masterpiece, landing 15 feet beyond the pin, then spinning back to within five feet. He then fluffs his birdie putt - but he makes the par easily, to give him 34 for the outward nine holes. And, crucially, he remains three shots clear. After a solid tee shot, Woods underestimates with an eight-iron and fails to reach the green leaving himself with a difficult task to make par. Needless to say, he does it. Thirteen under For the second hole in succession, Woods second shot falls short of the green, but this time he is unable to get down in two and he drops a shot. But there is no need for him to panic too greatly - his nearest rivals, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh have both dropped shots recently and Woods is still three strokes ahead.
Woods makes a solid par - but it is almost as good as a birdie, as rival Ernie Els almost rules himself out of contention for the title by taking a hideous eight at the 13th. Twelve under Woods is disappointed to see his fine birdie putt stop just two inches short of the hole - but will be pleased to have safely negotiated the hazardous par five 13th. And still, his rivals are not closing down his lead. Twelve under Woods hits the green in two, then takes two putts for another par - but he is in an even stronger position as Vijay Singh's bogey at this hole moments earlier mean he is now four shots clear of the field. Twelve under After a slightly wayward tee shot which lands on the edge of the trees, Woods takes no chances, dinking the ball out on to the fairway for a chip over the water to the green. A similar chip put paid to Vijay Singh, who ended up with an abominable quadruple bogey nine after landing in the wet stuff. In contrast, Woods chips to within a few feet of the hole, holes out for a birdie, and moves five shots clear.
Woods' sinks a nine-footer to save par, displaying the sort of composure which has been absent from his main competitors during this round. He is now only four shots clear after Retief Goosen's birdie at the same hole, but with two holes to go, Woods is on the brink of yet another Major. Thirteen under Woods unleashes a poor tee shot into the trees, and his second shot finds the sand on the edge of the green. He chips past the flag, then two-putts for a bogey five - but he goes into the last hole with a comfortable three shot lead. Twelve under Tiger Woods becomes the first man since Nick Faldo in 1990 to successfully retain the US Masters after a par four completes a round of 71. It has been a steady, rather than spectacular, fourth round by Woods, but the simple fact is that he maintained his form while the pressure seemed to affect his biggest rivals, and no-one could begrudge him the coveted green jacket. | |  
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