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| |  Sunday, 14 April, 2002, 22:45 GMT 23:45 UK Augusta fails to tame Tiger Woods plays out on the fifth hole in his final round They altered the course, the rain caused problems, but nothing, it seems, can stop Tiger Woods. Still only 26 years old, the American continued his domination of golf with a third victory at Augusta National. He made history with a 12-stroke victory margin in 1997 and although he never looked like breaking that particular record this time around, he was a comfortable winner. His solid final round of 71 gave him victory by three shots from Retief Goosen, with Phil Mickelson one stroke further back. There had been talk that the alterations to the world-famous Georgia course would tame the Tiger, but in the end it made no difference. Augusta was lengthened by almost 300 yards in the year since the 2001 Masters, with major changes at a number of holes. Short work They included the seventh, with 45 yards extra and an altered fairway, and the 18th which was extended by 60 yards. Elsewhere, tee boxes were moved, more trees planted and new hole positions added.
He certainly made short work of Augusta's revamp with some superb golf over the four days. Already assured of his place in golfing history, his third Masters success puts him alongside some of game's greats. Woods joins Nick Faldo, Sam Snead, Gary Player and Jimmy Demaret as a three-time winner. He is now well placed to overtake Arnold Palmer (four wins) and Jack Nicklaus, who triumphed at the Augusta National on six occasions. He also becomes only the third player to claim back-to-back Masters titles after Faldo (1989 and '90) and Nicklaus (1965 and '66). Intent His opening round of 70 caused a few raised eyebrows among golf fans, and rain delays meant he found himself having to play the last eight holes of his second round on Saturday morning. After a break of just a couple of hours he was out again but came up with an excellent six under par 66, including seven birdies as he signalled his intent. When the pressure started to tell, Woods remained his usual calm self as his challengers fell by the wayside. His latest victory goes a long way to proving that it doesn't matter what you do to a golf course - the best player will always triumph. | |
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