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| How the title was won and lost ![]() Beem's swing stood up to all the pressure This year's USPGA title was won by one shot by American Rich Beem, with Tiger Woods coming second in a Major tournament for the first time in his career. But the fate of the tournament was decided in the space of a few minutes on two separate holes...
11th Hole, 597 yards, par five Woods had only managed a par on this hole just a few minutes earlier and the hole has proved a tricky one all the way through the tournament. Beem, as he did on virtually every hole in his final round, hit a tremendous, straight drive. In modern golf, a par five of just under 600 yards is reachable in two shots for professional golfers. Beem is one of those who can get there with two massive blows. His second shot, with a three wood, was a colossal blow which seemed to have the perfect trajectory to land on the green. With Beem talking to his ball as it soared in the air, anticipation in the stands grew until it appeared on the putting surface and rolled to a very makeable distance of 15 feet. That Beem negotiated the eagle putt was perhaps the least impressive thing he did on the hole - his previous two shots had been simply awesome. It meant that he had got his score to 10 under, something no one had done on the final day. 13th Hole, 204 yards, par three For an amateur golfer, a three-putt is one of the sad but inevitable factors of golf.
For Tiger Woods, it is unthinkable, especially when the first putt is from a distance of less than 15 feet. The world number one arrived at the 11th hole at seven under having hit a tremendous iron shot which seemed certain to continue his charge. But perhaps the biggest single factor involved in Woods' erratic putting on this hole was out of his control. As he arrived at the hole, he eyed up his putt, he would have seen the scoreboard directly ahead of him which told him that Beem had got to 10 under, a lead of three shots. Perhaps intimidated, shaken or deflated, Woods failed to give the birdie putt full concentration and it slid past by at least five feet. His par putt never troubled the hole and from believing he needed a birdie for the share of the lead when he stepped on to the green, Woods left it four behind and quite visibly disconsolate. Another bogey at the following hole seemed to indicate that Woods was still suffering mentally from events at the 13th and even his heroics on the final four holes could not save him. |
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