WGC - Bridgestone Invitational Wrapup
There are few guarantees in life:
- We live in a heliocentric world
- 2+2=4
- If you touch something hot it burns
- No one knows what hot dogs are made of
And one more. If Tiger Woods has an eight stroke lead in the final round he will win -- that is a Guarantee...with a capital G.
Woods started the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational one stroke behind Rory Sabbatini; he was the golfer who referred to Woods as “more beatable than ever” earlier in the year. That was not the case on Sunday.
Woods displayed the one thing that he holds over every golfer in the world...he possesses the most air-tight, domineering focus ever to grace the game of golf. Instead of coasting to victory, Woods grinded like only he could.
Woods birdied the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th holes on the front nine to grab the lead from Sabbatini.
On the other hand, Sabbatini struggled on his opening nine: one birdie, two bogeys, a double bogey and one run-in with a fan (who he requested to have tossed from the course).
After Woods birdied the 12th hole, he held a somewhat comfortable 8-stroke lead over Sabbatini. Just getting to 8-under par for the tournament and having an 8-stroke lead was not good enough for Woods, he wanted keep his foot on the accelerator until the final putt.
Woods had a putt on the 18th hole to save par, but he studied it as if it was a putt to win a major. He rolled in the 12-foot par putt with his silky smooth stroke and that was it.
Guarantee cashed in.
Many things could have bothered or distracted Woods on Sunday. There was the rain, he played with someone (Sabbatini) who continues to call him out for being “beatable” and the PGA Championship at Southern Hills was only a few days away.
None of that distracted him. Nothing could have distracted him.
Woods could have used the whole back nine as a victory lap, messed around or experimented with shots for Southern Hills but that is not Tiger Woods.
It looked like he started playing the PGA Championship four days earlier than everyone else. He grinded on every shot, examined every putt like he was playing for a major. But it was not a major, it was the Bridgestone Invitational. Woods does not care about that. Majors are Woods’ stomping ground. Everything he does, every tournament, every practice round, every shot, is geared toward winning majors. That was on display on Sunday.
There is one more guarantee. Tiger is the favorite at Southern Hills.
Check-in with hookedongolf.com all this week for coverage of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills.
