McDowell denies Tiger victory in Sherwood playoff

THOUSAND OAKS, California, (Reuters) – Tiger Woods’s  miserable year ended with more disappointment as he gave up a  four-stroke lead and suffered a crushing playoff loss to Graeme  McDowell in the Chevron World Challenge yesterday.

It marked the first time that Woods, without a win since  the 2009 Australian Open, lost a tournament in which he led by  at least three strokes going into the final round at Sherwood  Country Club.

Under pressure from U.S. Open champion McDowell, Woods let  his grip on the lead slip in his own event with a double bogey  on the 13th that the Northern Irishman birdied for a two-stroke  lead.

But McDowell’s advantage slipped away as he bogeyed twice  to send the pair into the final hole on level terms.
Both players birdied, McDowell sinking a difficult 25-foot  putt and then Woods keeping his nerve with a three-footer that  sent the pair into a sudden-death playoff.

Returning to the 18th, McDowell hit a tree but had a decent  lie and was able to find the green with his second and he again  drained a putt from over 20 feet to leave Woods putting for a  birdie to stay in the playoff.

“I fought hard today … it was close, we had a good battle  again – I felt right, I was right there,” said Woods.
Although the tournament is not officially part of the PGA  Tour, it clearly meant a lot to Woods who celebrated his great  second shot on the 18th in regulation with an aggressive fist  pump of vintage variety.

There was also plenty at stake for McDowell who showed  great poise to come out on top against the backdrop of a crowd  clearly, and vocally, hoping to see Woods capture his first  tournament win since his personal troubles began.
“Its just been an amazing year, I can’t say enough about  it,” said McDowell, who triumphed in the U.S Open at Pebble  Beach in June. “This is dream stuff, playing one of the  greatest golfers who has ever played and to beat him like this,  I’m just ecstatic.”

Thirteen months ago, the golfing world was stunned when  allegations of serial philandering emerged to leave Woods’s  private life in turmoil.

He took a self-imposed exile of five months from the game  but, with his marriage breaking up, struggled for form on the  course before ending his PGA Tour season without a single title  for the first time since he turned professional in 1996.

England’s Paul Casey finished third, four shots behind the  top two while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy was a further  shot back in fourth.