Monday, October 21,
2002
A big
breakthrough for Burns
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA,
Fla. (AP) - Bob Burns became the 16th player this year to win
for the first time on the PGA Tour, and this was the sweetest
of them all.
He's the only first-time
winner to take down Tiger Woods.
"When his name
is below mine, that's pretty cool," Burns said.
Playing with the
poise of a proven winner, Burns made consecutive birdies on the
back nine to seize control in the Disney World Golf Classic, closing
with a 7-under 65 Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Chris DiMarco.
Woods, trying to
stage his greatest comeback on the PGA Tour, made up a six-stroke
deficit over 10 holes and finished with a 63, his lowest final
round in relation to par in his seven years on tour.
It wasn't good enough.
Woods missed a 6-foot
birdie putt on the final hole that ended whatever hopes he had,
and wound up two strokes behind.
"He just ran
out of holes," said Burns, who finished at 25-under 263 and
was six groups behind Woods on the Magnolia Course. "I figured
if I played my game, I wasn't going to back off. He was never
really a factor unless he got to 25."
Still, Woods' presence
in the field _ and on the leaderboard _ was not lost on Burns.
He was asked if years
from now, when he reflects on his first PGA Tour victory, would
he brag that Woods shot his best round on Sunday and ...
"And I took
him down? Yes I will," Burns said with a laugh.
DiMarco made a birdie
on the final hole for a 68, a putt worth $74,000.
"My hat's off
to him," DiMarco said of Burns. "He came out and beat
me today, and that's what it's all about out here."
Burns came to Disney
World with hopes of having a good enough week to finish in the
top 125 on the money list and keep his card. He was 118th, but
that's no longer a problem. Along with a check for $666,000, he
received a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
"I was pretty
nervous until hitting my tee shot on 17," Burns said. "Once
I got over the water, I thought I could get it to the house."
He and Woods think
alike.
Woods watched Burns
play the 15th hole _ another par _ from the ABC television booth,
then came out to the putting green and sat in a plastic lawn chair
to watch the final few holes on the big screen TV, waiting to
see if there was any reason for him to stick around.
"This is the
tournament here," Woods said as he watched Burns tee off
on No. 17.
As Burns' tee shot
easily cleared the water and trees on the dogleg left, Woods grinned
watching him bend over to snatch his tee from the ground.
"Oh, he pured
it. Good for him," Woods said.
It was the first
victory for Burns since he won the Buy.com Tour Championship four
years ago to clinch player of the year honors on the developmental
tour.
The final round developed
into the shootout everyone expected, and Burns was up to the task.
He took the outright lead with a 10-foot birdie on the 11th hole,
but the turning point came later.
With Woods, David
Toms and DiMarco still on his heels, Burns holed a 15-foot birdie
putt on No. 13, followed by a 30-footer on the par-5 14th to open
a two-stroke margin.
He never backed off,
which was a little surprising.
As Woods walked toward
the 18th green, Kultida Woods was asked if her son's performance
would be good enough for another victory.
"Has Burns ever
won?" she asked.
Told that he hadn't,
she pursed her lips. "It might be tough if he sees Tiger
up there."
Burns' strategy was
not to look at a leaderboard until he reached 24-under par. That
came after the 13th hole, and all he did was add the decisive
birdie.
He kept hearing pockets
of roars in front of him every time Woods made a birdie, but eventually
the cheering stopped.
Woods was done. Burns
was still leading.
"Once he was
posted (at 23 under), we knew where he was at," Burns said.
"And he couldn't get any better."
Woods has been able
to work his magic on some of the tour's top players. It's the
unheralded players who seem to do the best holding up under pressure
_ Rich Beem at the PGA Championship and Billy Mayfair in a playoff
at Los Angeles.
There was no time
for anyone to get nervous, not with so many birdies to be made
on the Magnolia Course at Disney.
"I felt like
if I can get to 10 under for the day, I'd have a pretty good chance,"
Woods said. "As it ended up, it probably wouldn't have been
good enough."
He was right.
Woods made five birdies
on the first nine holes, a score that could have been lower considering
he twice narrowly missed eagle putts inside 18 feet. Still, he
was poised to make a move by hitting out of the rough to 4 feet
on No. 13 for birdie, then knocking in a 35-foot birdie putt from
the fringe on No. 14.
Woods figured he
needed birdies on the last two holes for any chance, and he almost
got it done. He hit a 9-iron to 3 feet on No. 17, then a 7-iron
to 6 feet on the last hole.
But he pulled the
putt, walking immediately after he struck the ball. He cursed
and slapped the head of his putter, knowing his only hope of winning
was gone.
Divots:@ Davis Love
III made an ace on the 169-yard 12th with a 7-iron, the first
one in the Disney Classic since 1972. He finished with a 65, tied
for 17th. ... Until this year, the record number of first-time
winners was 14. ... DiMarco has a charity tournament Monday morning
to raise money for cancer research.
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