Tiger Woods earned a staggering US$10 million retirement deposit
for winning the inaugural FedEx Cup on Sunday but was far more
captivated by his 61st PGA tour title.
The world No 1 blew away the field by eight shots to clinch his
second Tour Championship, a victory that left him just one behind
Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list.
Tiger Woods of the U.S.
smiles as he holds the FedEx Cup trophy after winning the Tour
Championship at East Lake Golf Club and also winning the FedEx Cup
in Atlanta, Georgia, September 16, 2007. [Photo:
sina.com]
"I don't look at what the purse is or prize money," Woods told
reporters after easing to his seventh title this year, and his
fourth in just five starts.
"You play and when you play, you play to win, period. That's how
my dad raised me is you go out there and win.
"If you win, everything will take care of itself. You take great
pride in what you do on the golf course and, when you're able to
win events, that's when you can go home and be very proud of what
you've done."
Woods trails only Sam Snead (82), Jack Nicklaus (73), Ben Hogan
(64) and Palmer (62) in PGA Tour victories and, at the age of 31,
can be expected to outstrip them all.
After successfully embarking on the second swing change of
professional career, Woods has left his rivals trailing in his wake
when it comes to peaking for the biggest events.
In his lifelong quest to overhaul the record 18 majors won by
Nicklaus, Woods has climbed into second place with 13 and is hungry
for more.
Better understanding
"I have a better understanding of how to play the game and I
certainly have a lot more shots to get me around golf courses than
I did then," he said, referring to his golden run from late 1999 to
mid-2002 when he won seven majors in 11 starts.
"That's just seven to nine years of more experience, just
understanding all the mistakes I've made and how to improve and how
to get myself around the golf course. My course management skills
have certainly improved over the years."
By far the best player of his generation and arguably already
the best of all time, Woods has produced a remarkable record on the
PGA Tour over the last two years.
In that period, he has recorded a staggering victory percentage
of 48.5, winning 15 times in 31 starts. Over the course of his
glittering career, he has won 26.5 percent of the 230 events in
which he has played.
"In the last couple years, I've made a bunch of changes on my
swing," Woods said after shooting a four-under-par 66 in the final
round at East Lake Golf Club.
"I got over all the things that happened earlier, my dad
passing, and I finally got back to just playing golf again."
Woods's father Earl died in May last year after a long battle
with cancer.
"That mourning period, I felt I was done with it. Once I got
back to playing golf, I felt I was back in my rhythm again. From
then on, if you look at my results, it's been pretty good."
(China Daily via Agencies September 18, 2007)
