Date: February 25, 2008
Author:

Another title for Tiger

Tiger Woods notched his fifth victory in a row when he blew away a hapless Stewart Cink by a record margin in the final of the Accenture Match Play Championship. Top seed Woods quickly established his dominance over fellow American Cink in the 36-hole final, and never looked back as he posted a record crushing eight and seven victory at Dove Mountain. It is the largest winning margin in the final of the event, beating the previous record six and five victory by David Toms in the 2005 final. It was Woods&apos third victory in this event, and his 15th in 26 starts in the three tournaments that comprise the World Golf Championships. And he posted his 63rd career victory on the PGA Tour, moving to fourth on the all-time list, behind Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan. Woods has won seven of his past eight official starts worldwide stretching back to last August, his only defeat a second-placing in Boston last September. He did not make a bogey until the 18th hole, where he plugged his second shot in a greenside bunker. But even that did not cost him anything, as Cink, usually the most reliable of putters, missed a seven-footer that would have given him the hole. Earlier, he wasted little time asserting his authority, halving the par-five 1st with a par, before winning the second with a birdie, rolling in a 20-foot putt. Two more quick birdies, followed by a Cink bogey at the par-three 8th, left Woods four-up at the turn. As if that was not bad enough for Cink, he fell further behind with a bogey at the par-four 11th, before finally winning his first hole of the day with a birdie at the par-four 12th. Cink also won the 16th, sinking a 25-foot putt, and just for a minute it seemed that with momentum on his side, it perhaps would turn into a competitive match. Woods, however, was having none of it. He came up just short of the green with his second shot at the par-five 17th, and chipped close to win the hole and re-establish his four-up lead. And though Woods opened the door at the par-four 18th, Cink was unable to take advantage. If Cink hoped for an unlikely comeback over the second 18 holes, a Woods birdie at the par-four second showed that it was not to be. Woods had an uncharacteristically sloppy bogey at the par-five 5th, but Cink could not take advantage of it, also making bogey after missing a six-footer. Woods promptly won the next three holes with birdies and finally closed it out when he hit his second shot close at the par-four 11th, with Cink conceding the putt. Cink, who for all his talent has just four PGA Tour victories, admitted on Saturday that he was an &aposunderachiever&apos, a tag that few would dispute judging by the way the 22nd seed played. This is just Woods&apos third start of the year. He blew away the field to win the PGA Tour&aposs Buick Invitational by eight strokes last month, before capturing the European Tour&aposs Dubai Desert Classic the following week.