From about 250 yards away, thousands of fans behind the 17th hole could make out the guy in a red shirt posing over his shot, then the ball appearing on the green and racing down a ridge to 12 feet behind the pin. This is what they wanted to see Sunday at the Australian Open in Sydney.
Tiger Woods, gone for most of the year and rarely on the leader board even when he was playing, faced an eagle putt late in the final round at The Lakes that would have given him a share of the lead. Woods missed.
Moments later, Greg Chalmers hit 7-iron to 18 inches on the par-3 15th for a birdie that put him back in control and ultimately led to a one-shot win over John Senden. Chalmers closed with a 3-under 69 to put his name on the Stonehaven Cup for the second time. He finished at 13-under 275.
Woods now has gone two full years since his last win at the Australian Masters, yet he headed to Royal Melbourne for this week's Presidents Cup with reason for optimism. Woods closed with a 5-under 67 and finished third at 277.
"I felt great," Woods said. "It's nice to finally be healthy again."Woods missed most of the summer while letting injuries to his left leg fully heal, and he didn't qualify for the final four PGA Tour events in the FedEx Cup. This was only his second tournament in the last three months, and he showed progress. For the first time since the Masters in April, when he was tied for the lead at the turn Sunday until he stalled and tied for fourth, his name on the leader board meant something. "It's been since Augusta I had the lead on Sunday. That's the last time I've been in that spot," he said. "Unfortunately I haven't played a lot of tournaments in between. But it was great to be out there. I had a chance."
Asian Tour/European Tour: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the rain-delayed Singapore Open on Monday (Singapore time), beating Juvic Pagunsan with a birdie on the second playoff hole. After tying at 14-under 199 on Sunday, Pagunsan (third-round 72) and Fernandez-Castano (67) teed off on the playoff hole before play was suspended for 90 minutes. The storm let up briefly, allowing players to hit one more shot before more rain stopped play for good. Anthony Kim (64) and Louis Oosthuizen (65) shared third at 200. Phil Mickelson (70) tied for 33rd at 208.
LPGA Tour: Catriona Matthew closed with 1-under 71 for a four-shot win in the 36-player Lorena Ochoa Invitational. She had a 12-under 276 total at Guadalajara (Mexico) Country Club. Anna Nordqvist (71) and I.K. Kim (71) shared second. Hall of Famer Juli Inkster of Los Altos had a 72 to tie for fourth at 5 under. Michelle Wie, the 2009 winner, was ninth at 2 under after a 71.