Tiger Woods Eases to Buick Open Win

Tiger Woods might not have fixed his problems off the tee, and his continued struggles in that area of his game will almost certainly encourage his doubters to keep beating the "It's clear Tiger is on the downside of his career, even if we don't have any proof!" drum.

And Woods, as he's done with unimaginable frequency during his 14-year professional career, will keep winning.

The Buick Open was Tiger's first tournament since missing the cut at the British Open in mid-July. He spent last week working on his swing in Florida with coach Hank Haney, and for the fourth time this year, Woods played 72 holes better than anyone else in the field. He finished 20-under, three clear of Roland Thatcher, John Senden and Greg Chamlers, none of whom ever threatened the lead.

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But unlike his previous victory (he won the Memorial in June), Tiger's driver was uncooperative for most of the weekend. He hit just 10 fairways over the final two rounds (36 percent). Yet he scrambled his way around the property, playing from deep rough and behind trees, somehow finding ways to give himself makable par putts. Which, predictably, he made. In fact, he was converted 41 of 41 looks inside five feet for the week, which goes a long way in mitigating his ability to consistently find fairways.

Tiger began Sunday with a one-shot lead over Michael Letzig, and his final 18 holes were typically Woodsian: he parred his way around the course, avoided major mistakes, and forced the field to play catch-up. Never happened, and the strategy has now worked 36 of 37 times, the only failure coming in 1996 when Ed Fiori came from behind to beat Woods at the John Deere Classic.

So Tiger wins the Buick Open for the third time (he's never finished worse than 11th at the event), and all is right in the golfing universe, at least for the time being. He will tee it up at Firestone next week before heading to the PGA Championship.

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Tiger Woods Photos

Tiger Woods watches his drive on the 11th hole during the final round of the Buick Open golf tournament at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc, Mich., Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

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LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)

David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images

Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )

Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images

A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

Lucas Jackson, Reuters

Denver Nuggets forward Chris Anderson touches his head during a time out in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, New Jersey February 7, 2009. (Ray Stubblebine, Reuters)

Ray Stubblebine, Reuters

Margarita Marbler, of Austria, skis to a bronze medal finish the ladies moguls freestyle FIS World Cupskiing qualification at Cypress mountain in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP)

Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP

West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant (25) is fouled by Providence guard Jeff Xavier (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. West Virginia won 86-59. (Don Wright, AP)

Don Wright, AP

Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)

Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT

David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)

Al Bello, Getty Images

Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.

Darryl Graham, AP

Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.

Petr Josek, Reuters

Woods will tweak his swing in preparation for the final major of the year, but if he continues to miss fairways by 20 and 30 yards, he won't have a shot at Hazeltine, which will play 7,674 yards, the longest set up in major championship history. (By comparison, Warwick Hills, site of the Buick Open, came in around 7,200 yards, considered a pitch and putt by PGA Tour standards.)

But here's the thing: Tiger combined to hit 19 of 28 fairways (69 percent) on Thursday and Friday, and he went 14 of 14 during his Sunday finish at the Memorial. It's not like he can't do it, he's just been wildly inconsistent. More than usual, in fact.

But as CBS analyst Peter Kostis pointed out during the final-round telecast, Tiger's never far from putting it all together: "I don't think he has any swing issues at all. It's address and grip issues."

There are worse fates.

For now, Woods has his 69th career PGA Tour victory (third all-time, four back of Jack Nicklaus and 13 behind Sam Snead), and moves into first place in the FedExCup standings. And if all goes well, he'll have his 15th major victory in two weeks. No idea how the doubters will spin that.