Woods ‘rises to the occasion’ with title win

World number one clinches Players Championship.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH: Tiger Woods shook off a double bogey at the 14th hole and held on to win the US PGA Tour Players Championship, setting another career milestone in the process.

Woods, who had a share of the lead with Sergio Garcia and David Lingmerth after completing the weather-disrupted third round on Sunday morning, carded a final-round 70 for a 13-under par total of 275.

That put him two strokes in front of Swedish PGA Tour rookie Lingmerth, Jeff Maggert and Kevin Streelman.

Garcia, tied for the lead at the 17th, finished with a quadruple bogey and a double bogey, giving Woods the last laugh after a couple of days of verbal sparring between the two.

“I had an opportunity to win the golf tournament when I was tied for the lead today,” said Woods. “And I thought I handled the situation well and really played well today and when I needed to, and that’s something I’m excited about.

“Each year I’m trying to get better. So far this year, I’m off to a pretty good start.”

Woods won the US tour’s flagship event, worth $9.5 million this year, for the second time — more than a decade after his victory in 2001.

Since then he had posted only one top-10 finish at TPC Sawgrass until Sunday.

Woods notched his fourth PGA Tour title of the year, and it is the earliest in a single season he has ever won a fourth title.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2013.