That Cink-ing feeling; Woods wins in playoff

Monday, August 28, 2006 Tiger Woods outlasted Stewart Cink on the fourth extra hole at Firestone South. AKRON (AP) — For three straight holes in a playoff, Tiger Woods could only stand to the side of the green and watch someone else control his fate Sunday at the Bridgestone Invitational. Given a chance to win, he wasn't about to waste it. Woods hit an 8-iron through a driving rain to within 8 feet on the fourth extra hole, then made the birdie putt to outlast Stewart Cink at Firestone South for his fourth consecutive victory. It came on the 10th anniversary of his turning pro, and it gave Woods his 52nd career victory to match Byron Nelson for fifth all time. Little voices "Just end this thing now," Woods said he told himself on the birdie putt at No. 17. "If I make mine, it's over." And it was, but not before a roller-coaster round that capped off a strange week. Woods ended his round Friday by hitting a 9-iron over the green, onto the clubhouse roof and down the other side. He followed that by making four straight bogeys Saturday, his longest such streak in nearly 10 years. Under darkening clouds in the final round, he went from a two-shot deficit to a three-shot lead in a span of four holes, then lost a three-shot lead over the final three holes to slip into a playoff. "I was very lucky to even be in the playoff," Woods said. The result was familiar, especially at this event. Woods now has won five times at Firestone, the most of any golf course on the PGA Tour. He has won four times each at Augusta National and Torrey Pines. Won last four starts His latest winning streak required more than a little luck. Woods has won his last four starts, his longest winning streak since he won six in a row at the end of the 1999 season and the beginning of 2000. That was Woods at his peak, and he might be heading there again. He doesn't always win easily, but he finds a way. "You don't know how many chances you're going to have to beat Tiger in a playoff in your career," Cink said. Cink, who missed an 8-foot par putt that would have won on the third playoff hole, hit into the bunker and blasted out to 6 feet on the 17th. Before he could save par, he wound up shaking hands with Woods and watching him collect another World Golf Championship. "I didn't convert, and he did," Cink said. "That's why he has the trophy." And to think it was 10 years ago Sunday — Aug. 27, 1996 — that he introduced himself to the PGA Tour by saying, "Hello, world." These days, he is saying "goodbye" to the competition. Closing in A week ago, he captured the PGA Championship for his 12th career major, trailing only the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. He now has 52 victories, and only Arnold Palmer (62), Ben Hogan (64), Nicklaus (73) and Sam Snead (82) have more. Even so, Woods said he is only worried about himself. "It's always yourself," he said. "You're always trying to better what you've done in the past — always. Hopefully, that's good enough to beat the rest of the guys." Cink was looking for a peculiar repeat. Two years ago, he validated Hal Sutton's decision to make him a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup by winning at Firestone. Tom Lehman picked him on Monday, and Cink nearly delivered his first victory in two years. "There were a lot of highs and lows today," Cink said. "Unfortunately, I finished on a low." Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.