Tiger Woods fights back to sound warning to US Open rivals

Tiger Woods won his fourth Memorial Tournament title yesterday after a final round of 65, seven under par, sent a message that he will be the man to beat at the US Open in two weeks’ time.
The victory in Dublin, Ohio, was the 67th career PGA title for the world No 1, who finished 72 holes on 12 under par, one stroke ahead of Jim Furyk, his fellow American, and four better than Mark Wilson and Jonathan Byrd, also from the United States.
Woods had seven birdies, two bogeys and an eagle to secure the second victory since his comeback after knee surgery. “It was just about being patient with it,” he said. “It was a matter of time, because I was able to start practising after rounds again.”
A stunning birdie-birdie finish by Woods confirmed that he is back to his best form after making his return from an eight-month layoff and is ready to defend the US Open crown he won limping through a play-off against Rocco Mediate last year.
“I knew it \ was coming around,” Woods said. “I haven’t been as consistent as I wanted to be. That cost me tournaments. I was just glad to clean that up.”
Woods won his first victory of the season at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. “Some expectations had to be lowered when I first came back,” Woods said. “It was nice to get a win so early, but it is nicer to get one now that I can hit more shots.”
Woods, who had won in 1999, 2000 and 2001 at the Memorial, hit all 14 fairways off the tee, completing one of the strongest driving performances of his career. He missed only three in the first two days and his 18 fairways hit in a row is his longest such streak since 2003. “The driving was nice this week,” he said. “It was nice to put it together.”
Starting the round four strokes off the pace, Woods birdied four of the first seven holes, including the 2nd and par-three 4th, as well as the par-five 5th and 7th, before having a bogey at the par-three 8th.
A stunning chip-in brought an eagle for the second day in a row at the par-five 11th and put Woods among the leaders. His birdie at the 15th was followed with a bogey at the 16th, but his stunning finish won the day.
After rolling home a testing birdie putt at the 17th, Woods dropped his approach at the 18th hole inches from the cup and tapped in to complete a spectacular comeback.
Furyk birdied the 18th to finish one behind, but Wilson and Byrd were the only other rivals within six strokes.
Source:The times