AT&T host Tiger Woods outplays his guests

BETHESDA, Md. — Even after 68 PGA Tour victories, Tiger Woods never had a finish quite like Sunday at the AT&T National.

It had nothing to do with the golf, which was all too familiar.

Challenged by Hunter Mahan's record-tying 62 at Congressional, Woods maneuvered his way along the back nine and delivered the decisive birdie with a 20-foot putt on the 16th green, closing with a 3-under-par 67 for a one-shot victory over Mahan.

The trophy presentation was unlike any other.

"I've always wanted to do this, so bear with me," said Woods, cradling the silver trophy in the shape of the U.S. Capitol. The tournament host interviewed the tournament champion.

In this case, it was the same person.

"So, Tiger, how did you play today?" Woods said in a mock Q&A as thousands of fans laughed.

This is what Woods meant last week by wanting to be a "greedy host" at Congressional.

It was his tournament, and his show.

With three birdies in a five-hole stretch, Woods surged past Anthony Kim in a high-charged final pairing. Then came Mahan, tying the course record Kim had set Thursday. With about 40,000 fans waiting to see how the final hour would unfold, Woods rolled in the putt on No. 16 and walked stoically to the cup, nodding.

Woods closed with routine pars to finish at 13-under 267 for his third victory this year, along with some uncanny coincidences.

• Woods won in his second try at the tournament he hosts, just as Jack Nicklaus won his Memorial on the second attempt.

• Woods has won all three PGA Tour events hosted by players in one year. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March with a birdie on the final hole, getting another hearty handshake from the King. And he won the Memorial with a final-round 65, with Nicklaus standing behind the green to congratulate him.

"It was great shaking my hand today," said Woods, who earned $1.08 million for the victory.

Seattle native Fred Couples (68) and Ryan Moore (71) of Puyallup tied for 11th place at 275.

Mahan made six birdies on the back nine, the final birdie giving him a share of the lead. He had to wait more than an hour to see if it would hold.

"I mean, he's pretty good," Mahan said of Woods. "He knows what he's doing. He knows how to play this game better than anybody."

Other tournaments

• South Korea's Eunjung Yi holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with Morgan Pressel to win the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic in Sylvania, Ohio, for her first LPGA Tour title. Yi earned $210,000.

Yi, 21, finished with an even-par 71 to match Pressel (67) at 18-under 266 on the Highland Meadows course. Pressel holed a wedge for an eagle on the par-5 17th hole to tie Yi.

Wendy Ward (68), who lives near Edwall, outside Spokane, tied for 12th place at 13 under. Jimin Kang (72), a graduate of King's High School in Shoreline, tied for 77th at 2 under.

• Germany's Martin Kaymer won the French Open, beating England's Lee Westwood with an 18-foot par putt on the first hole of a playoff in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.

Kaymer, 24, a three-time winner on the European Tour, closed with a 3-under 68 to match Westwood (65) at 13-under 271.