United States
Tiger Woods at AT&T National. (Allison)
Do you really expect me to get excited? After all, Tiger has won this tournament seven times. Add the 2008 U.S. Open, and he's won eight times at Torrey Pines as a professional. Then, if you throw in his amateur career, well, it's ridiculous.
Tiger owns Torrey. It's that simple. Just like The Slammer owned Greensboro.
It makes me wonder why Tiger would ever skip San Diego. Why pass up what seems like a certain victory, especially in the not-so-distant past when he was in that painfully long win drought?
OK, yes, I do remember. Woods skipped in previous years because of his trips to the Middle East for those ginormous appearance fees. But this year he decided to play both Abu Dhabi and Farmers, a smart move.
Tiger posted rounds of 68, 65, 69 and 72 for a 14-under total of 274. Brandt Snedeker, last year's champion, and Josh Teater finished in a tie for second at 10 under, four shots back. It wasn't that close, really. Tiger had a eight-shot lead and lost interest.
Hunter Mahan suggested Woods may be making a statement with his early season win.
"I think he wanted to send a message," Mahan said. "I think deep down he did. You play some games to try to motivate yourself. There's been so much talk about Rory (McIlroy). Rory is now with Nike. That would be my guess."
Not sure I agree with that theory. Might be overthinking it. It's Torrey, Hunter. Tiger always wins there. He even did it once with a broken leg.
Source: Torrey Pines Still Under Tiger Ownership
