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Woods birdies 72nd for Palmer victory

Posted on: Sunday, 29 March 2009, 20:09 CDT

Tiger Woods came from five strokes behind and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational Sunday in Orlando, Fla., with a 16-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole.

Woods, in just his third event since returning to the PGA Tour following knee surgery in 2008, closed with a 3-under-par 67 and a 72-hole total of 275 to edge Sean O'Hair, the third-round leader, by a stroke.

O'Hair slipped to a 3-over 73 in the last round.

Woods, in seizing his 66th victory on the tour, won the Palmer event for the sixth time. He also won it with a final-hole birdie last year.

It feels good, it feels really good. It feels good to be back in contention again, to feel the rush and deal with everything coming down the stretch, Woods said. It's been a while, but God it felt good.

On the final hole, a long birdie putt by O'Hair stopped short of the hole, setting the stage for Woods, who later described his winner.

It was just uphill ... and I wanted to make sure I had the speed, Woods said. I hit it right where I was looking and somehow it went in.

The first-place check totaled $1.08 million.

Zach Johnson (69) finished third at 278. Scott Verplank (69), Pat Perez (69), John Senden (67) and Nick Watney (68) tied for fourth at 279.

Source: United Press International

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