With his fourth consecutive 66 on the final round of the Buick Open Tiger Woods was able to hold of Jim Furyk and capture his 50th PGA Tour title. The fourth win of the year for Woods made him the seventh member of the PGA Tour’s 50 win club.
Wood’s was playing in his first tournament since winning the British Open nearly two weeks ago. His 28 birdies and season low 24 under par in the Buick Open helped Woods land the top check of $864,000 at Warwick Hills.
By birding the final hole Woods was able to eclipse the previous mark as the youngest golfer to record 50 PGA Tour victories. Jack Nicklaus reached his 50th win in 1973 at the age of 33 in his 280th professional start.
Commenting on the accomplishment Woods stated, “That's pretty cool to get to 50, never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd get to 50.”
Tiger showed some enthusiasm about the achievement but it is another record Nicklaus owns that Woods really wants to eclipse. He will be traveling to Chicago next week in pursuit of his 12th PGA Championship, Nicklaus’ 18 major championships is the record.
The 50 victories Tiger has enjoyed as a pro have come in 210 events he has entered since turning pro in 1996. Sam Snead has the professional victories mark at 82 for a career. Woods improved his career mark to 21-21 when entering the final round with at least a one stroke lead.
Jim Furyk’s final round 64 put him at 21 under and landed him the number two spot at Warwick Hills while Joe Durant held sole possession of the third spot after shooting a 67 on the final day for a 20 under par 268. Vaughn Taylor (68) and Scott Verplank (69) tied for fourth at 19 under for the tournament.
Vijay Singh was aiming to become the first player to win three straight Buick Open titles but shot a final round 70 to finish in a tie for eleventh.