While her uncle was scuffling his way to Sunday’s final-round 72 at Bay Hill, Tiger Woods’ niece Cheyenne Woods was helping her college team win the Bryan National Collegiate event in North Carolina.
Wake hot despite cold weather. “High of 37 [degrees] today on the course,” the younger Woods tweeted Sunday after her Wake Forest University golf team won the event. “But we stuck it out and pulled through with the win!!!”
Wake Forest, ranked 17th in the 17-team event, posted its highest round of the week, a finishing-round 18-over 306, and closed out the weekend contest at 31-over — good enough for a two-stroke win over 16th-ranked Tennessee, according to reports. Woods’ Demon Deacons won the tourney for the first time since 2000 and it was the team’s first tournament victory since taking the ACC Championship last spring, according to the NCAA.
Even-pars on Saturday by Woods, a junior, and freshman teammate Olafia Kristinsdottir helped Wake Forest overcome a six-shot deficient and take the lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Tennessee’s Erica Popson finished at 4-over 220 for the weekend, earning medalist honors. Wake sophomore Michelle Shin was one shot back, while senior teammate Allie Bodemann notched a 3-over 75 for her low round of the season, to help Wake Forest to the title.
Woods, who was defending medalist champ, tied for 12th place (9-over) individually with teammate and New England native Natalie Sheary (West Hartford, Conn.), who carded a 5-over 77 Sunday. Woods shot a final-round 78.
Splashdown for Tiger. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods played himself out of the mix over the weekend with a wet 74 and 72 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In his last tune-up before the Masters in two weeks, Woods splashed a few balls and finished T24 at 1-over — seven shots back of winner Martin Laird.
Despite his soggy finish when his approach shot to 18 splashed down in the hazard, Woods was upbeat about his chances at Augusta. “It’s getting better every week I’ve played, and just need to keep progressing and hopefully it will peak two more Thursdays from now,” Woods told reporters about what he looked for when the Masters begins on April 7th.
As always since Woods began working with swing coach Sean Foley, the golfer claimed his game was on the right track. “Every day has gotten a little bit tighter, which is good,” he said. “As I said, keep working, keep staying the course, and keep working on the same things and each day is progressing. Today was really nice.”
Some golf watchers may wonder how finishing bogey, double was “nice,” but Woods’ game has always been one with which most of us are unfamiliar. Except that lately, despite flashes of brilliance from the former No. 1, today’s No. 5 has been rather journeyman-like. NBC’s Johnny Miller summed it up for many Woods fans and critics alike when he said over the weekend that it was difficult to watch Tiger play like everybody else.
Back on the Bay Hill leaderboard, Laird, the 54-hole frontrunner, played a roller-coaster final round 3-over 75 that included four bogeys and a double as well as three birdies. He saw his two-shot lead disappear with a 5-over effort through 11 holes that put him three strokes behind.
One-shot win for Laird. Laird stepped on the gas after a bogey on 14 with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 and was the last man standing on a course with cement-like greens that beat up the best on the PGA Tour. The Scotsman defeated Steve Marino by one stroke on his way to the highest winning score ever at Arnie’s tourney.
“I never thought about not winning,” Laird said to the media after earning his second tour victory Sunday. “When I was three down, I didn’t have a choice. I had to start playing some golf. I had to make birdies.”
While the birds got him back into contention, Laird’s 87-foot two-putt par on the 18th sealed the deal.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, and National Golf Examiner, and GottaGoGolf websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter.)
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