Worldwide Golf

TIGER Woods won his first title on Australian soil thanks to a two stroke victory over local favourite Greg Chalmers at the JBWere Australian Masters.

The World No.1 went into the final round level with Australians Chalmers and James Nitties but took the title thanks to a superb 4-under-par 68.

“Now I’ve won on every continent, except for Antarctica,” joked Woods, who was making his first appearance in Australia since the 1998 Presidents Cup. “To have won on every playable continent is something I have always wanted to do and now I have done that. I had to make some birdies early and I did that and was able to keep the lead. I played very consistently. I wasn’t trying to be overly aggressive, just trying to plot my way along.”

Wearing his customary red shirt, Woods started in fine form by birdieing the opening hole which eradicated the memory of his level-par third round which saw him drop into a share of the lead. Woods then made his move for the title with birdies on holes 5 and 6. He made another birdie on the par-5 12^th before giving a shot back on the 13^th after a photographer interrupted his approach shot. However, Woods put that out of his mind by holing from 15 feet for a birdie on the par-3 15^th which closed the door on his challengers.

Woods partners – most notably Chalmers – pushed Woods but the Aussie failed to significantly close the gap after missing birdie putts on holes 14 and 16.