Tiger Woods holds off Sergio Garcia to win Players Championship

Tiger Woods overcame a bumpy final round, holding off Sergio Garcia, Jeff Maggert and rookie David Lingmerth to win the Players Championship on Sunday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Lindsey Vonn, Woods’ girlfriend with 59 total World Cup skiing victories, was at the tournament cheering on Woods as he picked up his first TPC win since 2001.

The win gave Woods more momentum during a strong season and helped bolster his record at one of the few golf venues where true dominance had eluded him throughout his career. Woods became the fourth player to claim two Players’ career titles since the event moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982.

Woods stumbled on the par-four 14th hole, taking a drop and finishing with a double bogey, adding much drama to the top of the leaderboard.

He eventually took the lead on the 16th hole thanks to a key bunker shot and held on for the win.

“Sorry, mom. I think she might have had a heart attack,” Woods told the Golf Channel after his victory. “... It was tough, I wasn’t in control of the tournament.”

He later added, “This was hard. The conditions got a little tricky. The greens got a little quick.”

Woods finished the tournament 13-under par, firing a 70 in the final round to earn his fourth title of the season. Garcia and Maggert were in contention for the lead Sunday, but they faded under pressure.

Lingmerth was the sole player in the mix with Woods for the win on the final hole. He would have become the first rookie to win at TPC, but he couldn’t do enough to claim the lead or force a playoff. Tiger ultimately won by two strokes.

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