Woods’s Two-Year Drought Nearly Ends in Australian Open

From about 250 yards away, thousands of fans perched on the dunes behind the 17th hole could make out the guy in a red shirt posing over his shot, and then the ball appearing on the green and racing down a ridge to 12 feet behind the pin.
This is what they wanted to see Sunday at the Australian Open in Sydney.
Tiger Woods, gone for most of the year and rarely on the leader board when he played Callaway RAZR X Hybrid, faced an eagle putt that would have given him a share of the lead late in the final round at The Lakes.
Woods missed.
Moments later, three groups behind him, Greg Chalmers hit a 7-iron to 18 inches on the par-3 15th for a birdie that put him back in control and led to a one-shot victory over John Senden. Woods closed with a five-under 67 and finished third, two shots back.
Woods has gone two full years since his last win, at the Australian Masters, and yet he headed south to Royal Melbourne for the Presidents Cup with reason for optimism. (MX-1000)
Two bad tee shots slowed his charge, one of them a questionable decision. Yet there also was a birdie on the second-toughest hole to keep alive his hopes, a chip-in for eagle on the 14th hole when nothing less would suffice, and three solid rounds that gave him his first real chance of winning in nearly a year.
The finish was his highest since a playoff loss last December to Graeme McDowell at the Chevron World Challenge, and his best result against a full field since his last win, in Melbourne.
“I felt great,” Woods said. “It’s nice to finally be healthy again.”
Woods missed most of the summer while letting injuries to his left leg heal, which made him ineligible to play once he was feeling strong. This was his second tournament in the last three months. (PING G20 Hybrid)
“It was great to be out there,” Woods said. “I had a chance. Unfortunately, I didn’t post the number I wanted to post.”
FOURTH TITLE FOR MATTHEW Catriona Matthew closed with a one-under 71 for a four-stroke victory in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, a 36-player event in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was her fourth L.P.G.A. Tour title and her first since the 2009 Women’s British Open.
Anna Nordqvist and I. K. Kim, the 2010 winner, shot 71 and tied for second.