As soon as Tiger Woods turned in a somewhat disappointing 61 on Friday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, that he’d accept the title on Sunday at the Firestone Golf and Country Club was but a foregone conclusion. A steady 2-under-par Saturday and even-par Sunday secured the world No. 1’s fifth victory of the season.
That career-tying-low score of 61 was relatively disheartening only because Woods flirted with the first sub-60 round of his professional career. He needed birdies on just two of the final five holes, but couldn’t manage and “settled” for pars.
Nonetheless, that 61 gave him a seven-shot lead, the exact margin by which he ultimately beat Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson on Sunday. Woods signed off at 15-under for the tournament.
Being the world’s top-ranked player, he was already the favorite heading into next week’s PGA Championship, the season’s final major. Now, those odds will only increase.
Here’s a look at Woods’ Bridgestone victory by the numbers:
8 – Career number of wins at the Bridgestone Invitational, which equals the all-time record of victories in a single PGA event. Woods also boasts eight titles from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and Sam Snead took the Greater Greensboro Open eight times in his storied career.
79 – Number of total victories in Woods’ PGA career, putting him just three back of Snead’s record of 82.
1.5 – The dollar amount, in millions, that Woods collected on Sunday, his second-largest payday of the year. He took home $1.71 million for triumphing at the Players Championship in May, and also earned $1.5 million for winning the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March.
18 – Total number of victories in World Golf Championship events for Woods. Three is the most for any other player.
12 – PGA Tour events that Woods has now won by at least seven shots. Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els are the only other golfers to have earned more than one win by that margin since 1996.
19 – Times that Woods has won his last start before a major.
4 – Times that Woods has followed up those victories with major titles (2000 U.S. Open after winning The Memorial, 2001 Masters after winning the Players, 2006 PGA after winning the Buick Open, and 2007 PGA after winning Bridgestone).
2007 – Year that Woods last won the PGA Championship, and the victory came one week after he claimed Bridgestone.
2006 – Year that Woods won his third PGA Championship, which followed victories in the Buick Open and Open Championship – the two tournaments he played immediately prior to the PGA.
5 – Number of times Woods has placed in the top two at the tournament preceding the PGA Championship, then gone on to place in the top four at the PGA. In addition to his aforementioned 2006 and ’07 performances, Woods won the Buick and Bridgestone in the two weeks before placing second at the 2009 PGA. In 2005, he tied for second at the Buick before tying for fourth at the PGA. And in 2002, Woods won the Buick one week before placing second at the PGA.
5 – The ranking of Woods’ seven-shot lead after 54 holes amongst the largest leads after three rounds of his PGA Tour career. Bigger advantages were held after 54 holes at the 2000 U.S. Open (10 shots), 2000 Bridgestone (nine), 1997 Masters (nine), and 2008 Buick Invitational (eight). Woods also held a seven-shot lead at the 2009 BMW Championship.
14 – Number of major titles Woods owns in his career.
5 – Number of years he’s been stuck on 14.
18 – The record number of majors won by Jack Nicklaus.
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