Tiger Woods - Can he rise again ? - Page 6

Getty Images Woods-Atwal got the better of Bjrn-Scott in their grouping, 8-under to 7-under.

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• Tiger's scorecard
• Tavistock Cup: March 14-15, 2011

Host Isleworth Golf & Country Club grabbed a slim first-day lead Monday in the eighth playing of the Tavistock Cup near Orlando, Fla. In past years, the two-day competition pitted Isleworth against Lake Nona Country Club. This year, two new clubs -- Albany, a new luxury resort in the Bahamas, and Queenwood Golf Club, a private new club in the United Kingdom -- were added. Each team has six team members, each of whom competed in better-ball play on Monday. Tiger Woods, playing for Albany, partnered with Arjun Atwal to shoot an 8-under-par 64. Teammates Ernie Els/Trevor Immelman shot 63, while Justin Rose/Ian Poulter fired 61, as Albany combined to shoot 28-under. "It's getting better," said Woods, who's coming off a season-best tie-for-10th finish Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. "I hit a couple squirrely ones. But overall, I'm starting to feel a lot more consistent." Albany's 28-under was two strokes behind Isleworth, which received a 60 from J.B. Holmes/Brian Davis and a pair of 63s by Stuart Appleby/Robert Allenby and Lee Janzen/Sean O'Hair to post 30-under. Lake Nona was third at 25-under, getting a 60 from Graeme McDowell/Retief Goosen, a 64 from Ross Fisher/Oliver Wilson and a 67 from Peter Hanson/Henrik Stenson. Newcomer Queenwood finished at 16-under. They were led by Adam Scott/Thomas Bjrn with a 65, followed by Darren Clarke/David Howell with 67 and Paul McGinley/Sren Kjeldsen with 68. On Tuesday, the competition shifts to singles play at Isleworth. Woods will be paired with O'Hair, McDowell and Clarke, and the foursome tees off at 11:50 a.m. ET. Play will be televised on the Golf Channel. All six individual scores for each team will be counted. The team with the lowest score in relation to par at the end of both rounds will be declared the winner.

In the seven previous competitions, Isleworth and Lake Nona each won three times, and one match was tied.

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Ruth Houston

Date: 7-10 April
• Coverage: All rounds live on BBC Radio 5 live and online from 2100 BST; third round live from 2030 BST and final round live from 1900 BST on BBC2, BBC HD and online (UK only); scores, highlights and live text on BBC website

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Getty Images Tiger hit 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens Sunday, but missed putts cost him.

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• Tiger's scorecard
• Masters Tournament: April 7-10, 2011
• Tiger's Masters press conference: Sunday

Tiger Woods made a valiant Sunday run to win his fifth green jacket, but came up short in the 75th Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Starting the final round tied for ninth, seven strokes behind pacesetter Rory McIlroy, the 35-year-old Woods electrified the patrons by posting a 5-under-par 31 on the front nine to earn a share of the lead. Ultimately, two short missed putts ruined his comeback. Woods returned in even-par 36 and settled for a 5-under 67 to finish at 10-under 278 and tied for fourth for the second straight year. Woods was four strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel of South Africa, who birdied the last four holes and shot 66. It marked the sixth consecutive year Woods has finished sixth or better at Augusta. "I got off to a good start," Woods said. "I should have shot 3- or 4-under on the back nine and I only posted even." Playing in warm, mostly windless conditions with Martin Laird of Scotland, Woods wore his customary final-round red shirt, black pants and black hat. He parred the first hole, then birdied the par-5 second. At the short, par-4 third, he smashed a huge drive just below the elevated green, then hit a marvelous sand wedge four feet short of the hole and made the birdie putt. The rally temporarily stalled at the 233-yard, par-3 fourth, where Woods was distracted by something during his backswing and pulled his tee shot about 60 feet left of the back-right pin placement. Tiger's birdie putt wound up eight feet left of the hole, and he missed the par attempt for a three-putt bogey. Following a two-putt par at No. 5, Woods birdied the downhill, par-3 sixth hole for the third time in the tournament. He landed his tee shot well right of the front-left pin position and used the slope to feed the ball nine feet below the hole, then buried the putt. At the uphill, par-4 seventh, Woods split the fairway and knocked his approach shot eight feet right of the hole. The birdie putt found the center of the cup, with Tiger pumping his right fist after sinking it. With his adrenaline rushing, Woods powered a long drive down the center of the fairway of the uphill, par-5 eighth. With 278 yards to the hole, he flushed a 3-wood that reached the front of the green, then kicked toward the back-left pin, the ball stopping nine feet short of the hole. Tiger poured in the eagle putt and the received thunderous applause from the fans, again pumping his fist. The shot pulled him within one stroke of the lead at 10-under. Woods pushed his drive into pine straw at the par-4 ninth and was fortunate to have a full swing next to a pine tree. From 140 yards, Tiger had to hook his second shot, but he hooked it too much into the left, greenside bunker. Unable to play toward the flag due to the severe slope of the green, Woods did well to wind up 20 feet right of the cup and calmly rolled in the par putt to gain a share of the top spot. Tiger, whose goal starting out the week was to be in contention starting the back nine on Sunday, got his wish. Sensing something special, he made a solid two-putt par at No. 10, then headed to holes 11-13 -- Amen Corner -- which are usually crucial in determining the champion. For the first time in the tournament, Woods hit a perfect drive down the 11th fairway, played a smart second shot well beneath the cup and two-putted for a par. He received a hero's welcome at the par-3 12th tee. Not wanting to challenge the dangerous middle-right pin placement, Woods wisely played to the left center of the green and had about 30 feet to the cup. He ran his birdie attempt three feet past, then had a lengthy wait while Laird three-putted. Woods did the same, the ball lipping out on the left edge of the hole and deflating his momentum. "A pull and a block," Woods said of the hole. "So that's about it." Maintaining his composure, Woods hit a good drive down the left side of the fairway at the par-5 13th, a hole he had birdied each of the first three rounds, and had 7-iron left to the green. But he pulled it just over the back-left side of the putting surface, then ran his speedy, downhill chip shot 20 feet past and two-putted for a disappointing par. As a result, Woods played Amen Corner in 1-over, and it probably cost him a chance of winning the tournament. Still grinding, Woods narrowly missed a 12-foot birdie putt at the par-4 14th, the ball sliding across the left side of the cup. Eagle or birdie was a must at the par-5 15th hole to stay in the hunt, and Tiger thrilled the spectators once again. After a big drive, Woods hit a mid-iron, second shot from 215 yards to four feet past the cup. Facing a likely must-make scenario to keep pace with the leaders playing two holes behind, Tiger lipped out again, the ball catching the right edge of the cup and rolling three feet past. Woods cleaned up the birdie, but knew he was running out of holes. At the 178-yard, par-3 16th, Woods almost flew his tee shot into the cup, the ball releasing 16 feet past. Faced with a slick, left-to-right putt, Tiger gave it a bold run but missed on the left, backpedaling as the ball rolled by the hole. After a good drive at the par-4 17th, Woods missed the green short-right, chipped to six feet and made a nice par save. Tiger hit a good drive at the par-4 18th, knocked his second shot 25 feet right of the hole, and was welcomed warmly by the enormous crowd surrounding the 18th green. He two-putted for a closing par. Looking back, missed putts were the difference. Woods three-putted six times -- twice in the final round -- and still had a chance on the back nine. Asked if he could take back one shot, Woods replied, "Oh, we can't do that. We do that every week and we would go crazy, wouldn't we?" His ball-striking was superb Sunday, with Tiger hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. He also played the par-5s in 4-under. "I hit it good all day," Woods said. "This entire week I hit it good, so that was a nice feeling." He also remained patient and never lost his cool.

"It's just shot for shot," Woods said. "This golf course baits you into doing that. You can get aggressive, you can lose it. It doesn't take much. Just one shot here or there, and it can go the other way. So I had to be committed to my spots, and I did that all week