Vincent Publishing - Index

Vincent Publishing - 2008 Northern Trust Open - Index

PHOTO: SAM GREENWOOD/GETTY IMAGES/WIREIMAGE.COM
Below: Tiger Woods holding the Wachovia Championship
trophy after his win in May.
Right: Phil Mickelson embraces his caddie Jim MacKay
after winning THE PLAYERS.
It all seemed surreal to Johnson. Three clutch birdies on the
back nine at the Masters. His name atop the leaderboard.
Toppling Tiger Woods. Slipping on the green jacket.
“I’m from Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” he said when asked to
describe himself. “That’s about it. I’m a normal guy.”
Normal guys don’t beat Woods in the final round of a major,
especially when Woods is in the lead. Normal guys aren’t
unfazed by the ground-shaking cheers of Woods making an
eagle to mount a charge.
A strange week at Augusta National saved the biggest surprise
for the very end — Johnson beating Woods to become
the Masters champion.
Johnson pulled away from Woods and the rest of the pack
with three birdies in a pivotal four-hole stretch, closing with a
3-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Woods, Goosen and
Sabbatini. It was only the second victory of his career. He
won the 2004 AT&T Classic in nearby Atlanta for his first.
His shortcoming in Augusta was Woods’ third runner-up in a
major championship, but the mulling of his finish was only temporary.
After all, Jack has 20 runner-ups in majors.
A first and the lead
Up to this point of his campaign, Woods had won in familiar
places; however, for his next win, Woods won in new territory
and did it in record style just to put punctuation on it. In the
fifth edition of the Wachovia Championship, Woods went 13under
for four rounds
for a 275 and a onestroke
record margin
over the previous
record set by Vijay
Singh, Jim Furyk and
Trevor Immelman at
Quail Hollow.
Surprisingly, it was his
first win in North
Carolina. He finished
second to Michael
Campbell at the
2005 U.S. Open at
Pinehurst No. 2.
The victory also gave
Woods the lead in the
inaugural FedExCup
race for the first time of
the year, knocking
54
2008 OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT MAGAZINE
YEAR IN REVIEW
Singh out of the top spot. Woods would not relinquish the
position during the regular season.
While the Woods juggernaut appeared to be in midstride
heading into the second major of the year, a quiet, courteous
player from Wisconsin was secretly reminding everyone why
he was the perfect recipient of the 2006 Comeback Player of
the Year. Steve Stricker, who was confounded by the finishing
hole at Quail Hollow, playing it in 4-over-par for the week, lost
by only two strokes to Woods in Charlotte. He fell short of his
fourth career title, but earned his largest paycheck since his
last victory in 2001. He would be heard from again: he wasn’t
done.
PH