ATLANTA, 8 November 2005 — American Bart Bryant held his nerve to fire a three-under-par 67 and secure a crushing six-shot victory over Tiger Woods at the Tour Championship on Sunday, providing a Cinderella finish to the US season.
A 42-year-old journeyman who insisted all week he did not belong in golf’s elite, Bryant completed a wire-to-wire win for the third PGA Tour title of his career and his second this season.
The unheralded Texan began the limited-field event in masterful style with a course record 62 on Thursday and ended it with an ice-cool final round and a record winning total of 17-under 263 at East Lake Golf Club.
His surprise victory was worth $1.1 million and almost doubled his earnings over a 19-year-career that has been interrupted by eight visits to the PGA Tour qualifying school.
“I’m thrilled beyond description,” smiled Bryant. “To struggle for as long as I did and all of a sudden in the last 15 months to win three events. Even if I hadn’t won this weekend, this would all be worth it.
“I didn’t think I would ever make the Tour Championship and I certainly never thought I could win the Tour Championship.
“Every week I’m starting to feel more and more like I belong where I am. I belong on the same Tour. “I certainly don’t put myself in the same category with Retief (Goosen) and Vijay (Singh) and Davis Love and Tiger Woods. “These guys are the elite players in the world. But I found out that, if I’m on top of my game under the right conditions, I definitely can compete with these guys.”
In an elite field limited to the season’s top 30 money earners, Bryant held off all challengers the entire week, including last-day rallies from world number one Woods and defending champion Goosen. Woods, who could have become golf’s first $11 million man with victory, began the day four strokes behind Bryant. He mounted a brief charge on the back nine but ended up having to settle for a distant second place after carding a 69.
“He (Bryant) did what he had to do,” said Woods, who ended his own season with six titles and player of the year honors.
“That was impressive.
“The golf course is playing fast and it’s right up his alley but you still have to make the putts, hit the fairways and hit the greens and he did that all week.
“He played consistent, made some putts, so hats off to him.” American Scott Verplank also closed with a 69 to finish third at nine under with compatriot Davis Love III (69), world number two Singh (67) and Goosen a further two strokes back in a tie for fourth.
South African Goosen went into the last day three strokes off Bryant’s lead but fell apart on his way to a 74, rekindling unpleasant memories of his final-round US Open meltdown at Pinehurst in June.
Goosen began steadily with six successive pars but then dropped six shots over the next eight holes to plummet down the leaderboard.
Any thoughts that Bryant might succumb to last-day jitters were soon dismissed when he birdied three of the first four holes to stretch his overnight advantage to six shots over Goosen.
Although he suffered a wobble with bogeys on five and six, Bryant steadied himself with solid pars on seven and eight before picking up his fourth shot of the day at the par-five ninth.
Neither Goosen nor US Masters and British Open champion Woods were able to capitalize on Bryant’s stutter.
Bryant carried his momentum into East Lake’s closing stretch with birdies on 11 and 12, effectively putting the title well beyond the reach of Woods and Goosen.
“Last night I was lying in bed and I pictured myself going out and getting off to a really hot start,” said Bryant who will turn 43 on Nov. 18.
“I saw myself birdieing one and three and another hole on the front nine and luckily that’s what happened. I went out and got off to a hot start.”
Meantime, American Heath Slocum clinched his second PGA Tour title with a two-shot victory at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic in Madison, Mississippi on Sunday.
Slocum, 31, birdied five of the first eight holes on his way to a six-under-par 66 and a 72-hole total of 21-under 267 at Annandale Golf Club.
Tied for the lead at 20 under with PGA Tour veteran Loren Roberts with two holes to play, Slocum holed a nine-foot birdie putt at the par-four 17th to take control.
Roberts bogeyed the same hole after driving into water to slip two strokes behind and Slocum, whose maiden PGA Tour victory came at last year’s Tucson Classic, maintained his advantage by parring the last.
Roberts, who also parred the final hole, returned a 68 to share second place at 19 under with Sweden’s Carl Pettersson (67).
Overnight leader Joey Snyder III finished a further shot back in fourth after returning a 70.
