POIPU BEACH, Hawaii -- Tiger Woods was sick again, but it was a different kind of sick.
One day after battling a stomach virus that nearly ended his first round, a jovial and talkative Woods put on a clinic Wednesday and cruised to a record sixth PGA Grand Slam title with an 8-under 64 in the final round.
Woods ended the event at 13-under-par 131 for a seven-stroke victory over 2004 champion Phil Mickelson, who fired a 68 to reach 6-under.
Tiger Woods was all smiles after easily winning his 6th Grand Slam of Golf title.
Michael Campbell shot a two-under 70 and ended in third place at minus-1. Vijay Singh finished fourth, 13 strokes behind Woods at even-par after a final-round 69.
All four players improved upon unspectacular first rounds, but no one was catching an openly-confident Woods, who held a three-shot lead overnight.
The reigning Masters and British Open champion was a shotmaker among shotmakers during the final round, treating the gallery to strokes arguably more appealing than the picturesque surroundings at Poipu Bay Golf Course.
The shot of the tournament had to be Woods’ second at the 14th.
Already leading by six strokes, he pulled his drive left into the rough at the par-5 hole. With the intention of just getting it to the green, Woods lined up with a three wood and crushed it into the swirling Hawaiian winds.
‘Oh baby, how about this shot I just hit,’ he exclaimed as the ball bounced short of the green and rolled to within eight feet of the hole to set up his second eagle of the day.
Mickelson pitched within inches to set up a birdie, and Singh nearly chipped in for an eagle after that. But their ‘almost’ shots were overshadowed by the fact that Woods was about to roll in a relatively easy eagle putt.
‘I was just trying to run it up the gap somehow and I absolutely crushed it,’ Woods said of his second shot. ‘It was just one of those shots -- you envision it and you can kind of see it, and when you pull it off it just makes it that much more special.’
Woods collected $400,000 for the win at this exclusive two-round event, which is reserved for the PGA Tour’s major championship winners. (Since Woods won two majors, Singh joined PGA Champion Mickelson and U.S. Open winner Campbell based on his performance in the four majors.)
But Woods almost didn’t compete, nearly sidelined by a stomach virus Tuesday.
‘It wasn’t looking too good yesterday, but I got through it somehow and kept myself in the ball game and felt a lot better after a good night’s rest,’ he said.
It showed.
Woods reached 6-under with his first birdie of the day at the second. He followed that up with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 3 and then rolled in an eagle putt at the par-5 sixth to reach minus-8.
After the turn, Woods stuck his tee shot at the 199-yard 11th within 18 inches to set up another birdie. He also added a birdie at 13 before thrilling the gallery at the 14th.
The win was long in hand at that point.
‘I hit it better today, and it felt good,’ Woods said.
Mickelson, who fired a 59 in the final round last year to win by five over Singh, earned a $250,000 paycheck for second place. Campbell collected $200,000 and Singh won $150,000.
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