Can Tiger Woods\'s Bay Hill success pave the way for US

Aged 21, Woods injected sudden excitement into this rain-plagued tournament when he birdied the last four holes for a third-round 65. By that stage, the La Costa course in Carslbad, California was practically under water, forcing organisers to let Woods and Tom Lehman decide the title in sudden death. Woods would win the play-off when he arrowed his tee-shot at the short seventh to within 10 inches of the pin. Lehman, then the reigning Open champion said: “Tom Lehman was the player of the year but Tiger Woods is probably the player of the next two decades.” 2001 Mar 18: Bay Hill Invitational; Mar 25: Players Championship, Sawgrass After speculation about a mini-slump, sparked by his five weeks without a win, Woods responded with two victories in the space of eight days. Such was the ruthlessness of a man seeking his fourth straight major. At Bay Hill, following a prolonged final-day tussle with Phil Mickelson, he proved fortunate as his tee-shot at the 18th struck a spectator when it had looked to be heading out of bounds. Thus ensued a one-shot victory, made sweeter when he beat Vijay Singh in the Players at Sawgrass the next week for his 26th title, setting up the famous ‘Tiger Slam’ at Augusta. No other player had ever won three different PGA Tour events for three straight years, but the all-conquering Woods did not let that statistic deter him as he swept to a third Bay Hill triumph. A measure of his dominance was that he shot 74 on Saturday and still held the lead. He faced sustained pressure from Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els on the final day but while Mickelson found water at the par-five 16th, Woods made a prudent birdie that set the scene for a four-shot victory over New Zealand’s Michael Campbell. 2005 Jan 23: Buick Invitational, Torrey Pines; Mar 6: Ford Championship at Doral The Buick had appeared Lehman’s to win, after he had opened with a 62 on Torrey’s North Course. But Woods seized his moment with a final-round 68 that brought him home three clear of Lehman, Charles Howell and Luke Donald. He would harness the momentum with a brilliant display at Doral, shooting weekend rounds of 63 and 66 for a tournament record score of 24 under par. The win lifted Woods back to world No 1 for the first time since Sept 2004, when he had been supplanted by Singh.