'Greedy' Woods takes National, his 3rd win of the year

BETHESDA, Md. - Tiger Woods made it a hat trick of victories in tournaments hosted by PGA Tour stars, this one the most meaningful of all because it was his own.

Woods lived up to his hopes of being a "greedy host" Sunday, leaving Anthony Kim in his wake and then making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to overtake hard-charging Hunter Mahan for a 1-shot victory in his AT&T National.

Woods closed with a 3-under 67 at Congressional for his third victory of the year, the others coming at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill and Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament.

Inside the ropes, they all felt the same.

"Whether it's my tournament, Jack's, Arnold's ... it really doesn't matter. You go out there with the same intensity to win," Woods said.

The challenge came from a rising star, just not the Californian anyone expected.

Mahan made 6 birdies on the back nine for a 62, tying the course record that Kim set Thursday. The final birdie on the 18th gave Mahan a share of the lead, and he had to wait more than an hour to see if Woods could top him.

Woods twice scrambled for par to stay tied for the lead, then looked as though he squandered a good birdie chance on the par-5 16th when his chip from the rough came out heavy and stopped 20 feet from the hole. Backing off once, he rolled in it, then walked stoically to the hole, nodding his head.

He closed with routine pars to finish at 13-under 267. The 68th victory of his PGA Tour career moved him to the top of the money list and the FedEx Cup standings for the first time this year.

Whether it gives him any momentum will be determined in two weeks at Turnberry.

All three of Woods' victories this year have come in his final start before a major, and he finished 4 shots behind in both the Masters and the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black two weeks ago.

The next stop is the British Open on a links course Woods has never seen.

As for the golf he played Sunday - that was nothing new.

Woods kept mistakes to a minimum - he failed to make par on the 11th hole for the fourth straight round - and took advantage of his birdie chances when he had them.

"Six holes to go, and at the time I was tied for the lead," Woods said, referring to when Mahan finished his round. "You can win the tournament or you can lose the tournament from here. Just got to keep plodding along and hopefully sneak one or two birdies coming in and get the title."

Kim simply couldn't keep up.

It was the ideal final pairing at Congressional - the world's No. 1 player and tournament host tied with Kim, a confident 24-year-old who was the defending champion. Kim lost 4 shots in four holes on the front nine, and didn't make a birdie on the back nine.

He shot a 71 to finish alone in third, 4 shots behind.

"I had a lot of fun," Kim said. "I know I'll be knocking on the door again. It's only a matter of time. I learned if you have a birdie putt, you better make it."