Golf: Woods battles back for fifth straight tour win

NORTON, Massachusetts - Tiger Woods unleashed two eagles and four birdies in his final round to win the Deutsche Bank Championship today, extending his winning streak to five tournaments.

The British Open and PGA champion fired an exquisite final-round 63 to finish on 16-under-par 268, two shots clear of Fiji's overnight leader Vijay Singh and eight shots ahead of third placed Brian Bateman of the US.

Woods came out hard, taking only three holes to erase Singh's three-stroke lead, which the Fijian had amassed by shooting a course record and personal best 10-under-par 61 yesterday.

Woods' first eagle came on the 554-yard, par-five second hole, where he landed on the green in two strokes, flying his approach shot over the hole's water hazard and making an 11-foot putt.

"I made a nice putt on the third and all of a sudden I had all the momentum on my side," Woods told reporters. "I didn't think I'd get it all back in the first three holes."

"Vijay's not going to make a lot of mistakes. One of the hardest things to do in our sport is follow up a great round with another great round."

His second eagle was on the 600-yard, par-five seventh, where Woods, leading by one stroke, again marched to the green in two strokes to massive applause and sunk another 11-foot putt.

Singh, who had consistently dropped his approach shots close to the holes on Sunday's soft, rain-soaked greens, frequently found his ball in the rough on the dry, sunny day, making only four birdies in shooting a three-under-par 68.

At the 426-yard, par-four 15th hole, Singh nearly tied it up, when his approach shot almost landed in the hole, bouncing off the base of the flagstick instead. Singh made birdie on that hole, as did Woods, his playing partner.

"I played well the back nine and I never got anything going," said the Fijian. "When I did make a birdie he made his as well," Singh said. "I just didn't play good enough."

Briton Justin Rose and Australian Robert Allenby ended tied for fourth at seven under par.

"I had my own problems," said Rose, who started the day at eight under par and slipped to five under by the turn. "I got the most ugly start I could have imagined really."

While Woods led the first day's play, he struggled on Sunday, when poor play off the tee led him to shoot a one-over-par 72.

"I hung in there, gutted it out," Woods said. "Weeks like this, you really find out a lot about yourself and how to manage yourself around the golf course. When you have to dig down deep to find something, sometimes it's just not there."

- REUTERS