Once again Tiger, you're the man

This was another epic performance by Wood, who set a new tournament record low total of 25 under par 263 after rounds of 65, 65, 67 and 66. Even then, Retief Goosen moved to within a shot with a closing 62 and he duly claimed the second prize of $540,000 (€554,244). Next came Vijay Singh on 21 under par with Jerry Kelly and David Toms on 20 under.

Even still, Woods wasn't the happiest camper in the world at the end of his record breaking day. A photographer with a trigger happy finger upset him as he stood over his approach shot to the 18th and he claims that contributed to his only bogey of the tournament. He had never previously shot a blemish-free 72 hole total and it was clearly something he wanted to achieve.

"I couldn't get comfortable over my shot because of that photographer," he maintained. "I got really hot. I mean, of all times to do such a thing. I had played great golf for 71 holes and it wasn't an easy shot. I had a four iron of 236 yards and I never got my focus back. There's a lot of rough to the right of the green and sand and water to the left.

"I was hot with the photographer and I was hot with myself for blocking the putt. Today was the best I played all week and I didn't want to finish that way."

Although Sergio Garcia was the only European to crash the top 10 thanks to yesterday's sparkling 10 under par 62, the tournament ended on a reasonably positive note for six of the seven members of Sam Torrance's team in the field. The exception, of course, was Darren Clarke, finishing 64th of the 65 competitors on seven over par.

But Garcia with his 62; Niclas Fasth, 64; Colin Montgomerie, 68; Padraig Harrington, 69; Bernhard Langer, 70 and, to a lesser extent Thomas Bjorn, 72, finished strongly.

Garcia, who had nines of 32 and 30, was delighted with his own performance, his one regret being that he missed a birdie putt on the 18th that would have given him a career low round. Garcia's new course record of 62 was by no means the only seriously low number yesterday although my pre-tournament prediction that somebody would challenge the 60 barrier and perhaps even beat it never really looked on the cards. Goosen, the South African winner of the 2001 US Open, matched Garcia's 62 and very nearly caught Woods in the process. He came home in 30 while New Zealander Michael Campbell covered the opening nine in 30 and finished in 64 so, in fact, a sub-60 score was by no means an impossibility.

It was a magnificent tournament for all concerned with the Mount Juliet complex, with 32,200 present on Saturday, 33,680 yesterday and 120,174 in total over the four days. The championship returns to Ireland in 2004, albeit two weeks later than this year, and while no decision has been reached it is unthinkable it could go anywhere other than to Tim Mahony's superb complex. Woods, however, would like to see the golf course toughened up appreciably. "I think all the players would agree with me that the fairways were too wide and accommodating while the rough wasn't consistent, there were places where you could have hit a three wood out of it," he declared.

"This victory and the nature of it is right up there but it's not at the top. That remains the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2000. I have had a great time here and really enjoyed the galleries. They were very knowledgeable." Those who believed it would be a walk in the park for Woods when he moved five ahead on Saturday appeared to have their view vindicated for most of yesterday as he reeled off three birdies on the way out and then cracked two magnificent shots to 10 feet for an eagle at the 10th. Woods was four ahead of Jerry Kelly at that stage butit was Goosen who eventually threw down the gauntlet.

He had bogeyed the short 11th but after that reeled off a run of birdie, birdie, par, birdie, birdie, eagle, par. He had a 25-footer on the 18th that would really have made life tough for Woods who was struggling on the 17th. He missed and the champion somehow conjured up a birdie of his own, thus affording himself a two shot cushion coming down the 18th. And, as it transpired, he needed every bit of it.

"I made a pretty miraculous recovery on 17th and that third shot was probably one of the best I've hit all week," Woods said. "People think, yeah, you hit it to 15-feet, big deal, but that lie was pretty ghastly. "I knew that was going to be the crucial shot of the tournament for I was fully aware of what Goosen was doing up ahead. So I said to myself, just suck it up there put it on the green and put yourself in a position to make a putt. And I did that."

Woods didn't finish it off the way he would have liked but he said: "It always means a lot to me when I play against the best and come out on top."