Tiger finishes third as Chalmers wins By Doug Ferguson Nov 12, 2011 11:38 PM ET SYDNEY ?The loudest cheers were for Tiger Woods. The Australian Open belonged to winner Greg Chalmers. Chalmers won his national championship for the second time Sunday, closing with a 3-under 69 to hold off a late charge by Woods and a 50-foot birdie putt by John Senden that just missed forcing a playoff. Photos Australian Open Woods, who finished third, two shots back, had his best chance of winning all year. "Two holes on the back nine today, and I putted awful yesterday, or I would have been right there,"Woods said. . Two tee shots led to bogeys on the back nine, though he also made birdie on the second-toughest hole at The Lakes on No. 12, then chipped in from just off the green for eagle on the 14th. Woods missed a 12-foot eagle putt on the 17th that would have given him a share of the lead. Behind him, Chalmers made his final birdie with a brilliant tee shot on the par-3 15th hole to tap-in range, then played mistake-free down the stretch and picked up a meaningful par on the par-3 18th with an up-and-down from the bunker. Chalmers last won the Australian Open in 1998 at Royal Adelaide, a week before the Presidents Cup in Melbourne. Discussion: How will Tiger's week be viewed? The matches return to Royal Melbourne next week, and Woods at least showed that he wasn't a complete waste of a captain's pick by Fred Couples. He not only was the low American, he looked good doing it. It was his best result against a full field since Woods last won two years ago at the Australian Masters. "I felt great,"Woods said. "It's nice to finally be healthy again." Chalmers finished at 13-under 275. Senden, the 54-hole leader, faltered early but gave himself a chance late with a good pitch across the 17th green for birdie. His long putt on the 18th went over a ridge and broke back toward the high side of the cup but missed by inches. He closed with a 72. Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy had a 7-under 65 to tie for fourth with Adam Scott (68), Nick Watney (72), Nick O'hern (72) and Jason Day, who hit his opening tee shot in the water and had a 74. "If I keep putting myself in these kinds of positions, it's only a matter of time I learn the formula and break through and start to win,?said Day, who has only one PGA Tour win in his four years on the U.S. tour. "I'm very positive about where my game is right now." Six players from the top 10 at The Lakes will be at Royal Melbourne next week for the Presidents Cup. Woods was within two shots of the lead when he made the turn, having gone mistake-free on the front nine to at least give himself a chance on the risk-reward holes along the back nine of The Lakes. The task became tougher the way he played the 11th, which ultimately forced a bad decision two holes later. Woods again hooked his tee shot on the par-5 11th, although with the wind at his back, it sailed over the portable toilet and into a sand dune where spectators had been walking all week. His ball was deep in a heel print, and he played an explosion shot sideways just to get out of that mess. He wound up missing a 7-foot par putt. He made up for that with an 18-foot birdie on the 12th ?one of only five birdies on that hole Sunday ?and couldn't figure out how to play the 315-yard 13th. He went with driver for the second straight day, and this time it cost him. "I shouldn't have gone for it,"Woods said. "It's a tough tee shot for me because I'm caught right between clubs. Driver is too much and 3-wood is not enough. I tried to hit a big, slicing driver in there and should have just laid up. 밬nfortunately, I made the wrong decision and it cost me a shot.? He was lucky it wasn't more. The ball barely carried a pond and embedded into the muck about a foot short of the red hazard line. Instead of dropping on the other side of the water, Woods blasted behind the ball to gouge it forward, only it popped up and struck a tree, bouncing behind and nearly into another pond. His chip came up short, and he had to get up-and-down for bogey. He still made it interesting by chipping in for eagle from just off the 14th green, then reaching the par-5 17th in two with a shot that caught the ridge and settled 12 feet away. With a chance to tie for the lead, Woods missed the putt, then settled for a two-putt par on the 18th hole from about 45 feet. "Two bad tee shots on the back nine cost me,"Woods said. Even so, there were more positives for him to take out of the week. Coming off another four-week break from competition, he played well enough to win except for not turning his bad round ?a 75 on Saturday ?into a mediocre round. It was the first time all year that he had to wait after signing his card to see if his score would be enough. That lasted as long as it took Chalmers to save par from the bunker. The only other time Woods has been featured on a leaderboard on Sunday this year was at the Masters, when he was tied for the lead at turn until going even par on the back nine and finishing four shots behind. Woods has played only four tournaments since then because of injuries to his left leg. "It's been since Augusta, I had the lead at Augusta on Sunday, that's the last time I've been in that spot,"Woods said. "It's been a long time, unfortunately I haven't played a lot of tournaments in between. But it was great to be out there, I had a chance. Unfortunately I didn't post the number I wanted to post" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Watch wall-to-wall coverage of the Presidents Cup live on Golf Channel beginning Monday at 6PM. Tournament air times: Golf Channel Wednesday 9PM-2AM, Thursday 7:30PM-2AM, Friday 3PM-2AM and Saturday 6:30PM-12:30AM. NBC coverage Saturday at 8AM and Sunday at noon. (Note: all times are ET) 우즈, 호주오픈 3위…시즌 최고 성적 '골프 황제' 타이거 우즈(미국)가 원아시아투어 에미레이츠 호주오픈(총상금 150만 호주달러)에서 3위에 올랐다. 우즈는 13일 호주 시드니의 레이크스 골프장(파72·6천290미터)에서 열린 대회 마지막 날 4라운드에서 버디 5개와 이글 1개, 보기 2개를 묶어 5언더파 67타를 치며 선전했다. 최종합계 11언더파 277타를 기록한 우즈는 13언더파 275타로 우승한 그렉 찰머스(호주)에 2타 뒤진 단독 3위로 대회를 마쳤다. 2009년 11월 호주 마스터스에서 우승한 뒤로 2년 넘도록 한 번도 정상에 오르지 못했던 우즈는 3라운드까지 선두에 6타 뒤진 공동 8위에 머물다가 이날 뒷심을 발휘하며 극적인 역전 우승을 노렸지만 뜻을 이루지 못했다. 2009년 11월 미국 플로리다주 올랜도 인근 자택에서 의문의 교통사고를 낸 뒤 각종 사생활 문제가 불거진 이후 우즈의 최고 성적은 지난해 12월 셰브론 월드챌린지에서 기록한 준우승이다. 우즈는 이번 대회에서 우승하는 데 실패했지만 시즌 최고 성적을 올리며 부활 가능성을 예고했다. 14번 홀(파5)에서 칩인 이글을 잡아내며 선두에 1타 차로 바짝 따라붙은 우즈는 17번 홀(파5)에서도 3.7ｍ 거리의 이글 기회를 잡았으나 오른쪽으로 살짝 빗나가는 바람에 공동 선두에 오를 기회를 살리지 못했다. 1타 차 선두를 지킨 찰머스가 15번 홀(파3)에서 버디를 잡아 2타 차로 달아나면서 먼저 경기를 끝낸 우즈는 사실상 우승에 대한 기대를 접었다. 그러나 우즈는 3라운드에서 34번이나 시도했던 퍼트를 4라운드에서 27개까지 줄였고, 그린 적중률에서도 77.8%를 기록함으로써 오는 17일부터 호주 멜버른에서 열리는 프레지던츠컵 성적에 대한 팬들의 기대를 부풀렸다. 우즈는 "오늘 후반 2개 홀에서 실수가 없었고 어제 퍼트만 잘 들어갔더라면 우승 기회가 있었을 것"이라고 아쉬워했다. 우즈가 말한 후반 2개 홀은 11번과 13번 홀로, 우즈는 여기서 티샷을 실수한 탓에 1타씩 잃어 선두 추격의 발걸음이 무뎌졌다. 1998년 우승한 찰머스가 13년 만에 패권을 탈환했고, 3라운드 선두였던 존 센든(호주)이 12언더파 276타, 1타 차로 준우승했다. 센든은 마지막 18번 홀에서 15ｍ 거리의 버디 퍼트가 오른쪽으로 빗나가 연장 승부를 펼칠 기회를 놓쳤다. 우즈의 전 캐디 스티브 윌리엄스(뉴질랜드)가 골프백을 들어준 애덤 스콧(호주)은 9언더파 279타로 제이슨 데이, 제프 오길비, 닉 오헌(이상 호주), 닉 와트니(미국)와 함께 공동 4위에 올랐다. 입력시간 2011.11.13 (15:17) 최종수정 2011.11.13 (16:22) [연합]