Tiger Woods wins Buick Open to complete hat-trick

Tiger Woods makes a putt for birdie on the 4th hole during the final round of the Buick Open pic/afpTiger Woods mopped up his 69th PGA Tour victory last night as he won the Buick Open for a third time in Michigan.The World No 1 turned a one-shot 54-hole lead into a three-stroke victory over Roland Thatcher, John Senden and Greg Chalmers at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc to land his fourth title of the year and bounce back from a missed cut in The Open Championship at Turnberry last month.Woods, who moved to within four PGA Tour victories of Jack Nicklaus' 73 and 13 of all-time wins leader Sam Snead, had trailed the first-round lead by eight shots only to charge back into contention with an eight-under 63 around the 7,127-yard par-72 course on Friday.A third-round 65 moved him to the top of the leaderboard at 17 under par, one shot clear of fellow American Michael Letzig, with Australia's John Senden at 15 under. Yet Woods needed just a relatively modest, bogey-free closing three-under par 69 to seal victory at 20 under par as a viable challenge to his lead never materialised.Both Letzig, his playing partner, and Senden, fell away on the front nine as Woods made the turn with a two-shot cushion over the field at 19 under, Letzig's double bogey at the par-three eighth leaving him four shots back.