Sportsticker
July 30, 2002

Jack Nicklaus hugs teammate Tiger Woods after Woods parred the 16th hole to win the Battle at Bighorn. (AP/Kevork Djansezian)

PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA (TICKER) -- Tiger Woods was solid throughout but when the match got tight, teammate Jack Nicklaus' ability to rise to the occasion came in handy.

Woods and Nicklaus, two of the greatest golfers ever, used a quick start and solid stretch midway through the round to defeat the team of Sergio Garcia and Lee Trevino in the latest installment of the made-for-television "Battle of Bighorn."

The team of Woods and Nicklaus posted a 3 and 2 triumph over Garcia and Trevino in the 18-hole best-ball match that was completed under portable lights at the Bighorn Golf Club.

Woods and Nicklaus split $1.2 million while Garcia and Trevino earned $250,000 apiece.

Woods/Nicklaus won the opening two holes but found themselves down 1 just six holes into the match. Woods sank a putt to win the seventh hole -- the first of four straight holes won by his team.

Woods was solid throughout, posting nine birdies through 16 holes, and that didn't include two birdie putts he did not even get to attempt.

"I played well," Woods said. "I played a practice round yesterday and made eight birdies in 14 holes. I had good control over my ball."

Nicklaus had four birdies while Trevino had five. Garcia had seven birdies and one memorable drive but the Spaniard missed some makable putts.

"It was a lot of fun to compete," Woods said. "We made 15 birdies (actually 13) as a group. I've never seen anything like that. You knew you had to make a birdie to win a hole. We all played pretty well and I think the fans enjoyed it."

Jack Nicklaus slaps the hand of teammate Tiger Woods after he birdied the 13th hole to go up by three against Sergio Garcia and Lee Trevino. (AP/Kevork Djansezian)

"I had a great partner," Nicklaus said. "It was an honor to play with all of them."

Woods/Nicklaus got off to a quick start as Woods dropped a five-foot birdie putt at No. 1 and rolled home a 20-footer at No. 2.

All four golfers birdied No. 3 and Garcia/Trevino got even with birdies at Nos. 4 and 5. Trevino sank a putt to win the fourth hole and his team got all square when Woods' 20-foot birdie putt lipped out.

Garcia gave his team the lead with a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 6 but missed another birdie opportunity on the next hole and the match was even.

The eighth hole might have been the best of the evening as all four golfers stuck their tee shots at the 202-yard, par 3. But the match began to turn when Garcia and Trevino missed birdie putts of less than eight feet.

Nicklaus may have had the shot of the night at No. 9, sticking a 7-iron within two feet of the cup. After Trevino conceded the birdie putt, he missed his eight foot opportunity to halve the hole.

Woods/Nicklaus extended their lead to 3-up with a birdie at No. 10 but gave up a hole at No. 11 when Garcia crushed a drive, stuck a sand wedge and converted the birdie putt.

Garcia and Woods missed eagle putts at No. 12 and the hole was halved. Garcia missed another putt at No. 13 and Woods/Nicklaus moved to 3-up with five to play.

Garcia and Woods sank birdie putts at Nos. 14 and 15 to halve the holes and settled matters at No. 16. Woods missed a birdie putt but Garcia missed his eight-footer to win the hole. Woods then stepped up and sank his putt to halve the hole and give his team the win.

Woods, 26, was appearing for the first time since the British Open, when he fell short of winning his third major in as many tries this season.

"It was good to get back out there but I only had one bad day there," Woods said. "It wasn't like I was struggling. It felt good to get out and compete with Jack and against these two guys. That was fun, and to win was more fun."

Two years ago, Woods replaced Nicklaus as the youngest player to win the career Grand Slam when he won the British Open at age 24. Woods has won eight major titles.

Known as the "Golden Bear," Nicklaus, 62, is regarded as the greatest golfer in history. He has 70 PGA Tour titles, including a record 18 majors. But he has been battling back injuries for the past 18 months and has appeared in just three tournaments this year.

The 62-year-old Trevino won 27 times on the PGA Tour, including six major titles. The last was the PGA Championship in 1984.

"It was a great day for me," Trevino said. "To get to play with Tiger, it is a completely different game they play."

Garcia, 22, has won three times on the PGA Tour and still is searching for his first major. He defeated Woods, 1-up, in the the first "Battle of Bighorn" in 2000.

"It was a lot of fun," Garcia said. "To have the chance to play with Jack and Lee, it was really a pleasure. I don't have a chance to do it many times. We all played really well. We put on a good show."

In 1999, Woods defeated David Duval, 2 and 1, in the "Showdown at Sherwood." Last summer, the format was altered as Woods teamed with Annika Sorenstam to defeat Duval and Karrie Webb in an alternate shot format.