Tiger Woods won the Buick Open for a third time and claimed his 69th PGA Tour victory.
Ho hum.
Not quite.
Woods shot a 3-under 69 and coasted to a three-shot victory with a 20-under 268 total at Warwick Hills, which hosted its first Buick Open in 1958 and seemed to stage its final one Sunday.
“I’ve played all around the world, and I’ve never seen a day like this,” said Woods, also the 2002 and 2006 winner at Warwick Hills. “This event has always been special, but today was something else.”
He acknowledged thinking about his walk up 18 at Warwick Hills being his last, leading to him throwing his ball with a lot of velocity back down the fairway to fans. He also tossed a ball into the gallery at 17.
“I never do that, but today was different,” Woods said. “We aren’t coming back here, and I wanted to thank all these people.”
GolfWeek Magazine reported on its Web site that General Motors Co. would end the PGA Tour’s longest partnership, and The Associated Press confirmed it with a person briefed on the decision. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the announcement wouldn’t be made until after the tournament.
GolfWeek also reported The Greenbrier in West Virginia is waiting for the PGA Tour to confirm it will replace the Buick Open in 2010.
Susan Docherty, general manager for GM’s Buick and GMC brands, said she is giving Buick-GMC’s national promotions manager Larry Peck 90 days to figure out the company’s future with the sport.
“There’s been a long history between Buick and golf and there definitely will be a connection going forward,” Docherty said. “What we need to do and stop and evaluate what we want to do going forward.”
Spending about $7 million on a golf tournament in Michigan might not be part of the plans.
“Hopefully, we’ll get back to this region soon,” Woods said.
Early and often at Warwick Hills, from the pro-am when he played with rocker Bob Seger through Sunday, Woods was thanked by fans who appreciated his appearance.
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