MELBOURNE—World No.1 Tiger Woods has clinched the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath, leading the tournament from start to finish.
The American provided immediate validation for the massive hype and his $3 million appearance fee when he won his first event on Australian soil by two shots.
Woods, who finished 14 under the card on 274 with rounds of 66-68-72-68, defeated West Australian Greg Chalmers, who was outright second with American Jason Dufner and Frenchman Francois Delamontagne sharing third at 10 under par.
Australians James Nitties and Chalmers had gone into the final round sharing the lead with Woods at 10 under the card.
But Woods began his day confidently when he opened with a birdie at the par five first and by the time he reached the turn in 33 was three under the card.
He broke out of a tie and seized the outright lead when he sunk to 12 under par with a birdie three at the fifth.
From then on he was able to keep his pursuers at bay and stretched his break to three shots when he moved to 14 under with a birdie at the par five 12th.
Woods dropped a shot at the 13th when his approach shot bounced through the green but he rebounded shortly afterwards when he picked up a shot at the par three 15th.
Woods collected $270,000 for his victory - less than 10 per cent of his appearance fee, which was justified by Victorian premier John Brumby earlier in the day, when he declared the event a resounding success.
Woods dragged up to 100,000 spectators through the gate as people paid to watch him play practice rounds as well as compete.
On the final day a crowd of 25,132 squeezed into Kingston Heath to watch Woods go head-to-head with the two local stars.
Australian Masters Final Round Snapshot
MELBOURNE—Snapshot of the final round of the $1.5 million Australian Masters at Kingston Heath on Sunday:
MAN OF THE MOMENT - Tiger Woods. Who else? The world No.1 drew huge crowds all week, even for pre-event practice rounds, led at the end of every round and showed his class when it counted with a near-flawless performance on the final day.
KEY MOMENT - Australia's Greg Chalmers was within a shot of Woods until the par three eighth, when a three-putt bogey allowed the American a two-shot lead. Ahead on the ninth, Woods sunk a testing three-metre putt to save par. From then on, his lead was never less than two shots.
SHOT OF THE DAY - Woods almost sunk his second shot to the par four 16th, a six iron from about 160m, which rolled over the lip of the hole.
STAT OF THE DAY - Of the three players who shared the lead into the final round, Woods was the one who did not have a bogey on the front nine.
QUOTE OF THE DAY - "This has been phenomenal, I'm sorry it took me so long to get back, I promise it won't be as long (next time)." - Woods' promise will be music to the ears of Australian golf fans.
SUMMARY - Woods started the day tied for the lead with Chalmers and another Australian James Nitties. The American had three birdies in a bogey-free front nine to establish a two-shot lead by the round's halfway mark. From that point, he was always in control.
