Woods plays final round blindfolded, wins by 8 strokes

SAN DIEGO, CA — Citing a desire to “challenge myself in ways that I never have,” Tiger Woods played the entirety of Sunday’s final round wearing a blindfold, and still managed to win his fourth consecutive Buick Invitational by 8 strokes.

“We have never seen anything like this on our Tour before, let alone at Torrey Pines, and it just furthers Tigers’ legacy as the best player this game has ever seen,” said PGA President Brian Whitcomb. “On the 50^th anniversary of the Buick Invitational, Tiger has truly launched the 2008 season with flair.”

Woods donned a black blindfold with a small red Nike swoosh in the center (already available for purchase on Nike.com) as he set-up on the first tee and, 18 holes later, finished at -18. He was -1 for the day despite a stretch of three consecutive bogeys. After sinking his final putt in rain that was blowing sideways, Woods removed his blindfold to the roar of an amazed gallery, tipped his cap to the crowd, and then retired to the clubhouse without addressing the press.

This is Woods’ 62^nd tournament victory overall, and his sixth at the Buick Invitational. The win also ties him with Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time win list, and leaves him just two shy of matching Ben Hogan for third. However, no one on the victories list is on record for having played a tournament with a self-imposed handicapped that impaired their vision.

It’s going to be tough for this sport to sweep any nations, but it’s still pretty frickin’ cool!