Tiger Woods claims win is best of his career

TIGER WOODS hailed his dramatic US Open victory as the greatest achievement of his illustrious career after overcoming knee problems to take his 14th major title.

Playing his first tournament in nine weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery two days after a second-place finish at the Masters, Woods battled the pain to score a memorable play-off victory over Rocco Mediate which went into sudden death after 18 extra holes at Torrey Pines.

On top of the injury, Mediate pushed the world No.1 on to the 91st hole of the tournament having twice had a chance to take the title himself and, at 45, become the oldest first-time winner in major history.

Woods, 32, birdied the 18th hole on Sunday and yesterday to keep his title hopes alive and rob Mediate of victory and add another major championship to an honour roll begun 11 years ago at the 1997 Masters.

"I think this is probably the best ever," Woods said. "All things considered, I don't know how I ended up in this position to be honest with you. It was a long week. There was a lot of doubt, a lot of questions going into the week, and here we are 91 holes later.

"It's either this one or my first one (which is the best]. This week had a lot of doubt to it. I hadn't walked 18 holes until the first round here since Augusta.

"You keep playing, you just keep going forward and there's no finish line, you just keep pushing and pushing and I did all week."

Woods also admitted he had to overcome erratic play as he got each of the four rounds of regulation play under way.

"I had such great starts every day," he said with a laugh. "I had four double bogeys this week, three eagles, a few three-putts, a couple of snipes off the tees, a couple of slices, some bombs – anything and everything happened this week.

"For some reason it just happened, through all that, all those ups and downs, I ended up being one-under par for 91 holes. It has been just an amazing week."

Woods said he would "shut down" and spend time resting his knee, but added he hoped to be back in action at Royal Birkdale in Southport for the Open Championship, starting on July 17.

"I'll take a little time off," he said, before being asked if the Open would be his next tournament. "I hope so," he replied.

After staying alive with a 15-foot putt on Sunday, Woods again birdied the last to stop 45-year-old qualifier Mediate becoming the championship's oldest winner.

They were both round in level par 71s as a result, Mediate having come from three down after ten to lead by one on the final tee.

Woods birdied the last to take it to sudden death and his opponent, ranked 158th in the world, bogeyed the first extra hole after missing the green with his approach.

The world No.1 made it a remarkable five straight victories at the San Diego venue and took his on-course career earnings through the $100million (£50m) mark. His play-off record now, though, is a stunning 16-3 – and, of course, he has maintained his record of winning every single major he has led after 54 holes.

However, there are fears that Tiger's win may have come at a cost.

He added: "I'm glad I'm done. I really don't feel like playing any more. It's a bit sore."

Woods frequently experienced jabbing pain during the week after having arthroscopic surgery on his knee two months ago, two days after he finished second at the Masters.

Asked when he was likely to return to the PGA Tour, Woods said: "Not for a while. I'm going to shut it down for a little bit here and see what happens. I need to take a little bit of a break."

Woods is almost certain to skip the June 26-29 Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan – a tournament he usually plays. Also in jeopardy is the AT&T National at Congressional the following week – an event he hosts. After that, he would be expected to appear at the July 17-20 British Open at Royal Birkdale, the third major of the year.

"To be honest with you, I really don't know," Woods said of the British Open. "I pushed it pretty hard this week and I just want to enjoy it and we're going to re-evaluate after this event and see what happens."

When asked if he had been told that his knee could be further injured by playing golf, he nodded his head in agreement. Asked if that had happened at Torrey Pines, he replied: "Maybe."

There was plenty for Woods to smile about, though, after securing his 14th major title on one of his favourite courses.

"I always loved playing down here ever since I played as a junior," he said of Torrey Pines, where he has clinched the PGA Tour's Buick Invitational a record six times. And now that I come back here to play as a professional, and in a major championship on top of that and to have won, it's an unbelievable feeling, really."

WOODS: THE FACTS

1975: Born December 30, Cypress, California, son of retired US Army lieutenant colonel Earl Woods and Thai-born wife Kultida.

1979: Shoots 48 for nine holes aged three.

1991: Youngest ever winner of the US Junior championship aged 15.

1994: Youngest winner of the US Amateur championship.

1995: Makes the cut on his Masters debut.

1996: Equals the lowest-ever total by an amateur in the Open, finishing 22nd at Lytham. Wins his third US Amateur title.

1997: Becomes youngest winner of the Masters.

1999: Member of the winning US Ryder Cup team (Boston).

2000: Wins US Open at Pebble Beach, the Open championship at St Andrews and US PGA championship.

2001: Wins his second Masters title to become the first player ever to hold all four professional Majors at the same time.

2002: Wins back-to-back Masters titles to match the achievement of Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo. Claims his second US Open title.

2004: Surpasses the 40million US dollar mark for career earnings at the year's opening event, the Mercedes Championship, and makes it 40 US Tour wins.

2005: Wins fourth Masters.

2006: June: Misses first cut in 38 majors as a professional at the US Open following nine-week lay-off after the death of his father, Earl.

July 23: Wins third Open.

August 6: Wins Buick Open, his 50th PGA Tour victory.

August 20:Wins 12th major title, the US PGA at Medinah.

2007: June: Becomes a father for the first time less than 24 hours after finishing second at the US Open.

August 12: Claims 13th major by successfully defending his US PGA title.

2008: April 15: Undergoes third left knee operation, missing two months.

June 16: Returns to action by winning third US Open.