Graeme McDowell hails his 'greatest putts' after beating Tiger Woods | Sport

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Graeme McDowell hails his 'greatest putts' after beating Tiger Woods

• Irishman strikes from 25ft in dramatic play-off victory
• 'It was a great week even though I didn't win' – tiger wood

Graeme McDowell had to come from behind to beat Tiger Woods in the Chevron World Challenge yesterday. Photograph: Mike Nelson/EPA Graeme McDowell has described the shots which secured him the Chevron World Challenge title yesterday as the "greatest putts" of his career. The Irishman hit a 20-foot birdie on the 18th green in Sherwood to force a sudden-death play-off against Tiger Woods and them made a similar putt from about 25 feet on the same hole in the play-off to win. "Those are probably two of the greatest putts I've made," McDowell, the US Open champion, said. "I've holed a couple of nice putts this year, but they were certainly up there. To play the weekend alongside Tiger, it's a pretty special feeling to go out there four back and do the job." No one had ever beaten Woods when trailing him by three shots or more going into the final round. It had been 12 years since anyone had topped Woods in a play-off on home soil. If there was a time for it all to unravel for Woods, it's only fitting it would be in his final round of a troublesome year. The former No1 began the season in an addiction clinic in Mississippi, the fallout of being caught cheating on his wife. In the eight months since he returned to golf, Woods changed swing coaches, was divorced from his wife and never once contended in a tournament. With a one-shot lead, McDowell pulled his eight-iron into hay so deep that he had to take a one-stroke penalty and find a good place to drop it. He wound up on the 18th tee and hit a risky chip over the tree to about seven feet. If Woods made his birdie or McDowell missed his putt, Woods would take a one-shot lead to the 18th. Woods, however, missed. "It's just one of those head-scratching moments where you're thinking, 'What the hell am I going to do here?'" McDowell said. "Between myself and my caddie, we worked out the less of two evils. I made the right decision and managed to get it done there and hole a clutch putt, which set up the opportunity in the last." Woods closed with a 73. He said: "It was a great week, even though I didn't win. The way I'm playing right now, yeah, I would like to continue playing. Even though I lost and made countless mistakes in the middle part of the round, it said a lot for me to come back and put my swing back together again." Of his rival, McDowell said: "He used to appear invincible. Of course, he's made himself appear more human in the last 12 months. But there's something a bit special about his golf game, and I fully expect that mystique to return as the golf clubs start doing the talking again." The victory in Sherwood has moved McDowell up to a career-high seventh in the world rankings.