Tiger Woods finishes strong at Australian Masters

  November 14 -- Tiger Woods, playing like the No. 1 golfer he used to be, finished the Australian Masters with two eagles and two birdies in his final six holes to muscle his way up the leaderboard and three shots back of winner Stuart Appleby.

Struggling with his swing and putting all week, and 10 shots back at the start of Sunday’s final round, Woods fired a 7-under 65 to to finish in fourth place. He failed to defend his Masters title -- his last victory -- but the world’s No. 2 hoped his strong finish would help him pick up his first 2010 win at next month’s Chevron World Challenge.

"I have two weeks off and then play the Chevron so I am pretty excited about it," Woods told reporters.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. Woods also reiterated his oft-uttered refrain that he was pleased with the forward movement he was making with new swing coach Sean Foley.

"It's a work in progress. Sometimes it takes longer than others," Woods said. “Once I start feeling comfortable with what I'm doing - I know I can still play this game - it's just a matter of being consistent enough and on a daily basis."

Foley is helping Woods, who earlier this year parted company with coach Hank Haney, revamp his swing. The process has not been an easy one, as Woods repeated earlier this week.

Putt for dough. It’s not only his swing that has let Woods down, as the struggling golfer has had trouble with his short game as well. He fared far better on the greens Sunday, perhaps because he switched to a new flat stick.

Using a Nike Method 003 mallet putter, according to Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman, Woods needed only 27 putts. That total was far more efficient than the 33 he required in each of his first two rounds.

For Appleby, the win was especially sweet since it was his first home victory since capturing the Australian Open in 2001. The Aussie fired a final-round 65 to surge from a seven-shot deficit to win his second event of the season. He won the Greenbriar Classic after carding a 59.

As for Woods, Brandel Chamblee just doesn’t like the guy. Read how the Golf Channel talking head called the world’s No. 2 a steaming pile of No. 2.