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Tiger
Woods provided the large galleries at the Victoria Golf Club something
to remember as he shot his equal-best round of the year, a
six-under-par 65, at the Australian Masters on Sunday.

The 34-year-old
American, who was reportedly paid a $3 million appearance fee,produced
some fireworks down the stretch, highlighted by an eagle two on the
par-four 15th, a birdie on the par-five 17th and an eagle three on the
par-five 18th to finish on seven-under 277.

After entering the
final round 10 shots behind leader Adam Bland he walked off just three
shots behind the Australian and with a sniff of victory should Bland or
then second-placed Daniel Gaunt succumb to the pressure.

As it turned out,
Australian Stuart Appleby trumped Woods by also shooting a six-under 65
to overtake the faltering Bland and Gaunt in the closing holes to win
by a single shot.

Woods,who finished
fourth, last won a title when he claimed the gold jacket at nearby
Kingston Heath on Melbourne’s sandbelt a year ago, shortly before
stories about his personal life developed into a storm that wrecked his
marriage, tarnished his clean-cut image and caused him to take a break
from golf.He has also modified his swing in an effort to improve his
game and take pressure off his surgically repaired left knee and on
Sunday after his explosive finish he said he felt he was slowly
beginning to see signs of improvement.

“I can do this in
streaks, unfortunately I haven’t done it for an entire round yet,” he
told reporters. “That’s one of the things when you’re making changes in
the game, it takes time.

“I’m pleased with
some of the progress I’ve made because the streaks are now lasting
longer but I still need to do it for an entire round. I still need to
do it for 72 holes.

“I finally got it going at the end but it was too little too late.”