THOUSAND OAKS, California: Tiger Woods' miserable year ended with more disappointment as he gave up a four-stroke lead and suffered a crushing playoff loss to Graeme McDowell in the Chevron World Challenge Sunday. It marked the first time that Woods, without a win since the 2009 Australian Open, lost a tournament in which he led by at least three strokes going into the final round at Sherwood Country Club. Under pressure from US Open champion McDowell, Woods let his grip on the lead slip in his own event with a double bogey on the 13th that the Northern Irishman birdied for a two-stroke lead. But McDowell's advantage slipped away as he bogeyed twice to send the pair into the final hole on level terms. Both players birdied, McDowell sinking a difficult 25-foot putt and then Woods keeping his nerve with a three-footer that sent the pair into a sudden-death playoff. Returning to the 18th, McDowell hit a tree but had a decent lie and was able to find the green with his second and he again drained a putt from over 20 feet to leave Woods putting for a birdie to stay in the playoff. “I fought hard today ... it was close, we had a good battle again - I felt right, I was right there,” said Woods. Although the tournament is not officially part of the PGA Tour, it clearly meant a lot to Woods who celebrated his great second shot on the 18th in regulation with an aggressive fist pump of vintage variety. There was also plenty at stake for McDowell who showed great poise to come out on top against the backdrop of a crowd clearly, and vocally, hoping to see Woods capture his first tournament win since his personal troubles began. “It's just been an amazing year, I can't say enough about it,” said McDowell, who triumphed in the US Open at Pebble Beach in June. “This is dream stuff, playing one of the greatest golfers who has ever played and to beat him like this, I'm just ecstatic.” England's Paul Casey finished third, four shots behind the top two while Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy was a further shot back in fourth. Hjorth captures LPGA title In Florida, Sweden's Maria Hjorth fired a par-72 final round Sunday to capture her first LPGA title since 2007, winning the season-ending Tour Championship by one stroke from South Korean Amy Yang. The outcome secured LPGA Player of the Year honors for Taiwan's Yani Tseng and year-end world No. 1 status for South Korean Jiyai Shin, as rivals were unable to overhaul either over the last 18 holes of the 2010 campaign. Hjorth's fourth career LPGA crown was her first since the 2007 Navistar Classic and only her second since 1999. Her best prior showing of the season was a share of third place at Malaysia. Hjorth finished 72 holes on five-under-par 283 with Yang, seeking a wire-to-wire win despite having never previously led after any LPGA round until this week, second on 284 after a final-round 74. American Cristie Kerr and South Korean In-Kyung Kim shared third on 286 with American Laura Diaz and South Korean Na Yeon Choi, who clinched season top money winner honours on Saturday, a further stroke off the pace. Tseng, who finished 21st on 293, took LPGA Player of the Year honors as neither Kerr nor Choi could move past her despite their top-six finishes. Hjorth picked up the $225,000 top prize at the 1.5 million
