July 24 (Bloomberg) -- Tiger Woods stuck to a conservative strategy that suited the course conditions to beat more aggressive opponents and become the first golfer to retain the British Open title since Tom Watson 23 years ago.

Woods, whose 300-yard drives have helped lead to a lengthening of courses on the U.S. PGA Tour, never wavered from a game plan that demanded he mainly use irons from the tees at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake in northwest England. He shot the ball between bunkers and along hard, bouncing fairways onto greens, and in four rounds used his driver just once, at the 16th hole on the first day.

``I developed a strategy to play this golf course that I thought suited me and I felt comfortable with,'' Woods told reporters yesterday after collecting the winner's Claret Jug and 720,000 ($1.3 million) check. ``I stuck with it the entire week.''

Woods finished at 18-under par, two strokes ahead of American Chris DiMarco, to win the world's oldest major tournament for the third time. His 11th victory in a major ties him for second on the all-time list with Walter Hagen, seven behind Jack Nicklaus. Woods has never lost a major after going into the final day in the lead or tied for first place.

At the start of the day, 15 golfers were within five shots of Woods, who led by one at 13-under par. One by one, they fell away as they tried to blast their way around Hoylake's par-72, 7,258-yard (6,637-meter) course with their drivers.

No Trouble

Of his five nearest rivals, Jim Furyk dropped shots at the first two holes, Angel Cabrera had a triple-bogey 7 at the second and Sergio Garcia had four bogeys in the first nine holes. Ernie Els failed to cut into the deficit and DiMarco dropped a shot at the first hole.

In a final-round 67, which tied Sean O'Hair for the final day's best, Woods used his 3-wood five times and irons from every other tee to avoid the deep-faced fairway bunkers.

``I went out there and executed my game plan,'' said Woods, the world's top-ranked golfer. ``My strategy was sound. It was going to keep me out of trouble.''

American golfers have won the Open 10 times in the last 12 years, and no European has triumphed at a major tournament in seven years.

Hoylake, host to the tournament for the first time in 39 years, was ``a fantastic test,'' Woods said. He succeeded by striking low, running shots, rather than flying the ball high, as players usually do at championship layouts.

To do that, he dumped his high-flying 5-wood in favor of a 2-iron, which gave the ball a lower, more penetrating flight and plenty of run when it hit the ground.

`Amazing Creativity'

``With the golf course being this fast, it lent itself to just amazing creativity,'' Woods said. ``The shots that you have to bring to this championship are ones that you never hit any other time throughout the year.''

Woods, 30, began the final round with four straight pars before going two shots clear with an eagle at the par-5 fourth. A birdie at the 10th preceded his only bogey two holes later, which allowed DiMarco to close within a shot.

DiMarco then saved par with a 40-foot putt across the 14th green and stayed one shot behind with a birdie at No. 16. Seconds later, Woods doubled the lead before a third straight birdie at the next hole gave him a three-shot advantage, which DiMarco cut to two with a birdie at the final hole.

``He's a hard guy to catch,'' said DiMarco, playing less than three weeks after the death of his mother on July 4. ``He does it the best in the world and that's why he's No. 1.''

Tears

Woods sealed the win with a tap in for par at the last hole before hugging his caddie Steve Williams. Tears flowed as he left the green to embrace his wife, Elin, and coach Hank Haney.

It was Woods's first tournament victory since his father, Earl, died in May and followed a missed cut at last month's U.S. Open, the only time he hasn't made the weekend rounds at a major as a pro.

``I'm kind of the one who bottles things up a little bit,'' Woods said. ``But at that moment, it just came pouring out.''

Woods said the loss of his father made the win more special to him than his first two British Open wins, at St. Andrews, Scotland, in 2000 and last year.

``He would have been very, very proud,'' the champion said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dex McLuskey at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, on at dmcluskey@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 23, 2006 20:49 EDT