Atlanta, Sep 17: Tiger Woods earned a staggering 10 million dollars retirement deposit for winning the inaugural FedExCup but was far more captivated by his 61st PGA tour title.

The world number one blew away the field by eight shots to clinch his second Tour Championship, a victory that left him just one behind Arnold Palmer for fourth on the all-time list.

''I don't look at what the purse is or prize money,'' Woods told reporters yesterday after easing to his seventh title this year, and his fourth in just five starts.

''You play and when you play, you play to win, period. That's how my dad raised me is you go out there and win.

''If you win, everything will take care of itself. You take great pride in what you do on the golf course and, when you're able to win events, that's when you can go home and be very proud of what you've done.'' Woods trails only Sam Snead (82), Jack Nicklaus (73), Ben Hogan (64) and Palmer (62) in PGA Tour victories and, at the age of 31, can be expected to outstrip them all.

After successfully embarking on the second swing change of professional career, Woods has left his rivals trailing in his wake when it comes to peaking for the biggest events.

In his lifelong quest to overhaul the record 18 majors won by Nicklaus, Woods has climbed into second place with 13 and is hungry for more.

BETTER UNDERSTANDING

''I have a better understanding of how to play the game and I certainly have a lot more shots to get me around golf courses than I did then,'' he said, referring to his golden run from late 1999 to mid-2002 when he won seven majors in 11 starts.

''That's just seven to nine years of more experience, just understanding all the mistakes I've made and how to improve and how to get myself around the golf course. My course management skills have certainly improved over the years.'' By far the best player of his generation and arguably already the best of all time, Woods has produced a remarkable record on the PGA Tour over the last two years.

In that period, he has recorded a staggering victory percentage of 485, winning 15 times in 31 starts. Over the course of his glittering career, he has won 26.5 per cent of the 230 events in which he has played.

''In the last couple years, I've made a bunch of changes on my swing,'' Woods said after after shooting a four-under-par 66 in the final round at East Lake Golf Club.

''I got over all the things that happened earlier, my dad passing, and I finally got back to just playing golf again.'' Woods's father Earl died in May last year after a long battle with cancer.

''That mourning period, I felt I was done with it. Once I got back to playing golf, I felt I was back in my rhythm again. From then on, if you look at my results, it's been pretty good.''
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