'Yes!' A tearful Tiger holds off DiMarco for his 3rd claret jug

HOYLAKE, England — Tiger Woods bottled up his emotions when he buried his father in May. Even as he stalked the brown, baked links of the British Open on Sunday, his steely focus never wavered.

Until he tapped in his final putt.

That gave him his third claret jug, his 11th major championship, but the first victory he couldn't share with Pops.

And that was all too much for him.

"I saw this coming last night," said Steve Williams, the caddie and confidante who stood with him at Earl Woods' gravesite. "He played at the Masters, and it was the only time I saw him try too hard. Today, there was a calmness about him. No doubt he wanted to win this for him."

Woods plucked the ball from the cup after a 5-under 67 gave him a two-shot victory over Chris DiMarco. His face awash in sadness and satisfaction, he thrust both arms in the air and screamed, "Yes!"

He buried his head in Williams' shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably, chest heaving. Tears streamed down both cheeks as he hugged his wife, Elin, for the longest minute.

The emotions that poured out of him on the 18th green were as inevitable as his victory at Royal Liverpool.

"I've never done that," Woods said. "But at that moment, it just came pouring out. I was pretty bummed out after not winning the Masters, because I knew that was the last major he was ever going to see. That one hurt a little bit. And to get this one . . . it's just unfortunate he wasn't here to see it."

It sure would have looked familiar.

Woods was ruthless as ever, running his record to 11-0 in the major when he has the lead going into the final round. And when DiMarco closed to within one shot with a mixture of birdies and a 50-foot par save, Woods fired off three straight birdies to put him away.

"He's got an uncanny ability, when somebody gets close to him, to just turn it up another level," DiMarco said.

Woods became the first player since Tom Watson in 1982-83 to win golf's oldest championship in consecutive years.

He captured his 11th major at age 30, tied with Walter Hagen for second on the career list, one step closer to the 18 professional majors won by Jack Nicklaus, the benchmark that drives Woods.

"He knows how to win these things," said Ernie Els, who shot 71 and finished third. "And it's going to be tough to beat him now."