Trevor Immelman stared at the hole and savored the moment. Then, he seized the opportunity.

Immelman birdied the 18th hole and held off Tiger Woods and Matthew Goggin to win the Western Open in Lemont, Ill., yesterday for his first PGA Tour victory.

Immelman needed to par the 18th to win. Instead, he knocked in a 32-foot putt for a birdie, putting him at 13-under 271 for the tournament — two strokes ahead of Woods (68) and Goggin (69).

"It's an incredible feeling," Immelman said. "Obviously, it hasn't quite sunk in yet."

Vijay Singh, the leader through three rounds, was 2 over for the day to fall out of contention. Singh and defending champion Jim Furyk finished at 9 under, along with Tim Clark, Stephen Leaney, Stewart Cink and Carl Pettersson.

Phil Mickelson shot 71 and finished 3 over in his first tournament since the U.S. Open, where a double-bogey on the final hole cost him the championship.

Called the Western Open since 1899, the second-oldest tournament in the U.S. will get a new name — the BMW Championship — and become part of the PGA Tour's season-ending series next year. It will be played at Cog Hill in 2007, then rotate out of the Chicago area on alternate years.

Immelman birdied the 15th and 16th holes to go to 13 under. He let out a grin after hitting a 10-foot putt on 16.

The South African, who has four European tour victories, bogeyed 17 but made up for it on the 18th and finished at 4-under-par 67 for the day.

This was Woods' first tournament since the U.S. Open, when he missed the cut in a major for the first time in 10 years as a professional while still reeling from the death of his father in May.

He put in extra time on the range at Cog Hill, and it helped.

"You can't shoot 1-over par in a regular Tour event and expect to win a golf tournament," Woods said.

Singh missed a short putt for par and bogeyed the second hole. He sank a 35-footer for a birdie on the par-4 third, but he bogeyed the fourth and eighth holes and was 2 over through nine. He was at 11 under for the tournament after a birdie on 17 — his third on the back nine — but double-bogeyed the 18th.

MATCH PLAY

LINCICOME TOPS INKSTER TO EARN LPGA CROWN

GLADSTONE, N.J. — A big-hitting young American won the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship for her first career victory.

No, not the 16-year-old from Honolulu with $10 million in endorsement money, but the 20-year-old from Florida who was baby-sitting two years ago to help make ends meet.

A day after knocking out Michelle Wie in the quarterfinals, Brittany Lincicome beat Hall of Famer Juli Inkster 3 and 2 in the final yesterday after edging Lorena Ochoa on the first extra hole in the morning semifinals.

"I'm so in shock," Lincicome said. "It's a huge accomplishment. It's what I've been trying to do since I was a little girl — play on the LPGA Tour and win a tournament."

Lincicome, a 4-and-3 winner over Wie on Saturday, had a 5-up lead after eight holes against the 46-year-old Inkster and ended the match with a conceded par on the 16th.

In the morning semifinals, Lincicome beat Ochoa with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole, and Inkster routed Solheim Cup teammate Paula Creamer 5 and 4. The third-seeded Ochoa beat the fifth-seeded Creamer 3 and 2 in the third-place match.

Lincicome, seeded 39th, earned $500,000 for her win, while Inkster won $300,000.