ALVESLOHE, Germany, May 18 - Tiger Woods rarely finishes this far back. While Padraig Harrington beat Thomas Bjorn in a one-hole playoff to win the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open on Sunday, Woods was never in contention and finished tied for 29th place — his worst finish in a stroke-play event in two years.

Woods, trying for his third straight win in the event, was nine strokes back after a final-round 4-under 68 left him at 10-under 278.

Woods had his worst finish in an event since placing 29th at the 2001 PGA Championship, a string of 97 tournaments, excluding the WGC-Accenture Match Play and The International, a modified Stableford scoring event. His previous worst finish was a tie for 56th at the Bay Hill Invitational in 1999.

Nonetheless, Woods was pleased with his play in his first tournament since tying for 15th at the Masters a month ago.

“I only had three bogeys the entire week,” he said. “I hit good putts, but they just didn’t go in. Overall, I’m pleased with the way I played.”

Woods blamed some of his putting troubles on the ragged greens, infected by a fungus called Fusarium.

“It’s nothing to do with the break I took,” he said. “If you can’t make any putts, you can’t get any momentum. If you look at the greens, they are not the smoothest in the world — that has a lot to do with it.”

Woods began his final round in a steady rain, and appeared ready to make a run at the leaders after opening with two birdies.

He hit his 9-iron approach at the first hole to within 2 feet, and his drive at No. 2, a short par-3, stopped 3 feet from the cup.

The charge ended at No. 3 when Woods’ second shot landed in a bunker with a bad line to the hole, prompting Woods to throw his club into the rough in anger.

“I thought I could make a little bit of a run and finish in the top 10,” Woods said.

The Deutsche Bank, which Woods won in 1999, 2001 and 2002, is one of two events he’ll play before the U.S. Open starts June 12.

Harrington made a 5-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to beat Bjorn for his seventh career title. Harrington rolled in a 12-foot par putt on the final hole of regulation to force the playoff.

Harrington (70) and Bjorn (63) finished tied at 19-under 269.

“I was satisfied, maybe, more than jubilant,” said Harrington, who was coming off a runner-up finish at the Benson and Hedges and has finished second 19 times in his career. “I walked away thinking to myself, I’ve proved it to myself.”

Former U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen closed with a 6-under 66 and finished in third place at 18 under.

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