Tiger Woods has staged one of the greatest comebacks from injury and controversy in sport by winning his first PGA tournament in five years
The former World Number One roared to victory at the FedEx Tour Championships in Georgia on Sunday night in front of thousands of fans
A huge crowd ran up the fairway and swamped the 18th green in frantic scenes in a bid to watch Woods sink the last putt of his round, and end his title drought
Woods, who has battled back from a crippling back injury and dealt with the backlash from a DUI arrest, tapped his ball in from a few feet to secure the long-awaited victory
He paused for a moment, raised his arms aloft to the cheering crowd and then walked over to his restaurant manager girlfriend Erica Herman, who was waiting for him
Woods kissed the 33-year-old, hugged her and said 'I love you'.Woods and Herman have been dating for over a year
She has been spotted by his side during various golf tournaments as well as social outings
Herman is the general manager of Woods' restaurant in Jupiter, Florida.He started out with a three-shot lead Sunday, and it took only four holes for him to stretch the lead to five over Justin Rose
It is his 80th title on the PGA Tour and holds a special place as his first trophy after four back surgeries
Woods opened with a birdie, while Rory McIlroy made bogey from the bunker on the fourth hole
Also trying to chase Woods was Rose, who was poised to win the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize
'It was a grind out there,' Woods said during the trophy presentation.'I loved every bit of it
' It felt like a coronation coming down the 18th green after he hit his second shot to the par 5 safely in a bunker in front of the green
The crowd came through the ropes and walked behind him, just like that walk from the left side of the 18th fairway when he won the Masters in 1997, and when the enormous gallery of Chicago followed after him when he won the Western Open that summer
They chased after any inch of grass they could find to watch the ending.This felt just as big as a major, maybe better considering where Woods had been
'I didn't want to get run over,' Woods said with a laugh.Only when he was on the green, the last one to putt after Rory McIlroy tapped in for birdie, did it start to sink in
'All of a sudden it hit me that I was going to win the tournament.I started tearing up a little bit,' Woods said
'I can't believe I pulled this off.' He paused as his voice started to crack.Several players, from Zach Johnson to Rickie Fowler to Horschel, waited to greet him
It was Johnson who unveiled red shirts at the Ryder Cup two years ago in the team room that said, 'Make Tiger Great Again
' 'They knew what I was struggling with,' Woods said.'It was special to see them.' During their embrace, the microphones picked up Woods saying 'love you' and thanking her before they kissed, according to USA Today
All told, 1,877 days had passed since he claimed his 79th triumph at the Bridgestone Invitational
Long days where there appeared no respite on many occasions from the seemingly endless ritual of back discomfort and pain
In between Tiger's last success and this one, no fewer than 118 players won titles on the PGA Tour
As he's reminded us over the past eight weeks, however, there is only one Tiger Woods
Only at the end did the enormity of his achievement weigh heavy.Four shots clear, he bogeyed the 15th and the 16th and furrows appeared on his brow as he missed the green at the 17th
But a delicate chip steadied the nerves and a -11 at the least meant a -2 shot success over fellow American Billy Horschel
Up ahead, Rose was fighting his own demons.The $10 million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup – a play-off series covering the last four events - appeared his for the taking heading into the back nine
But three bogeys in six holes changed everything.With the third one, he dropped from first to third and his projected FedEx winnings fell by $8 million
Eight million! Now he needed to birdie the par five 18th to move back into first place
Two magnificent blows, and he was home and dry.He blew out his cheeks in a huge sigh of relief
It had been mighty close, but he got his money on the loot in the end with a two-putt birdie
For McIlroy, the final round match-up he'd been wanting since he had pictures of Tiger on his bedroom wall was little short of a nightmare
This was the sixth time this season he'd been in the final group of a tournament on Sunday – and the sixth time he'd gone backwards
In the two years that have now passed since his victory in the 2016 Tour Championship, McIlroy has won just once, and there's not much hope of improvement until he resolves what is inhibiting him on Sundays
With the Ryder Cup now so close, it was hard not to see the day's momentous events as a considerable fillip for the American team over Europe
Woods had only begun with a three stroke lead over Europe's leading duo but neither came close to laying a glove on him
Since contending for the Open in July, Woods has got better with virtually every passing tournament
His stroke average for his last five events has been a shade over 67 shots.It's 120 miles from here to Augusta National and now he's a winner again, he's going to be short odds to return to the majors trail at the Masters next April
Woods had led 23 previous tournaments by three shots or more going into the final round in his illustrious career - and won all 23 of them
The only question, therefore, was whether his nerve would hold after such a long time without a win
It didn't take him long to answer that one.About 15 minutes, if truth be told.In front of another record crowd he struck a wedge approach to the opening green to 10ft and confidently holed the birdie putt to extend his lead to four strokes
Poor McIlroy lost his swing completely in the middle of his front nine; Rose was making too many mistakes ahead
Thereafter, Woods reached deep into the memory banks and drew on all those occasions when error-free golf was good enough to get the job done
Only at the end did nerves kick in.Eighteen months after a fourth back operation, the last vestige of doubt has been removed
He really is back.President Donald Trump tweeted: 'Tiger is playing great.Looks like a big win could happen
'My congratulations to [Tiger Woods] on winning the Tour Championship,' Nicklaus tweeted on Sunday
'I am very happy for him and extremely proud of him.'Tiger has worked very hard to get to this place, and has played very well all season
' Nicklaus added: 'I never dreamed [Tiger] could come back and swing the way he has, after surgery
'I think you could argue he's swinging better than he has ever in his life.He has played fantastically! 'I think throughout this year some of Woods' issues were between his ears, as he had to remember how to win again
'Tiger has been close, almost there.You knew he was going to win soon, and this week he did it
' One year ago, Woods was still waiting for his lower back to fuse and wasn't sure he could ever play again
He told stories of being unable to get off the couch to watch his kids play soccer, much less to chip and putt
He said after the second and third back surgeries in the latter end of 2015 that he already has achieved plenty in golf and anything else would be 'gravy
' He was becoming a legend only in video highlights.Woods brought it all to life over four days at East Lake, and the players who have taken turns at No
1 during his absence caught the full brunt of it.All that was left was the 42-year-old Woods in that Sunday red shirt blazing brighter than ever and a smile he couldn't shake walking up to collect another trophy
He finished at 11-under 269 and won $1.62million, along with a $3million bonus for finishing second in the FedEx Cup
The only disappointment - a minor one under the circumstances - was realizing as he came down the 18th that Rose had made birdie to finish in a three-way tie for fourth, which gave him the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus
Without that birdie, Woods would have won his third FedEx Cup title after starting at No
20 going into the Tour Championship.'Congrats, Rosie,' Woods told him.'World No.1, hell of a season
' Actually, former world No.1 for Rose.His four bogeys over the last 10 holes cost him the No
1 ranking back to Dustin Johnson, who shot 67 and finished third.But this wasn't about the FedEx Cup or even the world ranking
This is Tiger's big day, and nothing was going to change it.Woods had never lost when leading by three shots or more going into the final round
That was when he was regularly winning multiple times every season, compiling trophies at a rate never before seen in golf
Was anything different having gone more than five years without winning? Rose had said it was a bit more unknown, and 'there's a lot on it for him' as well as everyone else
But this was still Woods' arena.The walk from the putting green snakes some 80 yards across the road and through a gallery, and everyone could hear him coming from the procession of cheering
And within the opening hour, the Tour Championship had that inevitable feeling.No one brings excitement like Woods, even when he plays so good and so smart that he eliminates any potential for drama
The buzz was endless.A couple of teenagers climbed into a tree to see him made a 10-foot birdie on the first hole
When the putt dropped and cheers died, there was a wild sprint some 200 yards up the hill as fans tried to get into position for the next shot
He tapped in for par, and another stampede ensued to line the third fairway.On and on it went
No one wanted to miss a shot.A year ago, there was no guarantee anyone would see much of Woods, much less Woods winning
He's back again.This victory, his first since the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in August 2013 - 1,876 days, to be exact - brought him to No
13 in the world.Not bad for a 42-year-old with four back surgeries who returned to competition in December at No
1,199.The next stop for Woods is to board a plane with the rest of his U.S.teammates for France and the Ryder Cup
No comments:
Post a Comment