Tiger Woods rolled back the years, and barely managed to hold back the tears, after recording his first victory in five years at the season-ending Tour Championship.
In scenes reminiscent of his glory days over a decade ago, cheers rang out among the many thousands of fans that came out to support the former world No.1 on Sunday at East Lake.
And he didn’t disappoint his legions of followers, as put the seal on a remarkable front-running performance with a final round 69 to win the tournament by two shots from former FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel.
The win was Woods’s 80th PGA Tour success, and his 91stprofessional title.
The 42 year old, who admitted 12 months ago that was he was not sure whether it would ever play competitively again, was understandably emotional about this long-awaited return to the winner’s circle. “I was having a hard time not crying on the last hole,” he said. “Once I got the ball on the green, I gave my caddy a high five because it was done. I could handle that from there.
At the beginning of the year, certainly this was a tall order. But as the year progressed, I proved that I could play, and I found a swing and put pieces together, and I knew I could do it again. This means a lot, it really does. The people who are close to me saw the struggles and what I was going through.”
Woods held a three-shot lead at the beginning of the final, and he stretched it to five before a couple of late bogeys at 15 and 16 narrowed the margin of victory.
“It was just a grind out there,” he added. “But I loved every bit of it. The fight and the grind, and the tough conditions, just to have to suck it up and hit shots; I loved every bit of it.”
The attention attached to Woods’s win meant Justin Rose’s claiming of the FedEx Cup title, and the $10m that comes with it, was almost forgotten. But the new world No.1 battled hard to take the biggest payday in golf after struggling to find his form over the closing round. Only a brave birdie at the last hole secured the hefty prize, and in doing so denied Woods the chance to add to his already bulging bank balance.
“We’re all delighted for Tiger,” said Rose, who finished in a tie for fourth. “These are crazy scenes, and I’m sure I’m not the most popular guy for making a birdie on the last but hey, he’s got enough money.”