BACK WITH A BANG

Atlanta, September 24

Tiger Woods was moved to the brink of tears after capturing his first title since 2013 with a two-stroke triumph at the Tour Championship that proved he was far from washed up at the age of 42. Tossing aside five years of career-threatening injury woes, Woods reasserted his status as the best frontrunner in the history of the sport, leading throughout the final round and finishing at a 11-under-par 269 at East Lake.

With the massive gallery chanting his name as they stampeded the final fairway in scenes reminiscent of British Opens of yesteryear, Woods moved within two victories of Sam Snead’s all-time record of 82 PGA Tour titles. “I was having a hard time not crying coming up the last hole,” he said. “All of a sudden it started hitting me I was going to win the tournament. I’ve been sitting on 79 (wins) for five years now. To get 80 is a pretty damn good feeling.”

After carding a 71, Woods walked off to a big kiss from girlfriend Erica Herman and a hug from agent Mark Steinberg as security tried to keep the frenzied fans at bay. The victory capped off a season that started with questions over whether Woods, now 10 years removed from his 14th Major title, would even be able to play a full schedule after undergoing spinal fusion surgery in April 2017.

“My body was a wreck,” recalled Woods, who hoped the operation would alleviate debilitating back and leg pain. “The low point was not knowing whether I would be able to live pain-free again. I was beyond playing. I couldn’t sit, I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t lay down without feeling the pain in my back and leg.” 

That the procedure worked was evident on Sunday as Woods was never seriously challenged after starting the day with a three-shot cushion over Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose.

McIlroy, playing with Woods, quickly dropped out of contention with an error-strewn driving performance that ultimately ended with a 74, leaving world No. 1 Rose as the only realistic threat.

The Englishman also struggled, however, and Woods did what he used to do so brilliantly in his prime, keeping his card clean, on the front nine at least, and forcing his pursuers to come and get him. He drained a 10-foot birdie for a confidence-boosting start at the first, and then parred the next eight holes, using a deft short game and a hot putter to extricate himself from trouble on a couple of occasions.

Woods built a five-shot lead at the turn, and despite bogeys at the 10th, 15th and 16th holes held off his fast-finishing compatriot Billy Horschel, who carded a 66 for second place on 9-under. The win preserved Woods’s perfect record of never having lost after leading by three shots or more going into the final round, a record he extended to 24-for-24.

Rose, meanwhile, received a $10 million consolation prize in the form of the FedExCup, which is awarded to the winner of the tour’s season-long points race, after a birdie at the 18th gave him a 73 for a share of fourth. — Reuters

Tiger can still match my 18 Majors: Nicklaus

Jack Nicklaus believes Tiger Woods still has a realistic chance of matching his record tally of 18 Major championships. Nicklaus said he thought the 42-year-old would be able to compete at the highest level for another decade or so. Woods looked destined to surpass Nicklaus when he clinched his 14th Major at the 2008 US Open before his career hit the rails after a sex scandal and then a debilitating back injury. Nobody has ever previously won more than one Major after turning 43, as Woods will in December, but Nicklaus thinks times are changing. “With today’s equipment, and the way the guys take care of themselves, I think they could play well into their 50s,” he said. “Maybe Tiger’s got another 40 Majors to play. Out of 40 Majors can he win five of them, I don’t know?  It depends how much he wants to work at it, how interested he is,” he added. 

Most career wins on PGA Tour

• Sam Snead         82 
• Tiger Woods        80 
• Jack Nicklaus     73 
• Ben Hogan          64 
• Arnold Palmer    62