JOSH RANNEY
News Editor
Tiger Woods silenced five years worth of critics and doubters by claiming the title of 2018 Tour Champion.
Wood’s last win came in 2013, and since, has endured relentless pitfalls, including injuries, arrests and extramarital affairs.
Woods had, essentially, fallen from grace. He had been one of the most recognizable golfers in the world, given his sponsorship with Nike and forty European Tour wins along with his eighty PGA Tour wins. His long track record of success includes four Masters Tournament wins and three U.S. Open wins, as well as numerous other achievements and awards.
Woods’ championship win was, for the most part, locked in the fourth round in Atlanta, having started the day with a three stroke lead. By the turn, Woods’ pulled away by five.
Woods was on fire from the start. Notching a birdie on the first hole after a 160-yard approach.
On the 13th hole, he tallied his second birdie of the day, taking the five stroke lead over the second-place man, Billy Horschel.
On the last holes, his play sparked perhaps just a second of nervousness. He bogeyed two holes and flirted with calamity after nearly hitting into the water on the 15th. But Woods had amassed such a lead that he would not be caught. He ended the day eleven under par.
Ultimately Woods was crowned the 2018 Tour Champion for the first time since 2013. He had played in forty-one PGA events since then. His 80th win puts him second to the late Sam Snead, who had 82 all-time wins.
“To get to the 80 mark is a big number,” said Woods. “I’ve still got, I feel like, a chance to play some more golf and maybe I’ll keep chipping away at that number and maybe surpass it.”
Woods acknowledged the long journey he endured the past five years, and the tribulations to get to that point.
“I just think that what I’ve gone through and what I’ve dealt with, I’ve gotten lucky. I’ve gotten very lucky,” he said.
According to Woods, his health has been the biggest obstacle to overcome, and been the longest road.
“Just considering where I’ve been, what I’ve had to dig through and fight through and the amount of help I’ve had to have to get myself to this point. My body was a wreck,” Woods said.
In 2017, Woods underwent surgery to fuse his lower back. Six weeks later, he was arrested for a DUI after being found asleep behind the wheel. Woods reported he was getting hooked on pain medications. He had said at one point the pain was so bad he couldn’t hit the ball more than 60 yards.
Less than a day after his comeback from the abyss, Woods boarded an international flight to Paris where he competed with Team USA in the Ryder Cup.
Ultimately, Woods and the U.S. lost to the European team by a score of 17 ½ – 10 ½. Woods lost in the last round to the Spaniard, Jon Rahm.
Nevertheless, Woods’ inspiring comeback revitalizes the originality of starpower in golf. It is a true comeback of historic proportions in the world of sports.
Said one Associated Press columnist, “Tiger Woods is back. And golf is better for it.”