No.80 worth the wait for Woods
US golfer Tiger Woods’ storybook Tour Championship victory was part coronation, part rock concert.
Thousands of fans busted through the ropes, broke US PGA Tour security regulations and walked on the 18th fairway at East Lake Golf Club in Georgia as Woods completed one of the most remarkable individual comebacks in sporting history.
Not even police could stop the crowd from seeing his first win in five years, as he closed with a one-over-par 71 to earn an 11-under total – two shots ahead of Billy Horschel (66).
“I figured security would hold them back,” Woods said.
“When I got down to the (the green), I looked back and half the fairway was covered.”
Woods said the scenes at his 80th PGA Tour victory, which will propel him eight spots to world No.13, were unlike any of his previous triumphs.
“No … this was different,’’ he said. ‘‘This was fever pitch.’’
The 42-year-old’s first worldwide win since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone left him two shy of Sam Snead’s record of 82 US PGA Tour titles.
“I’ve been sitting on 79 for five years now; to get 80 is a pretty damn good feeling,” Woods said.
Having sat on the sidelines for 10 months last year while recovering from spinal fusion surgery, Woods thought about never playing golf again.
In May last year, he was arrested and briefly jailed in Florida on suspicion of DUI when police found him asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle in the early morning with the engine running.
Two months later, he completed intensive treatment for a reliance on prescription pain medication and by November the former world No.1’s ranking had fallen to 1199.
“The low point was not knowing if I’d ever be able to live pain-free again,” Woods said. ‘‘I was beyond playing; I couldn’t sit, walk or lay down without feeling pain in my back and my leg.”
This Tour Championship win pocketed him $A2.2 million but it was nothing like the clinical finishes of his worldbeating prime.