Early end of season for Woods doesn't take away from Masters victory

MEDINAH, Ill. — For the fifth time in the last six years, August on the PGA Tour means no more Tiger Woods for the rest of the season. Only now he's healthy.

He also is the Masters champion. And that makes it a season he wouldn't trade.

“Very special to win my 15th major and get my fifth jacket,” Woods said Sunday. “Those are special moments to be able to have an opportunity like that. And the rest of the tournaments I didn't really play as well as I wanted. But at the end of the day, I'm the one with the green jacket.”

Rarely has Woods smiled so wide after not meeting a goal.

His season ended at Medinah, where he won two PGA Championship titles at the peak of his game and his health. He closed with an even-par 72 in the BMW Championship and tied for 37th, nowhere near what he needed to move into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup and advance to the season-ending Tour Championship next week at East Lake.

“It's disappointing,” Woods said about not returning to Atlanta. “I wish I could have. Last year culminated in a pretty special moment for me, and it would have been nice to go back there. But I'll be watching the guys on TV.”

It will be the 15th time in his career that Woods did not show up to defend a title on the PGA Tour, remarkable considering that Fred Couples only won 15 times in his career. The other occasions of not defending a title usually involved a change in the schedule, a tournament ending or health reasons.

This is the first time because he wasn't eligible.