ATLANTA–Remember the old Nike ad from Tiger Woods' uber-dominant days, when he famously told the golfing world it was all about the majors?
Well, the older and wiser Woods might disagree with his younger, brasher self, now that Woods has ended the longest victory drought of his professional career.
Can you believe it? It had been five long years (and one month) since Woods–arguably the most famous athlete on the planet–won a tournament; but it likely made Sunday's triumph at the Tour Championship that much sweeter, with the 42-year-old Woods cruising to a two-stroke win at historic East Lake Golf Club.
Wearing his customary Sunday Red shirt (with collar), the rock-steady Woods posted a 1-over round of 71, bringing his victorious final tally to 11-under.
How consistent was Tiger on this day? Outside of the birdies at the 1st and 13th and three back-nine bogeys (10, 14, 15), Woods happily notched pars on the other 13 holes, essentially daring his competition to mount a furious comeback ... likely knowing the conditions weren't necessarily ripe for anyone carding a 63 or 64.
For those watching on TV, the back nine played out like a coronation ceremony for Woods, with the gallery masses seizing every opportunity to honor the icon with much-deserved applause.
It could have been an exercise in audible relief, as well, since many golf fans might have doubted Woods' ability to overcome countless knee, Achilles and back problems from the previous five years.
Heck, even Tiger expressed some previous concerns, when speaking to the Atlanta media on Wednesday morning.
"... I didn't think I'd ever play again," recalled Woods, while lamenting the recent difficulties of just getting through a day, without any injury setbacks. "When you're lying on the floor (writhing in pain), golf was the furthest thing from my mind."
Stay tuned for more Tiger/Tour Championship coverage from 11Alive News and 11Alive.com.
