Tiger Woods Roars Back to Old Form With 1st PGA Victory in 5 Years

Golfer won the season-ending PGA Tour Championship for his 80th tour victory.

Tiger Woods of the United States celebrates making a par on the 18th green to win the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 23, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. With the victory, Woods secured his 80th PGA tour victory.  (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods of the United States celebrates making a par on the 18th green to win the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 23, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. With the victory, Woods secured his 80th PGA tour victory. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
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For the first time in five years, Tiger Woods has finished a PGA Tour event at the top of the leaderboard. Woods earned his 80th tour win —one many spectators never thought they’d see—at this weekend’s PGA Tour Championship, finishing  1-over-par.

Woods’ last two years have been maligned by a host of surgeries that attempted to correct back and nerve pain. But his struggles have dated back to the highly public unraveling of his marriage and private life nearly nine years ago.

He was in control over this past weekend, leading by at least two shots at all times during the tournament’s final round. The victory will likely catapult Woods to the No. 13 ranking in the world, and secures him another Tour Championship win, 22 years after he first conquered the season-ending tournament.

“I was pretty emotional when Rory [McIlroy] was tapping,” Woods said after the tournament. “80 is a big number. I’ve been sitting on 79 for about five years now, and to get 80 is a pretty damned good feeling.”

Jack Nicklaus, the only man with more major tournament victories than Woods, paid his respects on Twitter.

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