A Win for a New Age

Any story about Tiger Woods writes itself today.  The superlatives are obvious.  For fans of Woods, this is a day that has been 11 years in the making.  It has been nearly 10 years since the automobile accident that arguably robbed Woods of some of his best years of golf.

And when he seemed to be ready to turn the corner in 2013, injuries took another 5 years from Woods' career.

And when he won last September at the Tour Championship, it felt like a day like today just might be possible.

And when he stiffed his tee-shot on the Par-3 16th hole, it started to feel like today was actually going to happen.

And when he sank the final putt of the 83rd Masters on the 72nd hole, the day that Woods' loyal fans hoped for, and his vocal naysayers promised would never come - was finally here.  Woods became a 15-time major champion, an 81-time PGA Tour winner, and a 5-times Master Champion.  At the age of 43, Woods redemption has come full circle and is complete.  There is no question that Woods remains one of the elite players in golf.  Woods showed that he not only has the distance to battle the biggest parks, but still has nerves and touch in his short game and putter.

Today is a day that so many golf fans will remember for the rest of their lives.  They'll remember a steady Woods as others around him seemingly fell off.  They'll remember the embrace that Woods shared with his children and mother after capturing the title.  They'll remember the roars - which are infamous on the grounds of Augusta National - for being even louder and more supportive for Woods as he marched through the back-9.  Woods was emotional and demonstrative as he exited the 18th green to chants of "TIGER, TIGER, TIGER."  It was a remarkable scene that will be replayed just as often as Tiger's first win in 1997.

And now the talking points completely change.  Gone are the days of "he's finished."  Instead, talking heads will debate whether or not Woods can still challenge Jack Nicklaus and his record of 18 major championships.  Woods will play familiar venues this year when the PGA Championship visits Bethpage Black and the US Open returns to Pebble Beach.  Woods will be the favorite at both of those events.

In September, when the United States President's Cup team travels to Australia, Woods will become the first playing captain in the event's history.  While it seemed to be an odd move by the PGA Tour to name Woods (who is only 43 years old) as the team captain, the intrigue into the event will be much higher with Woods both playing and captaining the American team.

The 2019 PGA Tour season has seen some of the biggest names in the sport emerge with victories:  Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, etc.  Today it added the biggest name in the sport to that list, and in doing so, changed the landscape for the rest of the year.  2019 might be the most "must see" golf season in a long long time.