Woods wins Masters to end 11-year major drought

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By Cindy Boren | The Washington Post

The roars and the magic returned to golf Sunday at the Masters as Tiger Woods, among all the things he has accomplished across a storied career, managed to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

Taking a two-shot lead with a birdie on the 16th hole at Augusta National, Woods was the focused killer he used to be before all the injuries and personal problems and doubts about whether he could play at a high level again. Sunday afternoon, his fifth green jacket, his first in 14 years and first major victory in nearly 11 years became a joyous inevitability at Augusta as Woods became the oldest Masters winner since Jack Nicklaus in 1986.

When it was over, his final putt tucked into the cup at 18, Woods broke into a huge grin and raised his arms high. He fell into a long embrace with his caddie, Joe La Cava, and then made a beeline to his son, Charlie, grabbing him in the kind of tight hug that he used to share with his father when he won all those championships. He hugged his mother and his daughter, Sam, who was an infant the last time he won. Then he made his way to Butler Cabin, greeted along the way by other golfers (some Masters champions, some now) as the roar gave way to “Tiger!” chants.

If there were any doubts about Woods’s ability to close as he once did, they ended with his tee shot at the par-3 16th. As his ball rolled slowly toward the hole, he mouthed “come on, come on” over and over. It wasn’t an ace, but it was a tap-in birdie from a few feet, enough to send the crowd into a certified Tiger frenzy with his mother, son and daughter watching anxiously and Olympic swimming great Michael Phelps looking on.

Nicklaus sent his reaction from a vacation spot in the Bahamas, saying (via CBS), “A big well done from me to Tiger. I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic.”

With a birdie at the 15th hole, it looked as if Woods just might write one of the great comeback stories in sports, moving to 13 under and taking the lead outright with three holes to play. Dustin Johnson had a chance to tie him on 18, but missed his birdie putt.

The Masters had taken a fun turn (unless your name is Francesco Molinari) with Johnson joining him and Woods in a five-way tie atop the leader board along with Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka with only a previous few holes remaining in the early afternoon. Molinari, who flirted with disaster all day long, found it again at 15, when his ball hit a tree and landed in the water. He ended up with a double bogey, his second of the day, and also had two bogeys through 15. With that, there briefly was a four-way tie atop the leader board until Woods did his thing.