The return of the golfing great!

Update: 2018-09-24 16:30 GMT

Even the most loyal supporters of Tiger Woods would have laughed off his prospects of a return after all that he has been through. But what a return! Soothsayers are now left speechless. In his modest way, he says he's "blessed" to be back after winning his first PGA Tour event in over five years following a long and painful return to form from a back injury. "It's been unbelievable, to get to this level again, I didn't know if that would happen again and lo and behold, here we are," he said after securing the Tour Championship at Atlanta's East Lake Golf Club. Woods finished 11-under par for the weekend, two strokes clear of his nearest challenger Billy Horschel to take his 80th PGA victory. The 14-time major winner signalled that he had turned a corner after years of pain and disappointment. Woods said 80 wins was "a pretty cool number," and that one that places him just two behind all-time PGA leader Sam Snead and ahead of legends Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, and Jack Nicklaus. "It was just a grind out there," the former world No. 1 said after his final putt. "I loved every bit of it, the fight and the grind and the tough conditions. Loved every bit of it."

At Augusta in April Woods described himself as a "walking miracle" and says he now realises just how lucky he is. "I'm just blessed, I'm just lucky. I am lucky, it worked out for me. My back was in a pretty bad spot there," Woods said. He said as part of his recovery process he had to work around his back injury. "To figure out a golf swing and a game built on a fixed point in my back," he said. "It hasn't been easy but I've been very lucky to have a great team around me and they've worked so hard to give me a chance, and also the support I've had from them means all the world to me." In closing in on the all-time record, he said he was happy to give his kids some precious memories in the process. "I think they understand what Dad does now. I hadn't won any tournaments that they can remember so I think this will be a little bit different for them. "A lot of times they equated golf to pain because every time I did (play) I'd hurt and it'd cause me more pain and now they're seeing a little bit of joy and seeing how much fun it is for me to be able to do this again." Woods' stunning return to form has also seen him return to the Ryder Cup as a player for the first time since 2012.

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