Welcome back Mr. Woods, the GOAT of all GOATs

1997, the year I was born, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods won his first major championship, The Masters.

Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win…

Tiger Woods of the USA celebrates after sinking a 4 feet putt to win the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia. Woods won the tournament with a record low score of 18 under par. Mandatory Credit: Stephen… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Growing up I didn’t know a lot about golf, I knew it was a game played with a little white ball and that mainly older men liked to play, I didn’t know anyone around my age that played until I was 11 or 12. The only professional golfer I knew the name of was Tiger Woods. He was a household name. My grandmother was a golfer, watched it every weekend and especially during The Masters and other majors. I always heard her talking about Tiger and how great he was, like Tom Brady so to speak, a household name even if you don’t watch football.

Realized – rather deeply – while watching Tiger today, that I've never seen him win a major. At the 08 US Open, i didn't have a clue what golf was about. I feel even more connected to golf history than I ever have.

— Erik Anders Lang (@erikanderslang) April 15, 2019

November 2009, Tiger wrecks his car, mistresses start coming out of the woodwork, sponsors end contracts, and Tigers personal life in shambles.

Tiger Woods of the USA walks the fairway on the 10th hole during…

Tiger Woods of the USA walks the fairway on the 10th hole during round one of the 2009 Australian Masters at Kingston Heath Golf Club on November 12, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Between November 2009 and 2017 you really didn’t hear anything good about Tiger. He wasn’t a good household name anymore; parents didn’t want their kids to look up to someone who had done what he had done. Between 2010 and 2018 he did not compete in 12 out of 36 majors, cut in 6 out of the 24 he did play in, and within top the 10 in only 8 of them. That is not what we were used to seeing from Tiger.

Before we jump to the present, in 1996 Tiger was still an amateur, and was CUT from The Masters. In 1997 he WON The Masters by 12 strokes. Just goes to show he has been the underdog before.

Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus of the US walks with…

Six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus of the US walks with four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer of the US and US amateur champion Eldrick “Tiger” Woods down the azalea-lined sixth hole 10 April… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Fast forward to 2019.

Things have changed for Tiger: 4 back surgeries (which nearly took the game away from him completely), countless swing changes, new clubs, new sponsors, and new competition. Now he is playing with the younger guys in there 20s who haven’t had any major surgeries, at the top of their game, and who looked up to Tiger when he was making golf a cool sport to play in the early 2000s.

Sunday April 14th, 2019. The day that tiger won his 5th Green Jacket with the world watching. Starting in the last group Sunday on a modified schedule with two guys that just look absolutely solid, one of which (Francesco Molinari) looked like an absolute robot hitting the golf ball the same way most every time.

Tiger Woods victorious after sinking putt to win tournament on No 18…

Tiger Woods victorious after sinking putt to win tournament on No 18 green after Sunday play at Augusta National. Sequence. Kohjiro Kinno TK4 ) Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

It had been 10 years since we had seen him play like only, he can. A lot can happen in 10 years, a whole generation, called the “millennials” who were to young when he was winning to remember what he looked like, how captivating it is watching Tiger win. We had heard about it, watched clips from his “glory days” but had never seen it for ourselves live. But, perhaps, Tigers glory days never ended, just took a break.

Most everyone in the sports world said he would never win another major, some said he could win other tournaments but probably not a major. From 2010 to 2018 tiger won 9 times, 3 wins in 2012, 5 wins in 2013, 1 win in 2018, but no majors. This year would break that drought.

With winning The Masters Tiger proved not only to himself, but to the world that he was not only capable of winning, but still can win at the highest level in golf. He can come from behind and win, he can play the course to his advantage, beat the best players, beat the young players, and win not in a dominate fashion like we had seen before, but be able to capitalize on the situation and miss where he can but make it when it counts.

How many professional athletes could come back from situations like this, not just one situation but many stacking right on top of each other, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and win at the highest level in their sport. Could Tom Brady have that much happen in his life, with his body, and with his mind, with his emotions, and still come back to win a Super Bowl? Could Lebron James do something even similar to that? They probably could, but, would either of them even want to try to come back with the spectacular careers each of them has already had?

That is what makes Tigers comeback so special, so pure, and so meaningful to his fans and just fans of professional golf and professional sports in general. He did not have to come back, but he wanted to come back, he wanted to win.

From fans of golf, thank you for changing the game, then, and now.

Tiger Woods with Patrick Reed during green jacket ceremony during…

Tiger Woods with Patrick Reed during green jacket ceremony during Sunday play at Augusta National. Kohjiro Kinno TK4 ) Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Welcome back, Mr. Woods.

Cover Photo via Instagram