Tiger Woods ushered in the week of the Ryder Cup with his first victory in five years at the Tour Championship on Sunday to put the seal on his truly incredible comeback
The 42-year-old was warmly embraced by his playing partner Rory McIlroy after winning the 80th PGA Tour title of his remarkable career - but the first for 1,877 days
Woods held his arms aloft to spark rapturous scenes among a record crowd. 'I just loved it out there, the fight and the grind but I was trying hard not to cry at one point,' he said
'At the beginning of the year this was a tall order but I proved I could progress and put it together
' The other big winner was world No 1 Justin Rose, who needed to birdie the par five 18th hole to win the $10 million bonus for the FedEx Cup - and gutsily managed it
Tiger Woods' incredible comeback was already one of the best sports stories of the year, and on Sunday it was rendered complete
On a sublime afternoon at East Lake, the 42-year-old put the finishing touches to his recovery from the depths with a victory at the Tour Championship
With world No 1 Justin Rose playing in front and Rory McIlroy – the most decorated player the game has seen since Tiger - by his side, he gleefully accepted this perfect scenario to mark his return to the winner's circle for the first time in five years
This was Tiger's 80th victory on the PGA Tour and perhaps the most meaningful after his 14 majors
All told, 1,877 days had passed since he claimed his 79th triumph at the Bridgestone Invitational
Long days where there appeared no respite on many occasions from the seemingly endless ritual of back discomfort and pain
In between Tiger's last success and this one, no fewer than 118 players won titles on the PGA Tour
As he's reminded us over the past eight weeks, however, there is only one Tiger Woods
Standing on the 18th tee, the enormity of the moment suddenly struck him. After fighting off the world's best, now he had to fight off the tears
But he kept body and soul together to spark the most joyous scenes among another record crowd
'Tiger! Tiger!' they chanted as he made his way on to the green. Yes, he really is back
'It obviously means a lot,' said Woods, after closing with a 71 for a two stroke victory over fellow American Billy Horschel
'It was hard not to think of all the days when I didn't know whether I would walk pain-free again, let alone play and compete
It's been a hell of a comeback and it's a pretty damn good feeling.' On the most perfect day imaginable to usher in the week of the Ryder Cup, Woods was joined in the winner's circle by world number one Justin Rose, who survived a nerve-wracking finale to claim the $10 million bonus for winning the four-tournament FedEx Cup
Rose stood on the par five 18th tee knowing that a birdie would win him the big prize – while a par would drop him to third and cost him $8 million
Eight million! It's a wonder he could swing the club back, let alone come up with his best swing of the day
He followed that mighty drive with a seven iron to 20ft. Two putts later, and he had the birdie he needed to claim the mammoth cheque and deny Woods a further prize
'I was struggling on the back nine, but I managed to click into gear in the nick of time,' said the Englishman, who bogeyed three holes leading up to the 18th
'We're all delighted for Tiger, these are crazy scenes he's sparked and I'm not sure I'm the most popular man making birdie on the last
But hey, he's got enough money.' For McIlroy, the final round match-up he'd been wanting since he had pictures of Tiger on his bedroom wall as a teenager was little short of a nightmare in terms of his own game, as he stumbled to a 74
This was the sixth time this season he'd been in the final group of a tournament on Sunday – and the sixth time he'd gone backwards
He has now won only once in two years and that won't alter much until he resolves what's inhibiting him on Sundays
However McIlroy the golf nerd will have enjoyed watching Tiger's win up close. He forgot all his own disappointment to embrace Woods warmly at the end
'Just like Jack at Baltusrol,' he said with a grin to Tiger at the end, referring to Jack Nicklaus's 1980 US Open win when he was 40 and supposedly past his best
Since contending for the Open in July, Woods has got better with virtually every tournament
His stroke average for his last five events has been a shade over 67. It's 120 miles from here to Augusta National and now he's a winner again, he's going to be short odds to return to the majors trail at the Masters next April
First, though, it's the Ryder Cup. 'Now this is going to be one long flight overseas that I am going to enjoy,' said Woods, before making his way to the airport
TIGER WOODS IS WINNER AGAIN. AFTER ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED HE FOUND A WAY TO GET IT DONE Tiger Woods has won his first tournament in five years and 80th PGA Tour title of his career after victory in the Tour Championship in Atlanta
It has been a long road back to the winners' circle for the American, who has suffered numerous injuries and off-course problems
Here, Press Association Sport looks at the 42-year-old's life and career in recent years
On November 27, 2009 reports emerged that Woods had been injured in a car accident near his Florida home after colliding with a fire hydrant and a tree
A statement confirmed that was true and over the next days and weeks the reasons behind the crash became clearer, with Woods pulling out of charity tournaments, then admitting he had 'let his family down' with 'transgressions' and ultimately announcing an indefinite break from golf
He lost major sponsors including Gatorade and Gillette over his revelations of multiple infidelities and in August 2010 he and his wife Elin Nordegren divorced
Woods, now determined to return to the pinnacle of golf following his self-imposed years in the wilderness, recorded the worst round of his career in January 2015 as he shot an 11-over-par 82 in Arizona
His second-round performance at the Waste Management Phoenix Open left him 13 over and last in a 132-man field
He had six bogeys, two double bogeys, a triple bogey and two birdies, and missed the cut
Woods told reporters afterwards: 'It's golf, we all have days like this.' In June 2016 he announced he was unable to compete at the US Open, the second major of the year, having been sidelined since the preceding August following two back operations in the space of six weeks
He ended a 15-month absence from the game in November but in January 2017 he missed the cut in his first PGA Tour event in almost 18 months, exiting the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines after finishing his first two rounds on four over par
The latest in a string of back problems meant the former world number one was unable to contest the 2017 Masters
The chance to compete at Augusta 20 years since he first won the green jacket was denied to Woods who, despite 'trying everything' to be fit, continued to suffer from nerve pain which had required three operations in the space of 19 months
It was the third time in four years he missed out. In a throwback to his indiscretions of autumn 2009, in May 2017 Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in the early hours of Memorial Day
He released a statement claiming alcohol was not involved, instead blaming 'an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications' following his arrest close to Jupiter Island, Florida
He received a year of probation after pleading guilty to reckless driving and was ordered to undergo 50 hours of community service
1994: While still a student at Stanford University, Woods has a benign tumour removed from his left knee
2002: In December, Woods has a benign cyst removed and fluid drained from around one of the ligaments in the same knee
2007: Woods ruptures the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while out running at home after the Open Championship, but opts not to have surgery
2008: Two days after finishing runner-up to Trevor Immelman in the Masters, Woods has surgery on his left knee to clean out cartilage
2008: After playing through the pain barrier to win the US Open - his 14th and last major - Woods has reconstructive surgery on the damaged ACL in his left knee and misses the rest of the season
2008-09: During the 2010 Masters, Woods reveals that he tore his right Achilles tendon in 2008 and reinjured it several times in 2009
2010: Woods withdraws from the final round of the Players Championship with an inflamed joint in his neck
April 26, 2011: Woods announces he will miss the Wells Fargo Championship after spraining his left knee and Achilles tendon while hitting an awkward recovery shot during the third round of the Masters
May 12, 2011: Woods withdraws from The Players Championship after shooting 42 on the front nine at Sawgrass
'The knee acted up, and then the Achilles followed after that, and then the calf started cramping up,' Woods said
He does not play again until August. March 11, 2012: He withdraws from the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship with Achilles tendon problem
March 2, 2014: Back pain forces Woods' withdrawal from The Honda Classic with just five holes remaining in final round
In September 2018 he revealed that his back problems surfaced during the 2012 Ryder Cup and forced him to miss a session for the first time
April 1, 2014: Woods announces he will miss the Masters for the first time in his career after undergoing microdiscectomy surgery on a pinched nerve in his back after being advised to do so for his 'immediate and long-term health'
September 16, 2015: Almost a month after recording his best finish of season with a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship, Woods announces a second microdiscectomy surgery and hopes to return in 'early 2016'
October 30, 2015: Woods reveals he has undergone a 'follow-up procedure' to September's surgery
December 2, 2016: He returns to action in the Hero World Challenge after 15 months out
February 3, 2017: After an opening 77, he withdraws from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic prior to the second round due to back spasms
April 20, 2017: Woods announces he has undergone spinal fusion surgery to alleviate 'ongoing pain in his back and leg'
He returned to action at the Hero World Challenge at the end of November
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