As Matt Kuchar holed his putt on the 17th hole at Royal Melbourne to secure an eighth consecutive Presidents Cup victory for the United States, all eyes looked to the American captain, who began to soak everything in.
Tiger Woods captained the United States to a comeback victory over a surprising International Team at Royal Melbourne. With it, he capped off an improbable year, highlighted by 3 incredible accomplishments.
Hot Start to 2019
Although Tiger had already picked up his first victory since his spinal fusion surgery at the 2018 Tour Championship, questions were still left unanswered. The biggest one of all: Can Tiger Woods win another major championship?
With a strong start to 2019, he certainly created more belief than doubt. His health never seemed to be an issue when he opened his season at Torrey Pines, finishing in a tie for 20th. He followed that up with a T15 at Riviera and a T10 in Mexico. Tiger was trending upwards, just in time for a special weekend in April.
The comeback hit a speed bump, however, when he pulled out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, citing back pain. Once again, more questions than answers circled around the then 14-time major champion. He assured all who were concerned that the pain had nothing to do with previous surgeries. He returned the next week at the Players Championship, finishing in a respectable tie for 30th. His next start was when the idea of him winning a major truly began to take shape.
Woods arrived at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in good form, and with a strong appetite for competition. He walked through his first three matches with ease before defeating Rory McIlroy in the round of 16. He eventually fell in the quarterfinals but looked more than ready to win another tournament.
2019 Masters
In a tournament he had dominated since turning professional, Tiger was incredibly eager to get through the beginning of the week, and tee off on Thursday. It was his first legitimate shot at a major since 2013. But he arrived at Augusta as a completely different player than the Tiger Woods of 2013. The erratic driving of the golf ball was nowhere to be found. He was borderline surgical off the tee. His lag putting was exquisite. His ball-striking, as pure as ever.
With a little help from Francesco Molinari finding the water on both the 12th and 15th holes, Tiger eventually found himself with a short putt for bogey on 18 to win by 1.
Nick Faldo described the celebration on the 18th as, “The greatest scene in golf, ever.” Given all that had transpired, Faldo was right.
Zozo Championship: 82nd Victory
After the Masters, Tiger’s season took a dip. He played just six more times, only racking up one top ten. Then, he missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. He withdrew from the Northern Trust and failed to qualify for the Tour Championship to defend his title.
The youthful and exuberant Woods looked fatigued and worn out by the end of his 2019 season. Then, to add to the complications, a statement on his social media account sent another devastating blow to supporters of Tiger.
The only person who seemed optimistic was Tiger himself. And just to prove everyone wrong again, he went to Japan and won his 82nd PGA Tour Victory. In doing so, he tied Sam Snead for the most PGA Tour victories ever. A record that seemed distant, now tied with the potential to be broken.
Presidents Cup
When Tiger was announced as the American Presidents Cup captain in 2018, he had just begun his most recent comeback in competitive golf. Nobody could have predicted the on-course success he was about to have. After an incredible 18 months, Woods had no choice but to pick himself as a captain’s pick. He was playing too well not to.
With a rebuilt knee and a strong playing partner in Justin Thomas, Tiger won his first two matches, becoming one of the few bright spots on an underperforming American squad. After sitting out both Saturday sessions, Tiger went out first in Sunday singles and delivered.
With the Internationals leading throughout the first three days, some of Woods’ decision making had come into question. On Sunday, however, his team went out and played their best golf of the week, winning the singles session 8-4 and taking the Presidents Cup 16-14. This capped off a truly memorable week for the 43-year-old Woods.
An emotional major championship, a record-tying victory, and an incredibly compelling team event to finish the year. It may not have been a truly dominant season, with multiple majors and record-setting amounts of money, but given the circumstances, Tiger was truly spectacular in 2019.
And he still has more to chase in 2020.
Check out other Belly Up Golf articles and don’t forget to check out pieces from the rest of the Belly Up Team.
