Tiger Woods scores first win in 30 months

By Tosin Olakotan

Tiger Woods walked toward the 18th green last Sunday as he had done over the last 30 months on the PGA Tour, with one big difference.

The scandalized golfer finally brought the buzz back to the very thing that made him famous — winning.

Two weeks after another injury scare, Woods looked dominant as ever in that bright red shirt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. It was his first PGA Tour victory since his sex scandal at the end of 2009 led to one of the greatest downfalls in sports.

Woods closed with a 2-under 70 and won by five shots over Graeme McDowell.

‘I think he really just kind of nailed home his comeback’, McDowell said. ‘Great to have a front-row seat watching maybe the greatest of all time doing what he does best — winning golf tournaments’.

Woods had gone 923 days and 27 tour events since he last posed with a trophy, and it showed.

Walking off the green, Woods extended his black cap for a sweeping wave toward the gallery.

‘It’s not like winning a major championship or anything’, Woods said. ‘But it certainly feels really good’.

The question two weeks ago was when he could play again. Now, it’s whether he can get back to being the player who once ruled golf. It was the 16th time in his career that Woods has won by at least five shots, and it was the largest margin of victory on the PGA Tour since Rory Mcllroy won the U.S. Open by eight.