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GA Tour fans had to wait for what seemed to be a never ending 923 days to witness another official victory by Tiger Woods. But alas, the moment arrived in grand fashion. For the seventh time in his illustrious career Woods claimed the Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Florida, this time in convincing fashion.

He won at 13 under par and with a 5 stroke lead over distant second place finisher, Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell. The event, hosted by golf legend Arnold Palmer marks Woods’ first victory since the BMW Championship on Sept. 13, 2009. “Pure joy” said Woods followed by “It was a day of survival” when he was asked to react to the emotions he felt after his win. It took what seems to be all of Woods’ survival skills for him to endure the rollercoaster ride he had taken since his life crashed in November 2009.

Some in golf even began to say that he would never win again. Woods, however, never gave up his quest for victory. When asked about the need to win, Woods responded: “As far as needing to win, no you don’t need to win you want to win.” Things didn’t always look so rosy for Woods over the past 30 months. His former swing instructor Hank Haney resigned and wrote a less thank flattering book about Woods. He then hired a new instructor and then went through a swing change. To add insult to injury, he went through a spate of what could have been career ending injuries. These involved his knee, neck and Achilles heel. All this transpired while he was going through a much publicized divorce.

Just two weeks ago he pulled out of the WGC Invitational in Doral, Florida, after straining his Achilles heel. Asked to comment about what kept him away from victory for so long, Woods said: “It’s been by far the injuries because you can’t practice. I haven’t been able to put in the time. Being on the sideline most of last year was tough.”

Woods shot a 3 under 68 in the opening round to trail leader Charlie Wi of Korea who notched a 6 under 66. Woods came alive in round 2 to shoot a spectacular 65 and take a lead in double digits at 10 under par. Wi who finished later in the day put a 4 under par on the board himself to share the lead with Woods at 10 under. Woods’ driver was tuned to laser perfection as he hit fairway after fairway. To complement a fine afternoon, his putter answered the call. He would later say: “I went out there and really focused on my speed, made sure that I had perfect speed every putt, and consequently, I made some putts.”

The gritty Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell charged up the leaderboard during the second round shooting a splendid 9 under par 63 to move to 9 under par and get to second place. Woods continued his strong play and managed to get the better of the tough conditions after the third round to shoot a 1 under par 71 to move to 11 under par and maintain a single stroke lead over McDowell. When someone alluded to the fact that he only had a 1 stroke lead going into the final round, Woods somewhat pointedly responded: “But I still have the lead.”

The old Woods came to take the stage in the final round. He made few mistakes and only needed to shoot a 2 under par 70 to capture the crown at 13 under par. McDowell, his closest rival and playing partner for the day, displayed tenacity on the front nine holes but then faded shooting a 2 over par 74 to fall 5 strokes back in the end. After he had pacified McDowell on the course, Woods turned to McDowell to gesture to him so they could approach the 18th green together.

As Woods reached into the hole to pull his ball out after his final putt, he shrugged his head, as if to signal: “Finally!” He then raised his right arm in a mini fist pump to signify victory.

Woods’ next outing will be The Masters, the year’s first major championship where he’s once again the favorite to win. Commenting on the Masters, Woods said: “You know, just hopefully everything comes together for that one week. I understand how to play Augusta National, and it’s just a matter of executing the game plan.”

Whatever one’s view is of Woods mistakes as a person, there’s no denying that he sparks up interest in golf like no other. Golf Channel’s analyst Brandel Chamblee put it best when he said that when it comes to golf: “Tiger doesn’t move the needle, Tiger is the needle.” Allow me to add that if the “needle” continues to stay healthy, no record in golf is safe. Wood’s now has 72 PGA Tour victories only one behind legend Jack Nicklaus and is still only four shy of Jack’s 18 major championship win record.