“This man is possessed to win a golf tournament, he’s absolutely under total control and he’s going to get it done,” said 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus as he watched Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2019 Masters.

On Sunday, Woods delivered an echoing roar heard around the world with his final putt at the 83rd Masters capturing his 15th major championship which had eluded him for 11 grueling years.

The magnitude and significance of this victory is even more confounding after what Tiger said at the Masters Champions dinner in 2017: “I’m done, my back is locked, I’ll never play golf again, I’m done” — this according to Sir Nick Faldo, a three-time Masters champion.

Yes, Woods did register a victory at the 2018 season ending Tour Championship. However, to win a major championship at 43 is truly transcendent considering the trials and travails of a man under the spotlight like no other over the past 20 years.

Woods delivered an unmistakable message to golf’s current generation of champions at Augusta National in that he still stands head and shoulders above them when it comes to winning major championships.

In the heat of battle, Woods was almost invincible on Sunday and incredibly won a major for the first time with a deficit going into the final round. He said after his win: “Yeah, just unreal, to be honest with you. You know, just the whole tournament has meant so much to me over the years. You couldn’t have had more drama than we all had out there, and now I know why I’m balding [laughter]. This stuff is hard.”

Woods was tied for 11th place, four strokes behind after round 1, posting a score of 2 under par 70. The young American dynamic duo of Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka both shot 6 under 66 to share the first round lead. Low key and 28, Koepka had won three out of the last seven major championships up to the Masters and is formidable under pressure.

Woods sprang to life in the second round shooting a solid 4 under 68 to post a total of 6 under par. Narrowing the gap significantly he was only one stroke behind a who’s who leaderboard of five major champions including Adam Scott, Jason Day, Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen and Brooks Koepka.

The leaders were all tied at 7 under par after two rounds. Woods was measured in his comments after the round: “It feels like I played my own way back into the tournament. I was just very patient today, felt very good to be out there doing what I was doing.”

The methodical Italian Francesco Molinari shot a splendid 6 under 66 to seize the solo lead after round 3 posting a total score of 13 under par.

Woods played brilliantly in the third round with a 5 under 67 to share the second spot with American Tony Finau at 11 under par. Koepka was in fourth place at 10 under after a 3 under 69 in the third round.

Molinari maintained his two-stroke lead at 13 under over Woods for 11 holes in the final round until the ominous par 3, 12th hole which has shattered the prospects of many Masters winning hopefuls over the years.

Molinari would suffer the same fate when his tee shot sank into Rae’s Creek leading to a double bogey 5.

Woods safely landed his ball in the middle of the green, two-putted to tie the lead at 11 under par. He capitalized on this opportunity and executed every remaining shot with the precision of a chess grandmaster. He birdied the 13th, then 15th and 16th holes to push his lead to two strokes at 14 under.

The cheers at Augusta National reached fever pitch for the Masters legend.

After a routine par at the 17th hole he took his two-stroke lead to the final hole. Ahead of him, Xander Schauffele, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka had posted the clubhouse lead of 12 under. All three men had played superb golf pushing Tiger to his limits with Koepka recovering from his own double bogey fiasco at the infamous 12th hole.

The four-time Masters champion Woods knew exactly what he needed to do to capture his fifth Green Jacket. He laid up his second shot on the par 4 18th knowing he could bogey the hole and still win. Woods chipped on to the green and comfortably two-putted to seal his historic victory at 13 under par to the adoring screams of the patrons of Augusta National.

The jubilant Woods then went on to embrace his two children and mother waiting off the 18th green, a scene few thought possible just a year-and-a-half ago.

At that time the great Tiger Woods had been decimated by his back injuries and was ranked outside of 1,000 in the world golf rankings.

Jack Nicklaus acknowledged that Woods is now only three major wins shy of tying his record of 18 majors with these parting words: “He’s got me shaking in my boots.”

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