“I knew I could do this,” Woods said after collecting his 67th career victory with a score of 12-under 276. “It’s just a matter of give me a little bit of time. I just came off a pretty extended break, and I was close to winning, but the game wasn’t quite there when I really needed it on Sunday. I rectified that.”  This may be the understatement of all time.  "I just came off a pretty extended break"… oh and yes not only did he take a bunch of time off, but also added a family member, have a knee reconstructed, not swing a club for months.  Nothing that screams "BIG DEAL".  Grain of salt and all that stiff upper lip pablum.  Follow that up with three words: I rectified that.  Simple statement.  On the surface it would appear impossible to hide the number of hours of work the man had to put into his game to get to a level of play mere mortals have difficulty even dreaming of attaining.  i don’t think he spent a lot of time watching Spongebob with the kids.  Changing to a new driver with more loft, 10.5* is what I have been told, was certainly not an off the cuff decision made on the spur of the moment.  I wonder how many balls he had to hit to get the results he put up during this tournament?  More than twelve I bet. 

Sunday Mr. Woods hit 14 of 14 fairways (what say you to that oh legions of doubters who thought he should dump his Nike driver?) and 18 in a row going  back to Saturday’s round.  When Jack Nicklaus says "you found your swing", and "it may be his best driving tournament" in years the golf world listens.  As well it should. 

Mr. Woods began the day 4 shots off the lead held by Mark Wilson and Matt Bettencourt, two names most doubted would still be there at the end.  Give both players credit, Mr. Wilson finished tied for third and Mr. Bettancourt tied for fifth, admirable showings in a big time event from players not familiar with the spotlight.  Their finishes while expected, were not the collapse that other, larger names, experienced on the back nine after Mr. Woods got into contention.  Davis Love was at 10 under par after the 16th hole, needed a pair of birdies to tie the lead.  Bogey, triple bogey leads one to wonder how dry the mouth was and how hard the throat closed when things mattered.  Then there was Geoff Ogilvy whose 63 on Saturday launched him right up the leaderboard.  He was nine under par and very much in the middle of everything when he began the toughest hole on the course, the short par 4 14th.  Eight shots later (5 of them putts) Mr. Ogilvy was done.  Jonathan Byrd hit a wedge into the hole on the par 5 seventh hole for an eagle and a two shot lead, then doubled the 14th and missed a four foot birdie on the 17th hole which would have left him within one shot of the lead.  The only player to not fall back was Jim Furyk, whose final round 69 left him a stroke short of Mr. Woods. But what a stroke.

Four birdies on the front nine moved Mr. Woods from four back to three back of then leader Jonathan Byrd when he got to the par 5 eleventh hole.  Hit a driver 329yds, then a 5 wood 253yds through the green into the deep stuff behind the green.  “I didn’t see the lie but it had to be terrible,” said playing partner Michael Letzig, awed by Woods’ play and the circus surrounding him. “He had some wild, one-handed follow-through. I saw that out of the corner of my eye and then I saw how the ball was tracking. I just told my brother (Darren, his caddie) who was standing there, ‘Oh, my god!’ It was nuts.”  Nuts indeed as the ball rolled into the hole for an eagle three.  Follow that up with three birdies on the final four holes.  Solid indicators that the Tiger Woods of lore is back and ready to marvel the world with his play. 

On the 18th hole, with the lead, 186 yds from the hole, 7 iron in hand, Mr. Woods hit a high shot that, when it finally landed after what seemed like a commercial break, was 14 inches from the hole.  Tap in.  Welcome to the one stroke Mr. Furyk could not make up.  And the victory in front of the man who’s major tournament record he is chasing.  Fitting stuff. 

In two weeks the show moves to New York and Bethpage Black.  I have a suggestion for the rest of the field, work on your mental game.  Try and forget the guy who wears the red shirt on Sunday, play your own game.  Do I sound like a head doctor?  Maybe.  Anyhow, here’s a realist statement:  Good luck with all that.