Tiger Woods stated following his Masters victory on Sunday that the moment hadn’t fully sunk in. A sentiment which I’m sure anyone involved in the sport will echo. It was an exhausting four days, and for Tiger Woods and his fans, of which I am one, an incredible and emotional one, after a great decade of struggle.

The Masters has always been the biggest tournament in the sport in my eyes. Falling many times on Easter weekend, traveling to the west of Ireland for a “family weekend” often turned in to myself staying up late as a kid, gripped to the tiny television and limited coverage on offer, urging Tiger on to win the green jacket.

Wearing a ‘TW’ cap, and nervously waiting until the coverage would begin to check the leaderboard, and then anxiously sitting through the four hours of coverage was a ritual. Woods had me in awe as a kid, transforming the game of golf, into what was a fringe sport at the very best in my generation’s eyes, into compelling viewing.

From 2008 at Torrey Pines, until Augusta National in 2019, I, like every other golf fan, had been waiting for Woods to put every setback behind him and claim that elusive 15th major. On Sunday he completed the greatest comeback that you will ever see in sport, and that achievement is a testament to the man’s unrelenting and unwavering self-belief.

I look back at Thanksgiving Day 2009, and the subsequent squalid fallout, which turned Tiger Woods from being universally loved to a divisive figure. The vitriol he received at that time and over the following months left me confused. After all, Woods was hardly the first sports star to have made mistakes in his personal life.

The standard view of those who then saw Woods as the devil incarnate was that he had manufactured an image of perfection, which had all been phony. Making a case against that claim was difficult, though I gave it my best shot.

There is no doubt that Woods’ personal life being exposed and ridiculed made a considerable impact on the trajectory of his career. From winning six times on the PGA Tour in 2009, Woods sheepishly returned to action in 2010, a shell of his former self. Topping irons, chunking wedges and missing short putts, Woods spent the next two years looking powerless on the golf course, hitting rock bottom at the 2011 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, a tournament that had always been under his spell, shooting a four day total of 18-over par.

2011 was the first of two periods where Woods would be written off. And those who did so were foolish.

Nick Faldo had been one of the most vocal people in this regard, stating at the time while leaning on his own experiences that Woods would never win again due to the stress and lack of peace of mind he now felt on the golf course.

But the six-time major champion severely underestimated the mental strength which Woods possesses.

A three-win season in 2012 was followed by a five-win season in 2013 and a return to the summit of the game. There was just one issue – none of those wins had been in major championships. Considering Woods’ dominance that year, however, a victory in one of golf’s four biggest tournaments was surely just around the corner.

But approaching the end of that brilliant season, Woods’ back troubles began. The second period where he was to be written off was upon us, and this time those who did so were justified.

Woods would go through four back surgeries. In so much pain that he could barely walk, let alone play golf to a fraction of the level he once could.

As often is the case for those in the position, the knives were out for Woods once again. Colin Cowherd made the extremely odd statement that due to his demise, he would instead take Phil Mickelson’s career over that of the now 15-time major champion. While others such as, Brandel Chamblee, Hank Haney, and Tony Jacklin all took the cheap view that due to Woods skulling chips he now possessed the yips, despite being fully aware of the pain which had taken over Woods’ body.

During this period, it’s well documented that Woods feared he might never play again. Despite this, there was always an absolute belief which Woods possessed; If he could get healthy, then he not only could win again, but he would.

In 2016, Michael Jordan who is a close friend of Woods told ESPN

“The thing is, I love him so much that I can’t tell him ‘You’re not gonna be great again.”

Life is hard at the best of times. Self-doubt is natural, and the fragility of human beings means that often negative words can have a significant adverse effect on the aspirations that we possess. Woods not only faced doubts, criticism and calls to retire from those in the media, but also, if Jordan’s claim that he is a close friend of the man is to be believed, perhaps his inner circle as well.

For Woods to come through all of that, and to win his fifteenth major at Augusta National, is an extraordinary achievement. His self-belief over a decade where he almost entirely lurked in the dark is difficult to fathom. What Woods has now earned through his victory at the 2019 Masters, is almost complete immunity from the doubters and naysayers. He has re-written his storyline in the tale that is life.

Books that were published and documentaries aired covering the rise and fall of the 15-time major champion are now out of date. Woods has assured that his legacy will forever remain and be viewed in a positive light following his victory at the Masters.

The hunt for Jack’s record has intensified and considering Woods continued to believe through a decade of hard knocks that he could reach 18 major victories before he retires, then his confidence of doing so now must be at staggeringly high levels.

If there’s a lesson to be learned over the last 10 years of his career, it’s that you should never rule out Tiger Woods in any way. Woods has never doubted himself, or at least, he never doubted what he could do if he got healthy, and that’s why, after possibly the most tumultuous decade any sportsman has ever experienced, he rose once again on golf’s grandest stage to don the green jacket.

If Tiger Woods says he is going to do something, no matter what people or life throws at him, he will find a way. After witnessing Sunday’s success, you should not find yourself surprised should Woods now not just catch Nicklaus’ major tally, but eclipse that number before he calls it a day on what continues to be a remarkable career and comeback.