It was a Sunday unlike any other at this tradition unlike any other.
But as on four previous Sunday afternoons at Augusta National Golf Club, Tiger Woods stood alone at the top of the Masters leaderboard.
Woods, 43, shot a 2-under par 70 to win his first green jacket since 2005 and his first major since the 2008 U.S. Open. His 13-under 275 was enough to defeat Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffle, and Brooks Koepeka by one stroke, but that does not begin to tell the story of a dramatic Sunday that ended approximately four-and-a-half hours early after tee times were moved ahead due to the threat of severe weather.
In addition to Woods' fifth Masters championship and 15th major title (trailing only the great Jack Nicklaus in both categories), Sunday marked his 81st victory on the PGA Tour, one away from the career record held by Sam Snead. It was also the first time Tiger had won one of golf's four major championships when not entering the final round with at least a share of the lead.
"It fits," Woods quipped after 2018 champion Patrick Reed slipped the traditional winner's garment over his shoulders in Butler Cabin. It was a far more sedate setting than the 18th green had been a few minutes before as Woods clinched the title with a short bogey putt.
"WOOOOOOO!!!" Woods screamed as he headed for the scoring room with chants of "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger" echoing as loud as any of the roars on the back nine at Augusta National. He scooped up 10-year-old son Charlie, born a year after that dramatic victory on Father's Day weekend at Torrey Pines. He hugged his mother and then his 11-year-old daughter Sam, and everyone else in his camp that stood by him through a public divorce and an embarrassing DUI arrest from a concoction of painkillers and surgeries.
"It's overwhelming, just because of what has transpired," Woods told CBS during the post-round interview. "Last year I was lucky to be playing again. At the previous year's [champions] dinner, I was really struggling. I missed a couple of years not playing this great tournament. To now be the champion ... 22 years between [first and latest] wins is a long time. It's unreal to experience this."
"To have my kids there, it's come full circle," Woods added. "You know, my dad was here in '97 and now, I'm the dad with two kids there."
Woods wanted his children to see him win, once saying they saw him only as a YouTube legend. They were at the British Open when he had the lead briefly. They couldn't make it to East Lake last September when he won the Tour Championship for his first victory in five years.
"I wasn't going to let that happen to them twice," he said. "To let them see what it's like to have their dad win a major championship, I hope it's something they'll never forget."
Woods began the day in a tie for second with Tony Finau two shots back of Francesco Molinari, the defending British Open champion with nerves so steady that entering Sunday, the Italian had not bogeyed any hole since the 11th on Thursday.
But, Molinari's nerves and shotmaking skills failed him on the back nine Sunday. Holding a two-shot lead on the 12th tee, Molinari watched helplessly as his tee shot rolled off the green and into Rae's Creek. A double bogey was not enough to drop Molinari from contention, but the veneer of invincibility had cracked.
That was the cue for a roller coaster ride at the top of the leaderboard. Six players had a share of the lead at some point on the second nine. With the final trio of Woods, Molinari and Tony Finau in the 15th fairway, five players were tied at the top at 12-under par.
If what happened at 12 was tragedy, what happened to Molinari at 15 was a farce. Playing conservatively to avoid the water after an errant tee shot on the par-5, Molinari found himself with what should have been a simple third shot onto the green, but he hit his wedge fat, popping the ball up into the air, off a nearby tree and into the water. He double-bogeyed the hole to drop out of a share of the lead and out of contention.
On the same hole, Woods made a two-putt birdie-4 to take the outright lead for the first time. He secured his advantage at the par-3 16 by sticking an 8-iron within two feet of the cup for another birdie and a two-stroke lead.
Schauffele failed to birdie the par-5 15th and scrambled for pars the rest of the way for a 68. Johnson made three straight birdies late in the round, but he got going too late and had to settle for a 68 and a return to No. 1 in the world.
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Three-time major winner Koepka, who also found Rae's Creek with his tee shot on 12, rallied with an eagle on the 13th, narrowly missed another eagle on the 15th and had a chance to put pressure on Woods at the 18th hole, but he pulled his 10-foot birdie putt left of the cup to give Tiger all the cushion he needed.
"You want to play against the best to ever play," Koepka said. "You want to go toe-to-toe with them. I can leave saying I gave it my all. He's just good, man."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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