Tiger Woods Back on Top with Tournament Win

(Photo: Jake Roth, USA TODAY Sports)

Tiger Woods is finally out of the forest of that nearly all consuming sex scandal which overshadowed his masterful play and he is again on top, i.e., a winner.

Neither his faulty driver or the occasional raised brow could keep him from his destiny, and Woods again rose to the occasion by winning the Farmers Insurance Open for the seventh time.

The win is a great sign that Woods is on his way to returning to his former glory and his rightful place in PGA history.

“I’m excited about this year,” said Woods, “I was excited about what I did last year, winning three times. And I felt really good about what we’re working on. Does it feel good? Yes. Does it give me confidence? Absolutely. This was a nice way to start the year.”

Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, said he sees an improved version of his golfer this year, noting that the endless hours of working on his new swing and short game have paid off.

“I think what’s great is I’m seeing him play more naturally and with more feel,” LaCava said. “I know he has a lot of confidence. He is so confident that he can take the driver, when he really needs to, and aim it at trouble and cut it away from the trouble right into the center of the fairway.

“That’s why I know he has it,” beamed Lacava

Apparently Woods agrees with the veteran caddy, who was with him through every whole of the Arnold Palmer Open.

“I drove the ball beautifully all week. And my short game was back to where I know it can be,” said Woods, who likely will next play in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in four weeks. “It was nice to be able to not hit so many golf balls and work on my short game. I think that’s where you’re seeing the rounds evolve. I’m saving a shot here, saving a shot there, and that’s leading to a birdie here and a birdie there. Next thing you know, it’s a three-, four-shot swing.”

So when asked if he was back, Woods replied, “I never left.”