By: Ryan Smithers

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve done it. We’ve brought Tiger Woods back to glory, and I say “we” because we’re all a part of the team. Tiger Woods was victorious for the first time in 1,876 days after he won the PGA Tour Championship on Sunday (Sep. 23). Not only did Tiger win, but America won as well. I’ve never been more at peace with anything than the moment Tiger walked towards the 18th green with a chance to win and thousands of fans by his side. It’s a nostalgic moment to millions of people. But that’s not the only thing that brought a nostalgic feel this weekend. Tiger’s performance had viewers reminiscing about the old times. This left everybody wondering how Tiger was able to compete at this level again. After 5 years and 4 back surgeries, Tiger seems to be back on top of the game. How did he do it? No clue, but I do know that it’s one of greatest comebacks of all time. Even if it’s not the best, it does have some great competition.

Just off the top of my head, I can name a few comebacks that have taken the sports world by storm. There’s some that I highly approve of, such as the Chicago Cubs coming back in the World Series when down 3 games to 1. And there’s some that still keep me up at night, like the Patriots and Falcons Super Bowl and the Cavs coming back from down 3-1. Though I feel like Tiger’s comeback is of a different type, Happy Gilmore’s was a comeback like no other. Now let me take a minute to go through all of these. In 2017, the Atlanta Falcons led the New England Patriots 28-3 in Super Bowl 51. You know what happens next. The Patriots come back and win, leading me to believe the NFL is rigged. I can’t even place it above Tiger because everyone knew it was going to happen. In the 2016 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors had a 3-1 series lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving assisted LeBron as they won 3 games in a row to take the trophy. The problem with this is that the NBA is just too predictable. Having the same finals matchup for 12 years in a row doesn’t get anyone excited. I’ll try my best to hide my bias here, but the Cubs 2016 World Series comeback was nothing but historic. Down 3 games to 1, the Cubs rallied back against the Cleveland Indians to force a Game 7. The best baseball team ever assembled had their ups and downs throughout the game, but eventually pulled it out in the 10th inning, winning their first championship in 108 years. There’s nothing sketchy about this comeback. The Indians blew a 3-1 lead. I just have to say Tiger’s comeback was better for the purpose of this article.

I’m not taking anything away from these champions. Yup, they won and it’s already marked down in sports history. I’ll just say some teams deserved to win more than others. That’s besides the point. Tiger is back with the greatest comeback in the history of comebacks. Imagine being the top dog in your profession for almost a decade. Then you get hit with several injuries, accusations, and just overall life obstacles. You think you’re done forever. You fight back and persevere, taking the long road back to where you were. Now, you make a new mark in the game you love. That’s exactly what Tiger did. He’s pretty much owned the game of golf since the late ‘90s. After facing multiple accounts of legal trouble, surgeries, and accusations, Tiger still held the goal of returning to play professional golf. He grinded until he was healthy enough to play again. He’s now back on the big stage, just won his 80th PGA Tour event, and now has top odds to win in each major. What’s mind-blowing is that he’s done this all on his own. He doesn’t have a team that could carry him. He’s on his own, and that’s Tiger mentality. The cumbersome weight of competition is no match for him. Tiger is back.