Tiger's tale only gets better

I’m not the kind of guy to say I told you so, but ...

I told you so.

Surely you know that Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship on Sunday — five years and four back surgeries since his last victory, and 543 days since he was found unconscious in his car with five different pain-killing and anti-anxiety drugs in his system.

He’d reached the point by Memorial Day weekend of 2017 where he couldn’t bend over to tie his shoes.

The dazed Woods told officers that night that he thought he was in California, when he actually was in Florida.

How could anyone return to the pinnacle of sport from THAT?

Well, there was no question about Tiger’s location Sunday — East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, where he led all the Tour’s top stars wire to wire and looked every bit like the assassin of his glory days.

IN FACT, if Justin Rose hadn’t gotten an unbelievable bounce to keep his ball out of a trap on the 18th hole, Tiger might have won the whole season-long FedEx Cup, to boot.

And this is where I get to crow a little bit.

When Tiger truly resurfaced on the golf radar, finishing second at the PGA Championship, people got excited but thought it might be a one-off.

Nope.

In truth, Woods’ fourth back surgery last summer left him pain-free for the first time in four years — and he began a relentless reconstruction of his golf game.

Tiger admits there were times that winning another tournament seemed ridiculous.

“I just wanted to live a normal life, and do things with my kids,” he said.

“But when I could swing again without pain, then I thought maybe I could reach a level to compete.

“And when I could compete, well, I starting thinking about winning.”

I’d love to say I was one of the few to see this coming, but Lee Trevino predicted last year that Tiger would win another couple of majors, and Jack Nicklaus has pointed out all this season that Tiger was playing better and better.

OF COURSE, there were some fantastic reactions to Tiger’s 80th career victory.

Perhaps my favorite came from ESPN’s Trey Wingo, who tweeted: “All the young bucks on tour have said they’d love to play Tiger in his prime. Well, they’re getting it. And just as in years past, his nearest competitors are throwing it in reverse.”

That was the scary thing.

Even at 42, Woods looked like he’d never suffered pain, scandal, doubt, and then even more pain between his last win in 2013 and this magic Sunday.

The only difference might be his enlarging bald spot.

But the clutch shots, the dagger putts, his sublime course management — even the old intimidation factor — all seemed the same.

And yes, the world of sports went absolutely bonkers as Tiger got closer and closer to regaining the top of the mountain.

Fans at NFL games occasionally spent more time staring at their phones than at incomplete passes.

WHEN WOODS was walking toward the 18th green, an absolute sea of humanity at East Lake began chanting his name.

“It was so amazing, I was tearing up and almost started to cry,” Woods said. “Then I woke up and thought: I can still blade that last bunker shot out of bounds.”

He didn’t, obviously, and finished a fantastic week with a routine two-putt — followed by a lot of hugs.

Here’s another tweet, from ESPN golf analyst Scott Van Pelt, on the delirium at East Lake ...

“What a scene. Only one guy can create that kind of moment. One.”

I’m pleased to have predicted that kind of reaction, as well.

But nobody — NOBODY — has ever taken a stranglehold on a sport like Tiger Woods.

So to say that folks would go crazy at the second coming of Tiger Mania ...

I didn’t really go very far out on a limb.

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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.

A Brand New Day appears Wednesday through Saturday each week. Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday.

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