Tiger Woods breaks drought; wins fifth Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — History will judge whether the 83rd Masters Tournament will be considered as magical as Jack Nicklaus shooting 30 on the second nine to win a record sixth green jacket in 1986 at the age of 46.

But Tiger Woods’ victory on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club will always be in the conversation.

At 43, 14 years after winning his fourth Masters, Woods finally has a fifth. He broke from a large pack of contenders with birdies at Nos. 13, 15 and 16 and shot 70 to win by one shot at 13-under-par 275.

Woods had a two-shot lead coming to No. 18 and needed only a bogey to win. He laid back off the tee with a 3-wood, had issues with tree branches and had to leave his second shot short, then pitched onto the green and two-putted from 14 feet.

The huge throng of Augusta National patrons, yelled, "Tiger, Tiger, Tiger," as he walked off the green, embraced his children Sam and Charlie, and his mother, Kultida.

"Yeah!" Woods yelled when he caught his son running towards him.

Brooks Koepka (70), who had won two of the last three majors in 2018, Dustin Johnson (68) and Xander Schauffele (68) tied for second at 12-under.

Francesco Molinari, who was tied for the lead through 36 holes and led by two through 54, finished with a 74 and tied Tony Finau (72), Jason Day (67) and Webb Simpson (70) at 11-under.

Woods captured his 81st PGA Tour title, one short of Sam Snead’s all-time record, and his 15th major, three shy of Nicklaus’ record. He earned a Masters record first-place check of $2,070,000.

It also was the first time Woods won a major after trailing to begin the final round.

Woods also won his first major championship in 11 years. His 14th major title came at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines - with a broken leg, as it later was revealed.

Woods has rallied from personal issues and a series of injuries (he’s had four back surgeries) since he last won the Masters. He missed back-to-back Masters in 2016 and 2017 and during the CBS telecast, analyst Nick Faldo, a three-time winner at Augusta, said Woods confided to him three years ago that he may not play golf again.

But Woods began his comeback last season when he contended in the Open Championship and tied for sixth (Molinari won, playing with Woods in the final round) and then finished solo second in the PGA, two shots behind Koepka.

Woods ended the season by winning the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, his first victory in more than five years.

Woods began Sunday two shots behind Molinari, trailed by three after a bogey at No. 10, then took advantage when Molinari hit balls into the water at Nos. 12 and 15.

After an errant drive at No. 11 (he still made par), Woods hit his next five fairways and his next six greens, two-putting for birdies at the par-5 13th and 15th, and then landing an 8-iron at No. 16 on the green, with the ball catching the slope perfectly and rolling 4 feet past.

He made the birdie for a two-shot lead.

Severe weather predicted for the area forced Augusta National officials to take extraordinary measures to make sure the final round finished on Sunday to avoid the first Monday finish since 1983.

The field of 65 was divided in threesomes, and started off the first and 10th tees at 7:30 a.m. The final threesome of Woods, Finau and Molinari teed off at 9:20 a.m.

It was the first two-tee start since 2005, the last time Woods won the Masters.