ORLANDO – Tiger Woods is back to No. 1 in the world after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for a record eighth time on Monday afternoon, March 25. This is the 11th time that Tiger Woods has gone back to No. 1, which he is tied with Greg Norman since the ranking began in 1986.
“It feels good right now. I’m just kind of scrolling through my phone and all the people who have supported me and all the texts saying No. 1 . I’ve tried to text back thank you as fast as I possibly can, but it’s been incredible to have all the support, and you know, all the hard work had paid off to get me to this point,” said Woods.
“It feels good to have won this event. This event means so much to me over the years. I lived here. This is my first house I ever owned and both my kids were born here.”
Woods tied a PGA Tour record on Monday by winning the tournament. The record Woods tied was victories at one event, which he now tied with Sam Snead, as Sam won eight times at the Greater Greensboro Open from 1938 to 1965.
“It’s a byproduct of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments,” said Woods.
This win for Tiger meant a little bit more to him because this victory returned him to the top of the world rankings for the first time since October 31, 2010, which was the longest streak of not being No. 1 in his elusive career.
Woods didn’t let anyone within two shots of him in the final round at Bay Hill which was delayed yesterday by strong winds, heavy rain with thunderstorms and tornado warnings.
Woods, with that lead, played the No. 18 conservatively as he knew he would win if he did not get into trouble on the last hole. With a conservative bogey he could live with on the last hole, he closed with a 2-under 70 for a 2-shot win over Justin Rose.
Woods in the final round made five birdies on holes No. 2, No. 4, No. 6, No. 12 and No. 16. He also had bogeys on No. 8, No. 15 and No. 18 to close the round.
The day was all focused on Tiger as he finally climbed and clawed his way back from being as low as No. 58 in the world because of injuries to his left leg and personal crisis in his life.
Woods’ playing partner in the final round was Rickie Fowler and he struggled down the stretch with a couple of holes left to play.
Fowler had a decent round going after birdies on No. 9, No. 12 and No. 14, but he then got a bogey on No. 15 and then had found trouble on No. 16 when he went for the green and landed short in the water. Fowler put his next shot again into the water and ended up making a triple-bogey, which pretty much gave the tournament to Tiger after that with No. 17 and No. 18 to play.
“I was swinging it well. I made a few putts, and trying to put a little pressure on them, let them know I was there,” said Fowler. “Just would like to have that 7-iron back on 16.”
Fowler ended up finishing the tournament with a 1-over 73, which tied him for third place at 8- under par for the tournament.
Justin Rose had a rough start to the final round as he bogied No. 1 and No. 3. He then later recovered with birdies on No. 6 and No. 8. Rose had made birdies on the back nine on No. 10 and No. 16 to try and close the gap on Tiger, but the closest he got was two shots.
“He plays every shot like he plays them on Sunday, his intensity is the same on Thursday often as it is on Sunday, and that makes Sunday a lot less different for him,” said Rose.
“He plays in that kind of atmosphere far more regularly than a lot of guys do, and it’s an adjustment for most of us. It’s a known for him.”
“You wouldn’t have known this was a Monday with the crowds out there the way they grew,” said Rose. “Obviously, pretty much sure to see Tiger do the business, but it was nice to be part of it.”The next tournament Tiger Woods will play in is the Masters, where he will try to end a five-year drought of majors. The first round of the Masters starts on April 11.
