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Tiger Woods crowned 'Comeback King' after his first major victory since 2008

Dramatic comebacks are usually the stuff of sports movies, complete with sweeping music and tearful embraces. But Sunday, America witnessed one, IRL.

That's when Tiger Woods won the Masters, the most important of all annual golf tournaments, at the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia. It was the embattled sports legend's first major victory since 2008, and first Master's win since 2005. Fans across the internet, and Tiger Woods himself, appear to be joyously bowled over by what's being hailed as one of the greatest sports comebacks of all time.

When Tiger Woods rose to fame and prominence in the 1990s, he helped turn golf into a sport that a mainstream audience actually cared about. The fact that he was a black golfer also helped open up the sport for future POC athletes, and fans, who might never have connected with the often elitist, whitewashed sport otherwise. 

Many have said that Tiger Woods changed golf forever.

During the height of his career, Tiger won 14 major tournaments, and four Masters. But his star began to fall in 2009 when his wife divorced him amid cheating allegations, and a series of porn stars and other consorts came forward throughout 2010 to reveal their illicit relationships with the superstar golfer. Over the next few years, Woods suffered from multiple injuries and surgeries — and also was charged with a DUI after crashing his Mercedes in 2017. 

The fall from grace was particularly hard to stomach for fans who idolized his singular talent and the way he had changed golf. Adding to that disappointment were four back surgeries, and multiple other debilitating injuries, that caused Tiger to approach comebacks, only to drop out or fail over the last few years.

Now, fans — including the likes of Serena Williams, Steph Curry, and Michael Phelps — got to share in Tiger's redemption on Sunday.

Jack Nicklaus, the only golfer who has won more majors than Tiger Woods, also congratulated Woods on his comeback. Nicklaus is the oldest player to have ever won the Masters, at 46; Tiger, at 43, is now the second oldest.

Woods' victory even united President Trump and President Obama. Who doesn't love an American comeback story?

Tiger's win was by no means a sure thing. Some betting houses lost big thanks to the rogue sports betters who took the long odds and put it all on Tiger to win.

Twitter and media reports were largely devoid of criticism of the player for his past indiscretions. Culturally, many people are grappling with how to consider the work and legacy of people (mostly men) who turn out to be, well, shitty (or much worse). 

It seemed that, on Sunday, America was just in need of a redemption story, and a happy
ending. Watching Tiger at the Master's, it got one.

Mashable partner.