AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 14 (UPI) — Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters and 15th major title on Sunday in Augusta, Ga., completing a comeback from major surgeries and personal scandal that derailed his career.
It is Woods’ first major championship since capturing the U.S. Open in June 2008.
Woods, who finished 14-under par, shot a final-round 70, edging Dustin Johnson (68), Brooks Koepka (70) and Xander Schauffele (68) by one stroke each at 12-under.
The last time Woods won the Masters tournament was in 2005 when he shot 12-under, defeating Chris DiMarco in a playoff.
His first Masters win came in a record-setting performance in 1997 when he won the tournament by 12 strokes at the age of 21.
Woods’ last victory on the PGA Tour before winning the Masters was last September, when he won the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Sunday’s final round saw Woods trailing Italy’s Francesco Molinari by two shots, sitting three behind after 11, but Molinari shot a 74 Sunday to end the tournament tied for fifth.
Winning in the Masters puts Woods one behind Jack Nicklaus ,who has the most victories at Augusta. He also is now three behind Nicklaus in major championships.
The victory for Woods puts him as the second oldest man to win a Masters at 43 years, 3 months and 15 days.
Nicklaus remains the oldest Masters champion at 46 years, 2 months and 23 days.
The green jacket ceremony was canceled because of the threat of severe weather.
A green jacket presentation took place in Butler Cabin and was televised by CBS.
“There will not be a Green Jacket Ceremony on the terrace putting green this afternoon in order to expedite gate closures,” a representative for the club wrote in an email to golf.com.
Thunderstorms were expected to move into the area as early as 2 p.m. EDT, and tournament officials wanted to avoid extending play to Monday.
The Masters has not ended on a Monday since 1983, and that also was due to heavy rain.
Masters officials adjusted the tee times for the final round to try to avoid issues with the weather, with golfers teeing off as early as 7:30 a.m.
On Saturday, Italy’s Francesco Molinari shot a 6-under-par 66 to take the lead after three rounds, two strokes ahead of Woods and Tony Finau. They were in the final group Sunday.
