Remembering Tiger Woods' 82nd (and latest) PGA Tour title at the 2019 Zozo Championship that tied Sam Snead for most career wins

Tiger Woods isn’t successful nan section this week astatine nan Zozo Championship, still rehabbing from his sixth room connected his little backmost successful nan past 10 years. But 5 years ago, he was coming disconnected a nine-week break aft room to repair insignificant cartilage harm successful his near knee and contempt an inauspicious start, he rattled disconnected a tournament-best 27 birdies and won nan inaugural PGA Tour tourney successful Japan to necktie Sam Snead pinch 82 profession Tour titles.

After nan triumph nan PGA Tour posted a photograph of Tiger receiving an autograph from Slammin Sam. They first met erstwhile Tiger was six years aged and they played a two-hole accumulation astatine Calabasas Country Club successful Southern California.

“I retrieve hitting nan shot into a small creek and playing it retired of nan h2o and making bogey. I bogeyed nan past and he went par-par,” Woods recalled of nan first encounter. “The only clip I ever sewage a chance to play pinch Sam Snead, I was 2 down done two.”

But Woods showed capable committedness to make a lasting belief connected nan Hall of Famer, who won his 82nd title astatine nan 1965 Greater Greensboro Open, becoming nan oldest subordinate successful Tour history to triumph astatine property 52.

“If nan kid doesn’t pain out, he’ll beryllium nan top golfer nan world has ever seen,” Snead predicted.

In October 2019, immoderate 37 years later, Woods went wire-to-wire astatine nan Zozo Championship successful Chiba – his 359th charismatic commencement – and tied Snead successful nan grounds book.

To this day, galore of nan players who competed that week still talk astir nan galleries, estimated to beryllium 20 deep, to spot nan man, nan myth, nan legend, nan 1 and only Tiger Woods.

“The first time we stepped retired here, nan fans that lined nan scope and nan first hole, I’ve ne'er seen thing for illustration it,” defending champion Collin Morikawa said connected Wednesday during his pre-tournament property conference.

“I sat connected nan first tee pinch J.T. and Rory and I couldn’t judge really galore group were conscionable connected nan property,” Xander Schauffele recalled. “It felt for illustration a awesome almost conscionable for nan magnitude of people…it was insane.”

Max Homa couldn’t thief but laughter erstwhile he watched an Instagram video of nan highlights and recap and marveled astatine really galore group were there.

“What it does for a state for illustration Japan who loves golf,” Homa said, “you hold astir apt each these years to get to spot this personification travel and play successful beforehand of you and not only does he play successful beforehand of you, but he goes retired and wins.”

It didn’t look that measurement early. Woods deed his opening tee changeable of nan tourney into nan h2o and made 3 consecutive bogeys. Then he carded birdies connected 9 of his remaining 15 holes to sprout 64 and declare nan lead. He followed pinch different 64 connected Friday earlier a typhoon dumped astir 10 inches of h2o onto Narashino Country Club postponing play. Tiger spent his time disconnected watching nan movie Joker and pinch constricted eating options joined a group of players, including Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, astatine a Domino’s Pizza.

Woods had to play 29 holes connected Sunday, which wasn’t perfect for his body. After nan storm, Tour officials closed nan people to nan nationalist but that didn’t forestall a crowd from gathering extracurricular nan gates.

“One of my favourite stories to show group is nan time that nan people was closed to nan fans, we drove successful and fans were waiting connected nan streets pinch signs, hundreds of people,” remembered Homa. “It was really cool to see.”

Woods stretched his lead to arsenic galore arsenic 5 earlier Japan’s ain Hideki Matsuyama trim it to 3 earlier play was suspended owed to acheronian and forcing a Monday finish. But who was really going to drawback Tiger, nan all-time top frontrunner? He had won 44 of 46 times he had held nan outright 54-hole lead, including each 25 times his advantage had been astatine slightest 3 strokes. Longtime play writer Steve DiMeglio was connected nan segment for Golfweek and USA Today and he’d seen this movie before. “With a lead successful Woods’ hand, opponents look an 0-2 count aliases it’s 3rd-and-35 if you comparison it to different sports,” he wrote.

Matsuyama made a birdie astatine 16 to make it absorbing but Woods, dressed successful his accepted reddish garment connected Monday and achromatic Nike vest, chapeau and pants, vanished successful style, carding birdies astatine 14 and 18 and signing for 3-under 67 and a three-stroke triumph complete Matsuyama. He hoisted his 82nd trophy 23 years to nan time of his first Tour title astatine nan 1996 Las Vegas Invitational.

“It’s a large number. It’s astir consistency and doing it for a agelong play of time,” Woods said. “I’ve been very fortunate to person had nan profession I’ve had truthful far. To person won this tourney successful Japan, it’s conscionable truthful ironic because I’ve ever been a world player, I’ve ever played each astir nan world and to necktie nan grounds extracurricular nan United States is beautiful cool.”

“The ball-striking accumulation I’ve seen nan past 2 days is simply a joke,” Gary Woodland, who played alongside him for nan last 36 holes, said.

Woodland is quoted much extensively successful Bob Harig’s book “Drive,” saying, “His region power was thing I’ve ne'er seen. His misses are each successful nan correct spots. He didn’t deed nan shot near for 2 days. When you person a one-way miss you tin beryllium aggressive…He looked for illustration nan champion subordinate successful nan world. It was awesome to watch, beautiful special.”

Woods nan subordinate besides impressed Woods nan U.S. Presidents Cup skipper that week successful Japan, and he ended up earning a much-deserved captain’s prime to nan squad headed for Australia, wherever he went 3-0 arsenic nan U.S. rallied for a hard-fought victory.

“I’d opportunity that was nan champion I’ve seen him play of each nan times that we played together,” Thomas said of partnering pinch Woods successful 2 matches. “Just watching him benignant of prime his measurement astir Royal Melbourne and shaping shots and conscionable hitting nan shot miles successful nan aerial and benignant of hitting it low, moving it astir different places. He was successful specified a focused authorities and conscionable successful specified a zone, I was very, very fortunate to get to watch that unrecorded and beryllium his partner not only because it was cool to watch, but he was playing truthful good it was going to beryllium difficult for him to suffer a match. So I was connected nan correct extremity of that arsenic a partner.”

It seemed only a matter of clip until Woods would notch triumph No. 83 and break nan necktie pinch Snead but that was earlier his assemblage breaking down forced much operations, he survived a near-fatal car clang successful 2021, and arsenic Woods approaches his 49th birthday, Snead’s stock of nan grounds seems much apt than ever to stay intact.

But 5 years ago, play fans enjoyed an unexpected vintage Tiger performance. Karen Crouse, past of The New York Times, said it champion erstwhile she wrote, “Even if Woods’s play successful Chiba turns retired to beryllium thing much than a resplendent rainbow aft a large storm, it was magnificent to behold.”