Tiger Woods held his nerve on a wonderfully chaotic final day at Augusta National to win his 15th major title, and a first in 11 years, in the 83rd US Masters.
Amid a dizzying series of twists and turns, Woods carded a closing 70 to finish 13 under par, one shot ahead of Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka, the reigning US Open and US PGA champion.
Overnight leader Francesco Molinari was two clear with seven to play but dumped his tee shot on the 12th into Rae's Creek and also double-bogeyed the 15th, the Open champion having to settle for a tie for fifth with Tony Finau, Webb Simpson and Jason Day.
It is the first time Woods has won a major when trailing after 54 holes and comes 3,954 days since he beat Rocco Mediate in a play-off for the 2008 US Open, despite a double stress fracture and knee injury which prompted season-ending surgery.
A moment between a father and a son.#themasters pic.twitter.com/Ft0ta2mD5o
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 14, 2019
And it is just two years since he told Jack Nicklaus "I'm done" during the Champions Dinner at Augusta National, after which he flew straight to London to see the consultant who recommended he undergo what proved to be career-saving spinal fusion surgery.
Woods said: "I was as patient as I have been in years. I kept control of my emotions, shots, placement.
"To see that leaderboard it was a who's who. And it all flipped at 12, Francesco made a mistake. All these scenarios started flying around. It was an amazing buzz out there to figure what was going on while staying present an focused on what I needed to do."
With thunderstorms forecast to hit the course in mid-afternoon, tournament officials took the unprecedented decision to move the tee times forward by several hours, with players sent out in groups of three from both the first and 10th tees.
Molinari began the day with a two-shot lead over Woods and Finau and found himself three clear after six straight pars, but Woods closed the gap to a single shot with the aid of back-to-back birdies to set up a thrilling finale.
Woods had ridden his luck at times in his third round of 67 and finally paid the price for a wild drive on the 10th, the resulting bogey dropping him two behind Molinari, who saved par superbly after pulling his approach left of the green.
However, the wind was playing havoc on the daunting par-three 12th and Molinari, Koepka, Ian Poulter and Finau all dumped their tee shots into the water guarding the front of the green.
Sensing his opportunity, Woods played safely away from the pin and a somewhat nervy par, after leaving his birdie attempt five feet short, gave him a tie for the lead as Molinari could not get up and down following a penalty drop.
An amazing day then took another twist as Patrick Cantlay, who only made the halfway cut with a shot to spare, followed his third round of 64 with five birdies and an eagle on the 15th to briefly claim the lead, only to bogey the next two holes.
Birdies from Johnson and Koepka made it a five-way tie before Molinari's mishap on the 15th, where Woods two-putted from long range for birdie to take the outright lead for the first time.
Tiger Woods' 15 majors:
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 14, 2019
1997 Masters
1999 PGA Championship
2000 U.S. Open
2000 The Open
2000 PGA Championship
2001 Masters
2002 Masters
2002 U.S. Open
2005 Masters
2005 The Open
2006 The Open
2006 PGA Championship
2007 PGA Championship
2008 U.S. Open
2019 Masters#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/ZPsB0CUTsW
Woods was then inches away from the third hole-in-one of the day on the 16th and tapped in for birdie to double his lead, allowing him the luxury of a bogey on the last before the exuberant celebrations could begin as chants of 'Tiger, Tiger' reverberated around the 18th green.
"I had the spinal fusion surgery," Woods added. "It was not a fun time, a tough couple of years. But I was able to start participating in life again, be around my kids again, take them to school. Golf was not in my near future or distant future.
"I knew I would be part of the game but playing the game, I couldn't even putt in the back yard with my son.
"After the surgery I started feeling a lot better. The doctor said I could chip again, then start swinging. Then he said I could hit driver in a couple of weeks.
"I hit driver, let's say it carried 90 yards. I was apprehensive. I started ramping up, playing , getting a feel for golf again. I then played some rounds with Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, they were fantastic in the process of helping me along.
"I wouldn't say this is an amazing story but in order to have had the success I have had, I have had a lot of support."
"That will be the greatest scene in golf forvever," said six-time major winner Nick Faldo, commentating for CBS. "We will never see anything as exhilarating as that."
The 14 years between his fourth Masters triumph and his fifth topped the previous longest gap of 13 years between Gary Player's 1961 win and his 1974 title.
