Tiger Woods Climbing Back on Top

The fist pumpin’ red polo clad phenom is makin’ a case for a comeback. That’s right, Tiger Woods has done it again. After outlastin’ Bo Van Pelt on Sunday in a tense duel on the back-nine, Woods clenched the victory at the AT&T 2012 Congressional.

While it’s starting to feel a little bit like the media who cried wolf as far as Tiger’s long-anticipated comeback goes, keep this lil fact in mind: this year, Tiger is first player on the PGA Tour to get three wins. He may not be up to his old self just yet (the AT&T National kept him steady at No. 4 in the world), but he is starting to make some serious headway when it comes to climbing out of the hole he’s been diggin’ for himself these past few years.

“I think he’s the only guy to win three tournaments on tour this year, is that correct?” Van Pelt said. “On three different courses. And he was leading the U.S. Open after two days. So I’d say that he’s playing the best golf in the world right now.”

After making only one bogey in his final 44 holes (on a course that’s harder than it was for the U.S. Open last year), Woods closed with a 2-under 69. Though Van Pelt briefly had him in a bit o’ trouble late in the round, Woods pulled away on them last two holes after his opponents made a few errors.

This latest victory puts him at 74 wins on the PGA Tour. Woods has officially moved passed Jack Nicklaus and now holds the second place title, leavin’ him just eight wins shy of the record held by Sam Snead.

At this rate, it looks like Woods is in a better place to take Snead’s record of 82 tour wins than he is to claim Nicklaus’s record of 18 Majors. Since 2008, Woods has held steady at 14 wins at the Majors.

“It feels great to get 74 wins and obviously pass Jack,” Woods said. “I did it at 36 years old, and it’s something I’m very proud of.”

Not bad for a fella who had to walk off the course just a few short months ago thanks to an injury to his Achilles tendon.

“He’s an amazing player,” Van Pelt said. “We’ve known each other a long time, probably 20 years. He’s fun to play with. That’s why you travel 30 weeks a year, why you get up in the morning and make the sacrifices that you do, to have the opportunity to play the best player in the world in the final round with a chance to win.”

What d’ya think, Rockheads? Is Tiger really the best in the world? Has he officially come back to the top? Are ya tired of all the Tiger Woods media speculation? As always, leave yer thoughts in the comment section!