On Sunday, he was the Tiger Woods of old. He was fist-pumping after big shots (and, for once, there were big shots), he was jovial with the media, he was smiling and making jokes, telling them he wasn't necessarily the Tiger of old but he certainly felt older.
And Tiger was right about that one thing—he's not the Tiger Woods of old. Not yet. We learned one important thing from the Masters earlier this year: It's too early to call the comeback complete. It's not a comeback till you've won one of the Big Ones.
Tiger's performance at the Memorial this weekend was one of the most encouraging performances we've seen from him in over two years. He was consistent from the get-go, fighting his way up the leaderboard until the final day, when he made one of the greatest shots of his career that ultimately led to a nine-under finish and a 14th major victory.
It took three birdies on the final four holes—the most spectacular of which came after a 50-foot flop shot from a terrible lie on the 16th hole—but he garnered his second win of the year, his first since the Arnold Palmer and the 73rd of his career.
Now, with just over a week remaining until the beginning of the US Open, Tiger is riding higher than he's been since everything crumbled for him 2 1/2 years ago. It was a similar case in late March, when Tiger emerged victorious for the first time in over two years and suddenly became the favorite to win the Masters.
And then he finished in 40th place.
Since then, Tiger has missed the cut at the Wells Fargo and has finished 40th at the Players Championship. He looked so good at the Memorial that it's impossible to avoid contemplating a US Open win and what it would mean for his resurgence, but it's still too soon, just like it was too soon before the Masters.
The signs are more encouraging than they've been since Tiger's epic downfall. It's the first time he's managed to win two tournaments in such close proximity since his career threatened to entirely fall apart. But winning the Arnold Palmer or even the Memorial isn't the same as winning the Masters or the US Open.
Maybe it was the pressure that got to Tiger this year at Augusta (probable), or maybe it was just the level of competition. And while there's no discounting the importance of Tiger's win on Sunday, it was in a tournament that champions like Phil Mickelson withdraw from in the name of preparing for the important ones—like the US Open.
Whenever Tiger wins these days, it's hard not to think about what it means for his future and his legacy. Most likely, it's hard even for him to avoid such thoughts.
When he won the Arnold Palmer and then failed miserably at the Masters, it was clear that something—whether it was all of the comeback talk or the level of competition—was too much for him to take, and as a result, thinking that Sunday's win means he's back or he's ready to truly compete for a US Open title is premature.
It's a good sign, but Tiger isn't back. We can't start talking about that until it's June 17 and his name is at the top of the leaderboard.
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