Tiger Woods Completes Golf Tournament

By ESPN

Tiger Woods did not finish the Hero World Challenge as he would have wanted, shooting a final-round 76 that included a double-bogey at the 18th hole.

But those details will be lost amid a bigger picture that saw the 14-time major champion complete 72 holes in a golf tournament for the first time since August 2015 due to multiple back surgeries.

Woods finished 15th in the 17-player field, and his final-round 76 was the highest score of any player during the week, but he more than held his own when many wondered if he might embarrass himself. Woods made 24 birdies for the week -- more than any player in the field other than winner Hideki Matsuyama.

"It feels good to be back out here playing again, competing and trying to beat the best players in the world,'' Woods said. "I missed it. I love it. I've been doing it for a very long time, and this stretch where I've been off for almost a year and a half has been rough, and the last few years have been rough. I've had some very, very difficult times and have some great friends that have helped me over the times to get me to this point, and I'm just so thankful to be back here playing again.''

Woods made three double-bogeys Sunday, derailing any chance to move into a higher position. Two of them came on par-5s, and he had three other bogeys on those scoring holes. Matsuyama, in contrast, shot 2 under on those holes. That 9-shot swing is one area Woods will need to correct going forward.

"It's kind of new to me again,'' said Woods, 40, who has won 79 PGA Tour titles -- the last coming in 2013. "The feel of playing, the feel of adrenaline in my system, hitting shots. This wind is not forgiving, you miss the ball, and you're in a bush somewhere. It's tough. But I felt like I did some really positive things. I'm pleased about that, and I just need to clean it up.''