Tiger Woods' rise, collapse, and climb again during the last three years

 Tiger woods mug shot' rise, collapse, and climb again during the last three years

Tiger woods mug shot was one again at the centre of the sports universe this week, as a record audience tuned in to see him stripe fairway after fairway with his megastar 'buddies' Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Phil Mickelson.

The Match may have simply been a charity tournament held at Woods' home course in Jupiter, Florida, but when a fit Woods swings a club without discomfort, the world takes note.

The exhibition drew an average of 5.8 million viewers, making it the most-watched golf event in cable history.

No one realised how low Woods had slid three years ago, just across the street from his Jupiter home.

Woods was discovered slumped in his black 2015 Mercedes, which was still running and had flat tyres, about 3 a.m. on May 29, 2017.

He spoke slowly and slurredly, failed to perform roadside chores, and informed authorities he was travelling between Los Angeles and Orange County on the other side of the nation.

Woods was arrested for drunk driving but eventually accepted a plea agreement. He was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to careless driving.

"I want the public to know that there was no alcohol involved," Woods stated in a statement after his detention. "What occurred was a response to prescription drugs that was unanticipated." "I had no idea the combination of drugs had had such an impact on me."

Woods escaped prison, but he was still at the bottom.

He had to call it quits on yet another comeback effort earlier that year owing to continuing back problems.

He smiled through the agony and never revealed to his audience how horrible things were. He couldn't get himself off the floor behind closed doors because he was in excruciating back agony.

Another back surgery followed — he'd undergone four total, including a spinal fusion — but the sports world had given up on him.

An ESPN poll conducted the previous year revealed that 70% of PGA Tour players did not believe Woods will ever win another major.

His 2017 operation was a success, but it wasn't until late January of this year that Woods cautiously resumed competition.

Each start was welcomed with cautious hope, but every week Woods was absent was regarded with worry as suspicions about his health mounted.

But Woods didn't just keep coming back; he kept becoming better. He was becoming a monster off the tee, his ball-striking was flawless, and his party-trick'stringer' was as excellent as ever.

While prior swing changes to protect Woods' back looked to limit the 44-year-old, his newest alteration to become more compact simply worked.

If Woods maintained his fitness, it was just a matter of time until he won again on the PGA Tour.

Woods almost ended the drought in July of that year, when he led The Open at Carnoustie halfway through the final round, only to fall three strokes short of eventual victor Francesco Molinari.

Instead, it was broken on September 24, 2018, as Woods went across the final fairway at the Tour Championship with hundreds of spectators after him – a spectacle right out of the year 2000.

He keyed in and swallowed back tears before triumphantly lifting his arms.

"We thought we'd never see it, and I don't think he did either," said Jim Nantz after the putt.

Woods' 80th PGA Tour victory came five years after his 79th.

With that victory, Woods suddenly felt like anything was possible, even winning a major for the first time since June 2008.

The next one on the schedule was the Masters in April 2019, which he was suddenly tipped to win.

He played brilliantly during Masters week, fist pumping his way around Augusta's greens and staying in touch with leader Molinari. He was just two strokes down as the final round began.

Surprisingly, none of Woods' previous four Masters victories had come without at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

After 11 holes on day four, Molinari was still the leader, but a shot into the famed Rae's Creek on the 12th knocked him back into a tie with Woods.

There could only be one winner from there.

Woods birdied 15 and 16, then consolidated with a par on 17, requiring just a bogey on the last hole. He made bogey on all five of his strokes to win his fifth Masters and 15th major.

Woods' stroll off the green and embrace with his son Charlie — who wasn't even born the last time his father won a major — will go down in history as one of the sport's most famous moments.

Since then, the 15-time major champion has won again on the PGA Tour, tying him with Sam Snead's record of 82.

He was captaining America's Presidents Cup-winning team in Melbourne at the time, and he was perhaps the finest player that week.

The only thing that has slowed Woods down is the Coronavirus, but even that might work in his favour as he attempts to extend his career far into his forties.

In many ways, the moment Woods put on the green jacket last year seemed like the ideal conclusion to one of sports' greatest comeback tales.

But there's no telling how wonderful this narrative can go.