In a world where people are genuinely suffering in their millions, a multi-millionaire adding to his fortune is hardly worth our attention and yet, of course, somehow it is.

These are just some of the conflicting emotions arising from Tiger Woods’ epic fifth Masters win, a win even the most ardent fan (me included) had given up on just two years ago.

It was 741 days ago when Woods sat down at the annual Champions’ dinner at Augusta National – gingerly – and told his fellow Green Jacket holders: “I’m done.”

Unable to walk or even sit for any length of time, Woods was convinced he would never play at the highest level again.

And yet – somehow - here we are 144 holes of Masters golf later and Tiger Woods is a 15-time major winner, five times a Green Jacket winner and the world is seemingly a brighter place because of it.

It’s an odd relationship we humans have with sport where the achievements of another are apparently able to genuinely lift entire communities who might otherwise have legitimate cause for despondency.

"Grown men from all corners of the globe took to Twitter to freely admit shedding tears at the sight of Woods triumphantly greeting his kids off the 18th green, lots of other blokes chiming in to tell them that was okay."

It happened with a horse this past weekend in Sydney when Winx bowed out of the public eye with a 33rd consecutive win and it was a similar response around the world when Woods holed his two-foot bogey putt at the hole they call ‘Holly’ to claim a one-shot victory at Augusta.

Grown men from all corners of the globe took to Twitter to freely admit shedding tears at the sight of Woods triumphantly greeting his kids off the 18th green, lots of other blokes chiming in to tell them that was okay.

(Most of us recognise that urge to cry over a sporting result despite knowing it’s ultimately a silly response. The 1996 Masters did it to more than a few - this writer included - though the waterworks that day were of devastation, not elation.)

For several years there has been a correlation between the performance of Woods and the performance of the US stock market.

When Tiger was at his most bullish in the early days of this century so, too, was the Nasdaq and when Tiger’s game dipped in 2010 so, too, did the trading floor.

Most in both golf and finance acknowledge this is likely more coincidence than causation but the euphoria surrounding Tiger’s victory is undeniable.

We’ve seen Tigermania I (1996/7) and Tigermania II (2000/01) and with his performance in Georgia over the past four days it is difficult to imagine we are not on the verge of Tigermania III (2019/?).

And if past history is anything to go by, that won’t be a bad thing for any of us.

So thanks again Tiger, from all of us fans and non-golfers alike. You truly are the gift that keeps on giving.

Rod Morri is founder of the TalkinGolf Podcast Network, home of the State of the Game, iSeekGolf, TalkinGolf History and Feed The Ball podcasts.

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