Ryder Cup: Tiger Woods and Justin Rose head to Paris as winners

2018 Ryder Cup

• What: Team Europe vs. Team USA
• When: 28-30 September
• Where: Le Golf National, Guyancourt, France
• Website: rydercup.com

Tiger Woods secured his first tournament victory in five years by winning the Tour Championship last night.

Woods won by two shots in Atlanta to secure his 80th career PGA Tour title. His last victory came at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2013.

After multiple surgeries for back injuries in recent years, the 42-year-old was holding back the tears on completing his trophy comeback, The Guardian reports.

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Following his win, he said: “I was having a hard time not crying on the last hole. At the beginning of the year, certainly this was a tall order. But as the year progressed, I proved that I could play, and I found a swing and put pieces together, and I knew I could do it again.

“It’s been tough. I’ve had a not-so-easy last couple of years. I’ve worked my way back. I couldn’t have done it without the help of all the people around me.

“Some of the other players knew what I was struggling with. It was really special to see them at the green on 18. It’s just hard to believe I won the Tour Championship.”

The former world No. 1 and 14-time major champion will now head to Paris for this week’s Ryder Cup after securing a captain’s pick to play for Team USA.

Woods has not played in the US Ryder Cup team since 2012 and is excited about this year’s edition. Earlier this week he said: “I missed playing in it, missed competing in it. I missed that rush of going out there and trying to get a point for my team.

“I was a part of it in a different way in 2016 [as a non-playing vice-captain], which was very different, because I had been a part of these teams since 1997 as a player only.

“And to have looked at it from a different angle and a different side, or actually had been forced to… put it this way, I really want to play in it.

“I’ve been a player my entire career. I’ve been a part of these teams now for the better part of 20 years, and to have earned the confidence in my teammates and my captain to have been selected is something that gives me a lot of excitement going into the cup.”

Rose is the PGA champion

Team Europe will also have a new champion in their squad when they face the Americans at the Ryder Cup, starting on Friday at Le Golf National on the outskirts of the French capital.

He may have lost the world No. 1 spot last night but a tie for fourth place in the Tour Championship meant Justin Rose became the overall FedEx Cup champion for the 2018 PGA Tour season.

It was hard work, though, as Rose hit bogeys on the 11th, 14th and 16th. But the Englishman responded with a birdie on the par-five 18th hole to finish inside the top five and secure the cup.

The 38-year-old told the BBC: “I was waiting for a break all day and to get it on the last hole was great timing. I felt more pressure as I was throwing it away. It was a horrible scenario but fortunately, I clicked into gear at the right time.

“Today is going to take a lot of absorbing but I can’t wait to go over to Paris.”