Golf in 2019: Tiger roars back into spotlight

PARIS: Tiger Woods completed one of sport’s greatest ever comebacks by winning his 15th major title at the Masters in April, before ending the year as a winning Presidents Cup captain. Ireland’s Shane Lowry won the first British Open to be held in Northern Ireland since 1951, while a potential rivalry between Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy started to emerge. Here, AFP Sport looks at some of the talking points from 2019 in golf:

Tiger roars again

The most memorable moment of the year came back in April at Augusta National when Woods tapped in to seal his first major championship victory since the 2008 US Open. The now-43-year-old has since had to battle personal problems, injury woes and a shocking loss of form.

He surprised the golfing world by returning to the top events in 2018, winning the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, before capping his comeback this year in incredible fashion by winning a fifth Masters green jacket.

Woods went on to lift a record-equalling 82nd PGA Tour title in Japan in October, before leading the United States to victory in the Presidents Cup in Melbourne as a playing captain.

Lowry delights Portrush

Irishman Lowry provided an enthralling finale in a party atmosphere as Royal Portrush staged the British Open for the first time in 68 years.

The 32-year-old won his maiden major title with a dominant six-shot victory over England’s Tommy Fleetwood in difficult conditions on the final day.

Reed ‘cheating’ storm

Patrick Reed was accused of cheating after being given a two-stroke penalty for twice moving sand behind his ball with his club during the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. The infraction cost the former Masters winner a place in a play-off as he finished two strokes behind eventual champion Henrik Stenson.

Reed was jeered mercilessly the following week by the home crowd at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, despite insisting that he was not a “cheat” and that he broke the rules “unintentionally”.

‘Phenomenal’ Ko breaks through

Ko Jin-young produced the biggest breakthrough of the season by winning two women’s majors, four LPGA Tour titles in total and finishing the year as world number one — all in only her second LPGA campaign.

The 24-year-old South Korean won for the first time in the US with a thrilling victory in the Founders Cup in March, before securing her maiden major two weeks later at the ANA Inspiration.

Another followed at the Evian Championship in France, while she also went 114 holes without a bogey — breaking Woods’ record of 110.