• Rewind to 2009

The last time Tiger roared

Tiger Woods won his first title in two years at the Chevron World Challenge © Getty Images

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• Profile: Tiger Woods

On December 11, 2009, Tiger Woods admitted to marital infidelity and announced he would be taking an indefinite break from golf.

It came after weeks of tabloid revelations surrounding his private life as he was linked with a number of different women. Woods' victory at the Chevron World Challenge on Sunday brought an end to a two-year title drought. We rewind to the 2009 Australian Masters, the scene of Tiger's last victory.

Picking up a cheque for $3.3 million just for making an appearance, Tiger Woods drew record crowds at Kingston Heath in Melbourne. The event, which was sold out for the first time, drew crowds of nearly 25,000 on all four days.

And the world No. 1 lived up to the hype on the first day, taking full advantage of the superior early conditions to fire a six-under 66 to share the lead with South African Branden Grace and home favourite James Nitties.

With the crowds ten-deep in places, it had the atmosphere of a major championship, and Woods justified his status as top billing, establishing a three-shot lead by the halfway stage after a blemish-free 68 on Friday.

Australian duo Nitties and Greg Chalmers narrowly missed out on the chance to play with the 14-time major champion on the third day. Nitties was within one shot of Woods after 14 holes, but stumbled on the 15th and 17th to leave himself three shots off the pace, while Chalmers was left to rue a bogey at 17 as he missed the chance to share the big stage with Woods.

"It's rare that Tiger comes here and you don't know when he's going to come again," Chalmers said. "It's great to play with Tiger any time, but especially in Australia."

With a three-stroke cushion heading into the weekend, the leaderboard had a familiar feel to it with the world No. 1 at the top. But just when Tiger looked to be firmly in control of his own destiny, a third round 72 let others back in. In benign conditions, Woods was one of only two of the top 12 to shoot over par as he was reeled in.

Such was the mediocrity of his third round, Woods admitted was relieved to survive the day on level par - at one stage he trailed Chalmers by two strokes before battling back to take a three-way share of the lead.

Tiger Woods' Australian Masters title was his first Down Under © Getty Images

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"I was very fortunate," he admitted. "Somehow I found a way to shoot even par because it certainly should have been a lot worse. I hit some really good shots out there, but also I hit some terrible shots, there was no grey area. I either hit a good putt or an atrocious putt, so [I'm] very fortunate to be in the lead."

Once again Chalmers and Nitties missed out on the chance to play with Tiger, but this time they ensured they would be in the final pairing without the world No. 1 - with Woods in the penultimate pairing with Cameron Percy.

"Hopefully Tiger won't turn up," Nitties joked.

But Tiger did show up, and he justified the hefty appearance fee with a final-round 68 to seal victory by two strokes, snatching three birdies on his opening six holes to pull away from his rivals.

He stretched his advantage to three shots with a birdie at the par-five 12th, and although he dropped a shot at the 13th, he responded with a birdie at the 15th to move to 14-under for the tournament, two shots ahead of Chalmers and four clear of Jason Dufner and Francois Delamontagne. Nitties could only manage a final round 73 to finish fifth.

It was a familiar sight as Tiger celebrated the 94th career victory, albeit his first in Australia. When asked about his legacy Down Under, Woods replied: "I got a W," before adding. "That was the goal this week. I'm very thankful to have a chance to play in front of great people and put together some good rounds.''

Pulling on the gold jacket for the first time, it ensured he would finish with seven titles under his belt for a sixth season. But little did Tiger, or anyone else know, that it would be another 107 weeks before he would get his hands on another title.

What happened next?
What happened next has been well documented. Ten days after his victory in Australia, American tabloid The National Enquirer alleged Woods had an affair with New York nightclub owner Rachel Uchitel. Just two days later, Woods was involved in a car accident when his car hit a tree near his house. Woods was treated for minor injuries and pulled out of his own charity tournament, the Chevron World Challenge. In a statement, Woods confirmed the situation was his fault and asked for privacy. "This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way," he said. "Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible."

After over a dozen women claimed they had affairs with Woods, the world No. 1 released another statement, admitting to infidelity and announcing he would be taking an indefinite break from golf. As details of his private life emerged, the reputation of Woods began to crumble and he was dropped by a number of his sponsors. He returned to the golf course at the 2010 Masters alongside a major media swarm. Inconsistencies, injuries and a major overhaul of his swing disrupted his game, and in October 2010, Woods lost the world No. 1 ranking to Lee Westwood as his slide down the rankings began. He slumped outside the top 50 before his victory on Sunday saw him climb back up to 21st.

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