Tiger Woods: Confidence Will Allow Legendary Golfer to Dominate Again

There was plenty of talk about driving distance, sand saves and putting as Tiger Woods cruised to victory on Sunday, but the real reason he was able to fend off any charge made by Graeme McDowell was confidence. He finally believed he could win again.

When Woods was deep into his slump, he would still showcase the occasional awesome shot. Far too often, however, it was followed up by three or four awful ones. He didn't have enough faith in himself to build any momentum.

Woods began to slowly get his swagger back over the past few months, and it all came to a head at the Arnold Palmer Invitational this weekend. Not only did he pick up his first official win in more than two years, but he did so in convincing fashion.

He defeated McDowell by five strokes after leading by just one to start the final day. More importantly for Woods, there was never a point on Sunday where it seemed like he was going to let it slip away like there always seemed to be in recent tournaments.

His game face was on and he was going to do whatever it took to claim another trophy at Bay Hill. As he walked up the 18th fairway with an insurmountable lead, Woods couldn't do anything but smile, knowing the hard work finally paid off.

Now that he's got an official win under his belt, there's no reason to believe the dominant force of his generation won't return to the top.

With no offense to world No. 1 Luke Donald, it appears Woods and Rory McIlroy are setting up for quite a few showdowns in the coming months and years.

The contrasting stories will make for an intriguing storyline. You have one of the greatest golfers ever trying to chase down the majors record after years of turmoil going up against the sport's newest star, who will want to prove it's now his turn to rule the sport.

Throughout Woods' entire slump, the one thing he never lost was his competitive fire. Even when it seemed like every tree shot was finding rough or a bunker, he would say his goal was to win the tournament.

He was never satisfied with simply making positive strides or making the cut. That attitude made his comeback, which is now complete, possible.

There will still be plenty of naysayers heading into the Masters who say Woods' revival won't be finished until he wins a major tournament. However, those people only give him more motivation, which is why he'll find a way to excel again.

Even though it took a lot longer than Woods and his gigantic group of fans hoped, the superstar is finally back on track. Now, his second run of dominance is about to begin.