Tiger Woods Memorial Championship: Vintage Tiger Victory Comes at Perfect Time

Tiger Woods picked the perfect time to play like Tiger Woods again.

The greatest golfer of his generation shook off the cobwebs to win the 2012 Memorial Championship. It was his fifth victory at the tournament and his 73rd career win on the PGA Tour, tying him with Jack Nicklaus for second all-time, as NBC Sports pointed out.

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Tiger Woods wins the Memorial, tying Jack Nicklaus for 2nd all-time with 73 PGA Tour victories. golfchannel.com/news/golftalkc… #golfchannel

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 3, 2012"

While this win doesn't necessarily mean that Tiger's back to his old form, he did flash glimpses of the brilliance that made him the most intimidating golfer in history.

Trailing by two strokes with four holes left, Woods birdied three of his last four holes to run down Rory Sabbatini and Andres Romero. His shining moment was this absolutely gorgeous chip shot on 16.

After that beautiful shot, he would go on to par 17 and birdie 18, giving him a five-under 67 for the final round.

It was the quintessential Tiger performance, and with the U.S. Open just two weeks away, it couldn't have come at a better time.

Woods is still pursuing his 15th major victory, which would put him three behind Nicklaus for the most all-time. If he can carry the momentum from this victory over to the Olympic Club in San Fransisco, Tiger will have a great shot at closing the gap.

As he proved again on Sunday, a confident Tiger is a scary Tiger. And after that vintage performance, he should be feeling more confident than ever.

Look for Woods to be in contention late at the U.S. Open, and if he's within striking distance heading into the final few holes, the rest of the field should be very, very worried.