Tiger Woods Reclaims No. 1 Ranking with Win at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Tiger Woods has won the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational with a final score of 13-under par, and in the process he became the FedEx Cup points leader and the world’s No. 1 golfer once again, according to the PGA Tour’s official Twitter account:

It had been 29 months since Woods was last the world’s No. 1 golfer (Oct. 30, 2010), according to Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. 

Tiger dominated Bay Hill this weekend, beating budding tour stars Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose down the stretch and marking his 77th career PGA Tour victory; that’s just five behind the all-time leader, Sam Snead.

Woods finished 13-under for the tournament, two shots better than the next closest competitor, Rose. It wasn’t just that the golf veteran won, though; it was the convincing way he took the lead early in the event and never let go.

That fire that drove Woods to be the best early in his career appears to be back, and his three wins so far in 2013—the Farmers Insurance Open, the Cadillac Championship and now the Arnold Palmer Invitational—are enough to prove the old Tiger is back.

That should have the rest of the PGA Tour players very nervous.

Woods' struggles over the last four years are well documented (h/t FOX Sports) and the road back to glory has been arduous, but the face of the sport is once again perched upon the top of the standings where he belongs.

One of the reasons for the newfound focus has likely been new girlfriend and fellow athlete Lindsey Vonn, who took to Twitter Monday to share in the joy:

Next on the docket and the boys of the PGA Tour is the Masters (April 11-14), but as well as Woods has done at Augusta in the past—has won four green jackets during his storied career—the star hasn’t won there since 2005.

With the momentum of being the world’s new No. 1 golfer on his side, it’s time for Woods to buck that losing trend.

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