Tiger Woods comes back to life at the Memorial (BLOG)

The fist pump was back, anyway. The reason to wear red on Sunday was back. The ability to make a breathtaking shot that would shake down t...

The fist pump was back, anyway. The reason to wear red on Sunday was back. The ability to make a breathtaking shot that would shake down the thunder was back.

Tiger Woods. Only Tiger Woods could have a day like this; one that would echo down every fairway in his sport, leaving us to wonder what comes next.

The roars were back. The drama was back. The magic was back.

Woods won a tournament with all the trimmings Sunday. A flop shot for the ages. A late rush of birdies to come from behind. Jack Nicklaus gushing afterward. Some history on the side. All that after a week of fighting the flu.

The Memorial is not a major, but let's not nitpick. Nicklaus is the tournament host, and that says a lot. Besides, Woods II — or is it Woods III? — has to start somewhere. In terms of appeal to the masses, golf could hardly have asked for better than what it just saw.

Is the sequel really here? That's golf's absorbing question for the future. The U.S. Open starts in 11 days, and there's at least one player who can't wait.

The aura was back. The promise was back. Yesterday, for Woods, was back.

"More magic than memory, I think. One shot was, at least," he told news reporters about where Sunday's theater came from.

One brilliant, remarkable, absolutely Woodsian shot. One chip, from deep and dangerous rough on No. 16, that rolled in for a birdie and could be the turning point of a mission reborn. A trumpet call for a career charge.

We'll have to see. Let's not get carried away. Woods did not win four majors Sunday. This was a single tournament in early June, with the hard stuff still to come.

But for one moment it was like the old days, when just about anything he wanted with victory on the line, he could have.

That is what brought so many witnesses to his game in the glory days, both those who rooted for him and those who didn't. That is the greatness so many have been waiting to see again, after the tumult and the mess and the false starts. It's been a long wait.

The networks, the marketing folks, anyone with a stake in the game, they're doing back flips today, hoping this was not a mirage.

Woods' moment of truth Sunday came with no margin for error. To be short with that chip on No. 16 meant trouble, to be long meant disaster in the water. Perfection or bust. Tiger Woods facing such a risk is can't-miss golf.

"I don't think, under the circumstances, I've ever seen a better shot," Nicklaus said later. For Woods, that must have been like a young god apprentice hearing praise from Zeus.

It led to Woods' 73rd career PGA Tour victory, which pulls him even with Nicklaus for second on the all-time list, nine behind Sam Snead. To do that in Nicklaus' tournament, on Nicklaus' course, with Nicklaus watching, it certainly suggested karma might be getting back into the Tiger Woods swing again.

"Whatever club I wanted to hit, I could hit," he said. "That was fun, to have it when I needed it."

Can we hear a mass "oh-oh" from the congregation of competitors? If Woods is truly back to that A game, winning majors for anyone else is about to get a lot harder.

Time must still tell us. Woods has been hardened enough by the doubt and criticism to understand how it works in the public and news media. So, to repeat the question that matters most, is he back, at 36?

"I'm sure by Tuesday I'll be retired and done, and then by the time I tee it up for the U.S. Open, it might be something different," he said. "I'll let you guys figure that out."

No one can yet. This was not a full-blown revival; just a very, very strong hint of one. But this we do know: Golf was electrified Sunday.