story with a third straight gold in four years in Tokyo.

NASSAU, Bahamas -- Tiger Woods walked off the 18th green at Albany Golf Club on Sunday, completing a 72-hole tournament for the first time in 15 months. It was an achievement that was always going to mean more than his swing, his score and his standing in the Hero World Challenge.And to think that a good bit of the chatter before the tournament centered around whether he would even start, let alone finish.Woods did far more than that. In a weeks time, he changed the narrative from negative to positive; from concerns about whether he was risking embarrassment to how long it might be before he will win again.The fact that some might be getting ahead of themselves when it comes to adding more tournament trophies is simply a testament to how good Woods looked this week, which was a pleasant surprise after all of the doom and gloom of the past year.Its really awesome to see, Jordan Spieth said. Im pumped to see what hes doing this week. Its certainly there. If he wasnt rusty, he could (have been) winning this tournament.Woods ended up well back of winner Hideki Matsuyama, shooting a final-round 76 that included three double-bogeys. That was the highest score of any player this week. But when you consider there were many who wondered if Woods would break 80, his time in the Bahamas was a rousing success.Getting back to this point is beyond anything that Ive ever experienced in my lifetime, Woods said. The pain issues that I had, it was rough. To battle back, to battle through it. Frankly there were some pretty dire times where I just couldnt move.Among the more impressive aspects of his comeback was the intensity Woods brought to his first tournament since August 2015. There is an understandable sense that Woods has to take things slowly, carefully. That his swing has undergone subtle changes to protect his surgically repaired back. That there would be growing pains, most notably with power and distance.But going back a week ago, when I was one of two reporters who got to witness Woods during a two-hour practice session at Albany, it quickly became apparent that he is lacking no power or distance; that his ability to shape shots is there.I really like how much longer his backswing is -- especially with the driver, said Sean Foley, Woods former coach. I like that his lower body and pelvis are moving more. The movement is not restricted; it is much more free. He looks great.Another former coach, Haney Haney, said: The swing is smooth; there are no apparent issues.Haney correctly pointed out the relative ease of the Albany course, and a few disclaimers are in order. Albany has five par-5s and did not play particularly long; the field consisted of just 18 players, which was reduced to 17 after Justin Rose withdrew with his own back injury; not every player was fully engaged (Dustin Johnson had not picked up a club since playing in China last month.) And this being an unofficial event meant it would be fun and relaxing with a nice payday as part of it.But Woods had more birdies than any player other than Matsuyama. Before the tournament, Woods noted how Bubba Watson won at 25 under par last year and figured even getting to 20 under would be a tall order.It was, but who would have thought Woods could make 24 birdies in 72 holes, regardless of the venue?His swing looks great, said Brandt Snedeker. It looks like he slowed the rhythm down a little bit. Ive been real impressed. He has an innate ability to do things that only a couple of guys in the world can do. I thought the hardest thing to do coming off a long layoff is to come back and shoot a low number. You can shoot 70 or 69, but to shoot 7 under par with no bogeys ... that doesnt happen very often coming off a layoff.There were some issues, to be sure. Woods made three bogeys and two double-bogeys on par-5s, going 7 over par on holes where he might be expected to be at least 3 under. Thats a 10-shot swing right there.Woods is unlikely to see as much sand as he did this week since the Albany course is basically lined with waste areas instead of rough. But he had his struggles with long shots out of sand -- not that those are easy for anyone -- and if he misses fairways in most tournaments, hell have difficult lies in the rough instead.And yet, were quibbling, right? Woods had not played a tournament for 15 months, went at least six months of that time without swinging club and had enough reservations about his game that he pulled out of the Safeway Open in October just a few days after he entered.You know, only Tiger could take a year and a half off and put up the numbers that hes putting up this week, Matsuyama said.Everything looks like he can win on a great week, but he isnt winning with his B game, Haney said. For that matter, no one today can do that like Tiger used to do. He will win again, no doubt, unless the short game rears its head again.Much has been made of Woods chipping problems from early in 2015, but he maintains that is the least of his worries at this point. There were no signs of chipping yips at Albany, just possibly a lack of precision that is understandable.Rickie Fowler said he wasnt surprised by what Woods did here, having seen the improvement when they played together at home in South Florida. But he did note that Woods showed amazing patience and resolve in waiting so long to return while enduring the ups and downs of slow, incremental improvement.I cant imagine from where he was early 2000s, arguably the best player to ever play the game, to deal with not being able to put the same move on the ball and hit the same shots that hes used to seeing and to be patient and wait until he was healthy enough to make that progress, Fowler said.This was clearly an emotional, draining week for Woods. In addition to the duties he has as host of the tournament, playing for the first time with all the scrutiny he knew was coming led to an anxiety nobody else in the field faced. Woods admitted that getting past Thursday was a relief, and it allowed him to settle into playing golf.Sunday was more a reminder that this was never going to be easy, that golf is a difficult game even when at your best, and that Woods still has plenty of obstacles to conquer in his comeback.But instead of the dark clouds that hung over him for so much of the past year, there is a sunnier outlook heading into 2017. Woods is not likely to play again for at least six weeks, with his next tournament undecided. It could be Abu Dhabi on the European Tour or the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines the following week.Wherever it is, whenever it is, Woods now has a solid foundation from which to build with plenty of positives to draw on but much work still to do.I wasnt going to compare him to the rest of the field, said Woods caddie Joe LaCava. Theyve all been playing all year, and theyve been playing great. Honestly my goal was to get him through five rounds (including the pro-am) on his feet. That was big.You never know whats going to happen, but he looks good walking, looks good over the ball and looks good after hes done playing. And those are all positives. Cole Hamels Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. David Phelps Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. https://www.cheapcubs.com/380t-joe-maddon-jersey-cubs.html .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Daniel Descalso Jersey . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Mickey Morandini Cubs Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. RIO DE JANEIRO -- David Rudisha glanced to his left twice as he came around the final bend, waiting for the challenge to come. It didnt. He didnt let it.The world-record holder surged across the line to retain his Olympic title in the 800 meters Monday. He gave no one else a chance and became the first man in more than half a century to win back-to-back golds over two laps at the Games.This is one of my greatest moments, to come here and defend my title, Rudisha said. There is nothing as great for an athlete as to maintain his performance.Rudisha won in 1 minute, 42.15 seconds, nothing on the incredible 1:40.91 he produced for his wire-to-wire win in London four years ago. But this was always going to be about the medal and not the clock, especially after a heavy downpour earlier in the evening left Rudisha and the others with a damp track at the Olympic Stadium. If theres one thing the Kenyan hates, its running in the wet.Rudisha still finished well ahead of Algerias Taoufik Makhloufi, who ran a national-record time of 1:42.61 to add an 800 silver to his gold in the 1,500 at the previous Olympics. Clayton Murphy powered through in the final 50 meters for bronze and a personal best of 1:42.93, overtaking Frances Pierre-Ambroise Bosse on his way to a long-awaited podium finish for the U.S. It was the first medal in the 800 for an American since Johnny Gray in 1992.Super exciting to race him, Murphy said of Rudisha, and hopefully not the last time I get to race him.Rudisha smiled at the end, a broad, beaming smile, relieved maybe after what started as a trying season. He lost a couple of times in the Diamond League and was beaten into third -- third! -- at the Kenyan trials. He freely offered up hugs to the other medalists as he draped the red, black and green Kenyan flag across his shoulders once again.His legacy as one of the greatest 800 runners was pretty firm already, but he cemented it in Rio de Janeiro.dddddddddddd Rudisha, 27, has now won four of the past five major titles, and the only one missing -- the 2013 worlds -- he was injured for.With no strong challenger coming at him -- not in this race, and not in any general sense -- Rudisha has the potential to make history with a third straight gold in four years in Tokyo.He wants to be the best. He is the best at it. He knows hes the best, said American Boris Berian, who was eighth. Its that confidence right there. He takes it out, and he has that confidence to hold on.Rudishas teammate, Alfred Kipketer, set a fast pace from the start -- like a bullet, Rudisha said -- and the defending champion had to hold himself back from getting into an early scrap. Instead, Rudisha waited for the back straight to stretch out his long legs and move past Kipketer. He built a cushion, not a big one, but he never seemed likely to get caught. Those two quick looks to the left as he approached the home straight let him know that he had it.Peter Snell of New Zealand was the last man to retain his Olympic title in the 800, and he did so at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Some formidable recent 800 runners, including current IAAF president Sebastian Coe and Wilson Kipketer, didnt win once in the 800 at the Olympics. Coe, an Olympic champion in the 1,500, consistently says Rudisha is one of the best athletes the sport has had.For Rudisha, this victory was confirmation, if he needed it, that hes deserving of such praise from former champions. Rudisha himself could be confirmation that Kenyas distance-running culture of grass-roots talent and hard work is not being taken over by doping.The Olympics comes only every four years, Rudisha said. It means you have to be very disciplined, dedicated, focused and do the right thing to get here. ' ' '