Tiger Woods Celebration After Winning The Arnold Palmer Invitational

ORLANDO, Fla. -- His ball safely over the water, Tiger Woods walked toward the 18th green Sunday as he had done over the last 30 months on the PGA Tour, with one big difference.

There was no mistaking that smile.

"Pure joy," he said.

Woods finally brought the buzz back to the very thing that made him famous – winning.

Two weeks after another injury scare, Woods looked dominant as ever in that bright red shirt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. It was his first PGA Tour victory since a sex scandal at the end of 2009 led to one of the greatest downfalls in sports.

And with the Masters only two weeks away, Woods looks more capable than ever of resuming his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus in the majors.

Woods closed with a 2-under 70 and won by five shots over Graeme McDowell.

"I think he really just kind of nailed home his comeback," McDowell said. "Great to have a front-row seat watching maybe the greatest of all time doing what he does best – winning golf tournaments."

Woods had gone 923 days and 27 tour events since he last posed with a trophy, and it showed.ORLANDO, Fla. -- His ball safely over the water, Tiger Woods walked toward the 18th green Sunday as he had done over the last 30 months on the PGA Tour, with one big difference.

There was no mistaking that smile.

"Pure joy," he said.

Woods finally brought the buzz back to the very thing that made him famous – winning.

Two weeks after another injury scare, Woods looked dominant as ever in that bright red shirt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. It was his first PGA Tour victory since a sex scandal at the end of 2009 led to one of the greatest downfalls in sports.

And with the Masters only two weeks away, Woods looks more capable than ever of resuming his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus in the majors.

Woods closed with a 2-under 70 and won by five shots over Graeme McDowell.

"I think he really just kind of nailed home his comeback," McDowell said. "Great to have a front-row seat watching maybe the greatest of all time doing what he does best – winning golf tournaments."

Woods had gone 923 days and 27 tour events since he last posed with a trophy, and it showed.Woods led by four at the turn and maintained his composure on the back nine in a time to end his title drought and boost his confidence ahead of the Masters.

Fast greens and high winds made for some challenging conditions but Woods limited himself to two bogeys and made some key saves, including a 13-foot putt for par on the 15th that effectively ended McDowell's hopes.

Fans followed Woods down to the 18th green, cheering wildly and after he made par on the final hole, the old chant of "Tiger, Tiger" boomed out from the gallery.

"It was incredible to have that type of support here," said Woods.

"I used to live here for a long time, it was neat to see some of my friends come out and follow and it was just great atmosphere around all week."

Woods has already 14 majors but none since the 2008 U.S. Open and will be among the favourites to challenge at Augusta, along with the world's top two Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy.

"I'm excited there is no doubt. I am looking forward for the momentum that I've built here and the things that I have worked on in my game all coming together at the right time," he said.