ORLANDO, Florida, March 25, 2012 (AFP) - Tiger Woods snapped the longest winless drought of his career with a dominating five-shot victory over Graeme McDowell at the PGA Tour's Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.
It marked the first PGA Tour victory for Woods in 30 months, ending a winless spell that coincided with the personal turmoil that followed a 2009 sex scandal.
"It does feel good," Woods said. "It feels really good. A lot of hard work. I am thankful for a lot of people helping me out. You all know who you are. It has been tough."
Woods drained a short par putt on the par-four 18 to complete his round of two-under 70 and post a 13-under 275 total at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge course.
The 14-time major winner, wearing his Sunday red and black pants, celebrated his 72nd PGA Tour victory with a fist pump then the customary shaking of hands with runner-up McDowell, who finished at eight-under 280.
"Today was unbelievable. The conditions were rough and those pins," he said.
England's Ian Poulter finished in third seven shots behind Woods, while South Africa's Ernie Els was part of a group of seven golfers who tied for fourth at the $6 million event.
The win was the largest margin on the PGA Tour since Rory McIlroy won the 2011 US Open by eight shots.
Now with the Masters just a couple of weeks off, Woods heads to Augusta where he will try to continue his march towards Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors.
"I am excited no doubt," Woods said. "It is always fun to play it. I am looking forward to the momentum I have built here and the things I have worked on with my game. It is all coming together at the right time."
Woods entered the final round with a one-shot lead on McDowell then seized command on Sunday with a flurry of birdies on the front nine.
He compiled a four-shot lead midway through the round by making four birdies on the front.
Woods, who has a formidable record as a frontrunner, is familiar with the Bay Hill course having lived in the area previously. He has a stunning 38-2 record on the PGA Tour when taking an outright lead into the fourth round.
"It was incredible to have that type of support," he said of the friends who came out to watch him this week. "I used to live here for so long."
He was paired in the final group Sunday with McDowell, who rallied from four shots back to beat Woods in the 2010 Chevron World Challenge.
Leading scores on Sunday after the final round of the $6 million PGA Tour Arnold Palmer Invitational (USA unless noted, par-72):
275 - Tiger Woods 69-65-71-70
280 - Graeme McDowell (NIR) 72-63-71-74
282 - Ian Poulter (ENG) 71-69-68-74
283 - Bud Cauley 70-73-68-72, Brian Davis (ENG) 70-73-70-70, Ernie Els (RSA) 71-70-67-75, Ryan Moore 71-71-71-70, Kevin Na 73-68-69-73, Johnson Wagner 71-69-69-74, Bubba Watson 69-70-72-72
284 - Jim Furyk 72-72-70-70, Tim Herron 74-71-68-71, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 73-69-71-71, Zach Johnson 71-68-72-73
285 - Jason Dufner 66-69-77-73, Brian Harman 77-69-71-68, Justin Rose (ENG) 69-69-74-73, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 72-74-69-70, Chris Stroud 70-69-72-74
286 - Charles Howell 73-68-68-77, Seung-yul Noh (KOR) 73-73-67-73, Greg Owen (ENG) 73-74-67-72, John Rollins 71-72-71-72
287 - Kevin Chappell 73-69-73-72, Matt Every 73-72-72-70, Phil Mickelson 73-71-71-72, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 71-68-75-73, Jimmy Walker 69-72-76-70