Redemption: Tiger Woods dominates once again

Sympathy or even empathy may not be the first or even second thoughts a person might have about Tiger Woods — estimated wealth $750m (about €638m) — but there was something uplifting, something elemental that warmed the human spirit about the 42-year-old’s return to golf’s prizewinners’ rostrum at the weekend when he won his 80th PGA Tour title on the outskirts of Atlanta.

Years of personal, physical and professional turmoil for arguably the finest player golf has seen suggested that Woods’ career might be remembered for his fall from grace, like so many before him, rather than for his force-of-nature beauty as an athlete.