The 42-year-old had gone more than five years in between victories before his historic win at the PGA Championship.
Despite his early five-stroke lead, Woods still left fans with a nail-biting finish, carrying a two-stroke lead walking to the 18th hole.
He went on to par the 18th, to finish 11-under and claim the final event of the tour ahead of American runner-up Billy Horschel.
He is now just two tournament wins behind Sam Snead for the all-time record, pocketing the $US1.62 million ($2.23m) in prize money after finishing two shots ahead of fellow American Billy Horschel, with Dustin Johnson two shots further back in third.
“It was just a grind out there, and I loved every bit of it,” Woods said on NBC immediately after the round.
“At the beginning of the year (winning) was a tall order, but as the year progressed, I proved that I could play, and I found a swing, and I knew I could do it again.
The 42-year-old appeared to be overcome with emotion at one point during his final round at East Lake Golf Club as the victory appeared inevitable, no doubt recalling the dark times in recent years when it appeared he was finished as a force on the PGA Tour.
“All of a sudden it started hitting me that I was going to win the tournament,” Woods said during the trophy presentation as he reflected on reaching the 18th green.
“I started tearing up a little bit. I can’t believe I pulled this off after what I’ve gone through.
“It’s been a tough few years.”
Woods’ two-stroke win at the Tour Championship didn’t just mark his return to the winner’s circle – a place he hasn’t been since 2013. It showed miracles do happen.
The amount of times I’ve fallen because my leg didn’t work or I just had to lay on the ground in pain for extended periods of time. Those are some really dark, dark times. I’m a walking miracle,” Woods said earlier this year. That was when he was simply competing again.
Now, one of the most prolonged comeback sagas is finally complete. It’s arguably the greatest of all time.
World No.1 Justin Rose took out the $13.8m FedEx Cup, with his fourth-place finish enough to leave him at the top of the season-long standings.
