Tiger Woods endured arthroscopic knee surgeries, nagging Achilles strains, and multiple back operations capped by a 2017 fusion. Yet instead of breaking him, the setbacks forged a tougher competitor. That resilience made his 2018 TOUR Championship victory—his first win in five years—all the more powerful for fans and fellow pros.

One of the pros who spoke out about Tiger Woods’ iconic comeback was Rickie Fowler, a guy who was dealing with his own share of injuries at the time. It was a rib injury, the doctors said, and it turned out to be a partial tear in his right oblique muscle. It affected him in different ways, including sidelining him from the first playoff in Memphis. He understood Woods and made that much clear on opening day at East Lake.

“It’s not easy playing with really any kind of injury that is around the golf swing,” Fowler said at that time. He added that it felt nice playing “pain-free,” and admitted, “The biggest win for Tiger is just staying healthy and being out here all year consistently. I’m definitely happy for him. It’s obviously great for our sport.” He understood Woods, but still challenged him, adding, “We hope he continues to play well; I just want to play a little bit better and beat him.”

He didn’t, but that’s ok. Tiger Woods did play brilliantly, after all. Fowler witnessed Woods blazing a 65 in the opener and battling a wayward driver on Friday for a 68. Then Saturday’s 65 sent shockwaves as he grabbed a 3-shot lead. By Sunday, Woods’s lead was 4 after a birdie on hole 1. He cruised to a win, finishing with a 71. Fowler was a witness to it all.

He witnessed the crowd go wild even before Woods played the final hole on Sunday. Everyone knew Woods was locking up the title, and so did Fowler. He tried to explain this flurry of fans a year later, saying, “As soon as we got down to scoring, that’s when we saw the crowd coming in.” And after Woods nailed another East Lake Round? “All hell broke loose,” Woods told the PGA Tour in 2019. Fowler eventually finished T7 at East Lake in 2018.

Nonetheless, Tiger Woods and injuries had a long-standing tug-of-war. Before securing his next big win at the 2019 Masters, Woods wrestled with physical struggles but kept competing on Tour. In early 2019, he played a few tournaments, but then had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with neck strain.

That was the first tournament he’d missed since returning from his fourth back surgery. Yet, just a month later, Woods pulled off a huge win, taking his 15th major title at the 2019 Masters. Essentially, Woods has dealt with several such moments on the golf course and yet returned like no other. In fact, his 2008 U.S. Open is another solid proof of that.

Tiger Woods and his winning comeback at the 2008 U.S. Open

Tiger Woods was riding high at the start of the 2008 season. He’d just turned 32 and was coming off a monster 2007 with seven wins, including the PGA Championship. He kicked off 2008 with four straight tournament wins, but that streak ended at the WGC-CA Championship. After finishing second to Trevor Immelman at the Masters, Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to fix some cartilage damage. It was his third knee operation, going back to 1994.

Despite the surgery, Woods was back on the course just eight days before the U.S. Open, playing nine holes in a cart at Torrey Pines and wearing a knee brace. He and coach Hank Haney headed to Big Canyon Country Club. Woods’ first round at the U.S. Open was a shaky 72. It was his first time walking 18 holes since the Masters. He made two double-bogeys and was four strokes back of the leaders.

But Woods turned it on in the third round – eagles at 13 and 18, a chip-in birdie at 17. He ended up leading the U.S. Open with one round to go. The thing is, nobody knew Woods was playing with two stress fractures in his tibia plus ACL issues. He was getting nightly treatments from trainer Keith Kleven to make it through.

It was a legendary display of willpower and playin’ through agony – his “one-legged major.” Still, when asked if he thought he’d have to stop, Woods said, “Not I can’t [go on], but, ‘Boy, this hurts.'” If that does not prove the Tour pros’ awe for him, nothing will.