Tiger Woods tops the golf world in 2018 FanSided Fandom 250

Tiger Woods surged back to the forefront of the golf world in 2018, and his fans – old and new – were along for the ride every step of the way. For that reason, it’s no surprise that his fandom is tops in golf on the FanSided’s 2018 edition of the Fandom 250.

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, let me break the news: Tiger Woods is back. His resurgent 2018 PGA TOUR season brought him his 80th TOUR win, nearly saw him win his 15th major a decade after No. 14, and now he’s tops among golfers on the 2018 FanSided Fandom 250.

I know that last one isn’t exactly an official career stat that the TOUR keeps track of, but it’s an indicator that the soon-to-be 43-year-old superstar is still just as big of a draw as he’s ever been, more than 20 years after his debut on the sport’s biggest stage.

Before this season, Tiger’s last PGA TOUR wins came in 2013, when he won five events and nearly won the FedEx Cup season title. Over the last four-plus years, fans have latched onto the sport’s youth movement. The emergence of twenty-something superstars like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Brooks Koepka, along with somewhat more established stars in Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and more gave us plenty to hold onto in what looked like a post-Tiger era.

There were multiple surgeries, stop-and-go attempts to come back to action. There was the shocking image of Tiger Woods being arrested on Memorial Day 2017, a low point in his recovery from those surgeries that led to an all-too-real dependence on pain medication. And last fall, after the Presidents Cup, Woods acknowledged that there was “definitely” a scenario that could lead to him never returning to professional golf.

But, if there’s one thing we all know about Tiger, it’s that his competitive juices will never stop flowing, probably long after his physical capabilities inevitably decline. When that is, of course, we don’t know (just ask Gary Player), but while Father Time is undefeated, Woods told him “not today”.

The Tiger Woods of the last year and change is a different person than we got to know when he was 21 and 22 years old, but that’s why he’s still this high on the list. He posted his practice updates on social media, and the world watched as breathlessly as you can watch 40-yard pitch shots. He smiled and joked with reporters and competitors, and seemed to be – perhaps for the first time in a long time – truly happy.

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He brought crowds to their feet all season. He opened with a top-25 finish at Torrey Pines, the site of his last major victory in 2008. Five weeks later, he finished as the runner-up at the Valspar Championship, just a shot back of winner Paul Casey. He struggled at the Masters and the U.S. Open, but he kept improving into the summer, and with every start, we all realized the same thing.

This year was different. Woods wasn’t simply grimacing through tournaments due to some sense of obligation. He was healthy, and he was going to take this thing as far as he could. And the masses came with him.

For a moment, Tiger held the lead on Sunday at the Open Championship, with the echoes heard across the Atlantic, all the way to his California stomping grounds. Then, at the PGA Championship, Woods fired a 64 on Sunday that gave him the only real chance at preventing Brooks Koepka’s third career major win.

Then, it finally happened. Sunday at the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the TOUR Championship. Watch the video above of some of his highlights from that day at East Lake, and just listen to the gallery.

That’s five years of waiting, released in one moment. Five years for Tiger and yes, five long years for his fans, as well. People were climbing trees, straining against throngs of humanity just to catch a glimpse of the conquering hero, returning to his place atop his sport, even if for one brief, fleeting moment.

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But that’s the thing about fandom. At its best, it isn’t fleeting. It’s enduring; a connection and a journey that we take with the one we’re following. Tiger Woods used to bring people in through sheer awe and domination, the idea that we were seeing greatness unmatched, for generations if not for all of history. Today, it’s different, sure, but it’s no less awe-inspiring.

And that, friends, is what it’s all about. Tiger Woods may not have topped this year’s Fandom 250, but for my money, there’s nobody whose fan base embodies legacy, passion, buzz and magnitude like him.

Tiger Woods is back on top. Hello, world.

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