It was probably the obvious statement to make as Tiger Woods sat down for his post-Masters gathering with the press.

“This is clearly one of those monumental days in sport when people around the world will say ‘where were you when Tiger won his fifth green jacket in 2019?’,” said the moderator of the conference. “Well, I know where I was,” responded Woods with the kind of beam that could’ve spanned the Savannah river. “I had a little one-foot tap-in.”

That tap-in may have been small in size but it was colossal in its significance. It secured major victory No 15 for Woods and the tremors generated by his roaring conquest probably rattled crockery in the Solomon Islands.

The back nine at Augusta – the Masters doesn’t begin until we get to it, so the cliché states – has always been a place where greatness shows itself.

If this was a ‘where were you moment’ for those absorbing the fascinating final day ebb and flow on Sunday, then Woods has his own special memories of this fabled stretch of golfing terrain where so many golfing stories have been forged.

“I can tell you that 1986 meant a lot to me because that was the first memory that I have of the Masters,” recalled Woods.

That date, of course, is highly pertinent. It was the year Jack Nicklaus claimed his 18th and final major at the age of 46, a record haul the galvanised Woods is now just three titles shy of.

“Seeing Jack celebrate a 4 iron into the green on 15 … when he did that, I had never seen anybody celebrate an iron shot into a green before,” reflected Woods.

“That’s a moment that stuck with me. He was 46-years old. I’m 43. We had little spells in between. He had, what, six years or so I think where he didn’t win a major championship, and for me, it was 11 years. In either case, it’s (the wins) special.”

This was a brilliantly executed win. It needed a little help from those around him, of course, but when the pressure mounted on that treacherous run-in, Woods, with all that experience and nous of Augusta’s abundant, perils and pitfalls, stood firm and delivered the shots that mattered.

The 58 greens he hit in regulation during the four days were the most by a Masters champion since - you’ve guessed it - Tiger Woods in 2001.

This was a victory - a first major in 11 years and a first Masters for 14- that was a long time in the making and one many, Woods included, thought would never be seen again.

“I had serious doubts,” of those agonising years of crippling back problems. “I could barely walk. I couldn’t sit, couldn’t lay down. I really couldn’t do much of anything.

“Luckily I had the procedure on my back, which gave me a chance at having a normal life. But then all of a sudden, I realised I could actually swing a golf club again. I felt if I could somehow piece this together. The body’s not the same as it was a long time ago, but I still have good hands.

“To have the opportunity to come back like this, you know, it is probably one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had for sure because of it.”

From rock bottom, Woods has hauled himself back to the top again in a story of recovery and redemption that will remain one of the greatest in sport.

“Well, you never give up,” he said of this ingrained desire. “That’s a given. You always fight. Just giving up is never in the equation.

“Granted, pushing and being competitive has got me into this position, but it’s also what got me out of it. I’ve always had a pretty good work ethic throughout my career and throughout my life, and I just had to change the work ethic a bit and work on some different things.

“We wake up every morning, and there are always challenges in front of us. But we keep fighting.”