ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tiger Woods hit so many great shots that he couldn’t single one out as the best. Winning was as sweet as ever, even after a PGA Tour drought that stretched over 923 days and 27 tournaments.

The best part about posing with the trophy at Bay Hill?

The conversation was back on golf, his favourite subject.

Just two weeks ago, Woods gingerly climbed into a golf cart and was taken off the golf course at Doral with soreness and swelling in his left Achilles tendon, the same injury that caused him to miss three months and two majors last year.

On Sunday, no one questioned his health. Woods marched to a five-shot victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational that restored his confidence and gave him momentum going into the Masters two weeks away.

“This was coming,” Woods said. “I’ve been close a number of times, basically since Australia. Just had to stay the course.”

Only a month ago, there were concerns that Woods could no longer make the important putts.

He had missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the last hole to lose in the second round at the Match Play Championship. He missed several putts just as close when he crashed out in the final round at Pebble Beach. But there he was at Bay Hill, knocking in two big par putts on the back nine to keep his distance from Graeme McDowell.

“I just never got close to him,” McDowell said.

And then there’s the book by his ex-swing coach, Hank Haney. “The Big Miss,” which goes on sale Tuesday, has been such a sore spot with Woods that he lost his cool with a reporter earlier this month. The book reveals a driven player who is self-centred and rarely satisfied, no big surprise except that it was a side of Woods he tried to keep private for all these years.

Woods added a chapter to his own book Sunday.

He won for the 72nd time on the PGA Tour – one short of Jack Nicklaus in second place on the career list – and 84th time worldwide. It was the 16th time he won by at least five shots, and his seventh win at Bay Hill tied the PGA Tour for most wins on a single golf course. Woods owns both marks. He also has won seven times at Firestone.

“I think he really just kind of nailed home his comeback,” McDowell said. “Great to have a front-row seat watching maybe the greatest of all time doing what he does best – winning golf tournaments.”

The only thing missing was the host himself.

Palmer’s blood pressure increased during the final round from new medications, and he was taken to the hospital about 15 minutes before the tournament ended as a precaution. Alaistair Johnston, vice chairman at IMG and his longtime business manager, said Palmer would be kept overnight. “Nobody is overly concerned,” he said.

Woods goes to No. 6 in the world, returning to the top 10 for the first time since May 22.

“Heading home now and I can’t stop smiling. Thanks to Otown fans and everyone watching for all the love. Get well soon, Arnie,” Woods tweeted about three hours after his win.

On a Bay Hill course that was crisp, fast and dangerous, Woods ran off four birdies on the front nine to build a four-shot lead, then kept his mistakes to a minimum for a 2-under 70.

He quickly stretched his lead to three shots on the opening hole when McDowell, who closed with a 74, caught a buried lie in the bunker and made double bogey. After that, it was vintage Woods.

From 267 yards away in the fairway on the par-5 sixth, Woods hit a 3-iron that climbed over the water and landed softly to just over 15 feet away to secure a birdie. Two holes later, facing a tight pin over the water, he ripped an 8-iron from 182 yards that barely cleared the bank and caught a slope to within 4 feet for birdie.

The lead was four at the turn, and McDowell never got closer than three the rest of the way. Ian Poulter had a 74 and finished alone in third, and while he never looked behind him to see what Woods was doing, he could hear it.

This is a win that will resonate.

“He’s always a force to be reckoned with when he’s not playing his best golf,” Poulter said. “And obviously, he’s playing a lot of good golf right now. The shots he’s hit, just looking at the highlights, he’s got a lot of his game back. And when he starts rolling putts in, he’s dangerous. So he’s going to be a force for everybody at Augusta.”

Woods finished at 13-under 275.