AT&T National: Tiger Woods shoots 69 to capture his tournament at Congressional Country Club

This is what Washington golf is supposed to be about, that moment Sunday evening when the best player in the field and perhaps the world, on the most renowned course the region knows, taps in for par on the 18th green, then raises both arms in triumph. The gallery at Congressional Country Club wrapped from across the greenside pond, up the hill toward the many decks of the mammoth clubhouse, then down another hill and around again, not a sodden seat left unclaimed. They cheered for Tiger Woods, and Tiger Woods tipped his hat right back, then smiled broadly.

Woods won the AT&T National on Sunday night, surviving a fun duel with a game, journeyman pro named Bo Van Pelt for the 74th victory of his PGA Tour career, moving into second place on the all-time list, one more than Jack Nicklaus, the legend who is considered Woods’s only peer.

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Interactive: Hear Tiger Woods explain how he attacks Congressional Country Club.

The victory, though, was more than just one in six dozen over an increasingly legendary career. It brought back together Woods and Washington, put further behind the injuries that have dogged Woods off and on for four years, and gave thousands of Washington fans — kept off the course Saturday because of damage from Friday night’s storms — a place where hanging out in the heat didn’t seem so bad. On Saturday, damage from Friday’s thunderstorms left organizers to stage the event without fans allowed on the course. On Sunday, 48,611 showed up to watch Woods win.

“I remember there was a time when people were saying I could never win again,” Woods said. “That was, what? Six months ago? Here we are.”

That this happened at Congressional, in Bethesda, is somehow fitting. Woods is the official host of the AT&T National. His foundation both stages it and benefits from it. When he almost single-handedly saved professional golf in the area in 2007 by merging a heavyweight sponsor with a heavyweight golf course, he also pledged to spread his foundation’s work to the District. Now, 25 District kids have received college scholarships through the foundation, and two campuses in existing Washington schools provide programs in science, math, media — a host of subjects.

Woods donates his earnings from this event — $1.17 million for the win — to his foundation. “So they’re very happy,” he said.

“This week has been phenomenal,” said Greg McLaughlin, the CEO of the Tiger Woods Foundation. “D.C. is such a great sports town, and the fans were awesome. They hung in there through the high temperatures and the storm. I can’t wait to come back in 2013.”

But this was also something of a reunion. Woods’s tournament, not to mention Woods himself, hadn’t played in the Washington area since 2009, when he won this very event, then joked on the 18th green as he presented the trophy to himself. Congressional hosted the U.S. Open last year, and in order to completely redo the club’s greens and then stage that event — one of golf’s four major championships — Woods’s foundation moved the tournament to suburban Philadelphia for two years. In the meantime, Woods went through a lurid sex scandal, got divorced, and moved.