Golf/ The Masters: So, what next for the man who would be king? Tiger Woods may not be the greatest golfer of all time but he has the best chance of anyone of becoming the greatest.

On Sunday evening, in the gathering gloom at Augusta National Golf Club, he slipped the size-44" green jacket on to his shoulders for a fourth time as Masters champion and, with tears in his eyes for his unwell father, provided a rare glimpse into his private self.

It was raw emotion, and it was so, so human. It was an insight into the real Mr Eldrick - the man known as Tiger - Woods, and it was as heart-warming as his golf. In dedicating this latest major win of his career to his sick father Earl, Woods remarked: "His health has been pretty bad all year, he's struggling . . . (but) he's as stubborn as can be, so he's going to fight through it. He's hanging in there and that's why it meant so much for me to be able to win this tournament, maybe give him a little hope, a little more fire to keep fighting."

On yet another magical Sunday to remember in his decade-long professional career, Woods - who defeated Chris DiMarco with a birdie at the first tie hole after the pair had finished their two-horse race on 12-under-par 276, seven shots clear of Retief Goosen and Luke Donald - took another giant step in his quest to one day overtake Jack Nicklaus as the winner of most professional majors in a career. Nicklaus has 18, Tiger has now won nine.

Earlier in Woods's career, Nicklaus said he would win more green jackets than Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer combined (at least 11). Reminded of that comment on Sunday evening, with the afterglow of victory still fresh, Woods quipped: "I just wonder what he was smoking. I had the length then but I didn't have the understanding of my golf swing. It was just mind-boggling for him to make a comment like that."

In ending a near-three-year drought since his last major win (the US Open at Bethpage in 2002), Woods - who has rebuilt his swing under coach Hank Haney - has gotten back on track. Only 29 years old, Woods is ahead of Nicklaus at the same age in terms of the number of majors he has won and the number of Masters titles. "I guess I'm halfway . . . a long way to go," said Woods.

Yet, there was pride too that he had accomplished a feat never before achieved. "To have won four before the age of 30, no one's done that before . . . so, to be able to do something that no one has ever done is pretty neat."

Still, this victory once again raises the anticipation level. Can Woods - who won the so-called "Tiger Slam" when holding all four major titles at one time when he won the Masters in 2001 - achieve the Grand Slam in the same year?

Next up is the US Open at Pinehurst No 2 in North Carolina on June 16th-19th, where he tied for third behind Payne Stewart in 1999. Then, there is the British Open at St Andrews (where Woods won in 2000) in July, and finally there is the US PGA at Baltusrol in New Jersey, a course that has held two US Opens but never a PGA.

Woods has returned to world number one with this win, leapfrogging Vijay Singh, and done so with a reconstructed swing built by Haney. Although he allowed a couple of loose shots to creep in coming down the final stretch - particularly on the 17th - which resulted in finishing with two bogeys, before rediscovering his best play in the white-heat of sudden-death play-off when a perfect three-wood off the tee on the 18th (the first play-off hole) was followed with an eight-iron approach over the flag to 15 feet. He rolled in the birdie putt, and offered up his trademark punched fist into the air.

The birdie putt may have crowned him champion, but it was what happened on the 16th hole in regular play that will be remembered as the defining moment. "Under the circumstances, it's one of the best (shots) I've ever hit," said Woods of his chip-in from off the back of the 16th green for a birdie, at a time when DiMarco had an uphill birdie putt.

"I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed back down and hopefully have a makeable putt."

Instead, the ball edged its way to the hole, before stopping on the lip for a couple of seconds and, then, finally falling in for birdie. "Somehow an earthquake happened and it fell in the hole," said Woods. "I think it was one of the more creative shots I've hit. I was just trying to spin the ball, and it was luck too. It just happened to go in."

When asked if he felt his swing was now where he wanted it to be, he replied: "I don't think you're ever there. You never arrive. If you do, you might as well quit because you're already there and you can't get any better . . . as players, you should never have that moment. You're always trying to get better. I'll never be there.

"More than anything, this is validation of all the hard work I've put in. Hank and I have put some serious hours into this . . . and to play as beautifully as I did this entire week is pretty cool."

Haney wasn't inclined to take any credit for Woods's return to winning majors.

"I don't even consider myself his coach. I consider myself a teacher. I teach golf. Who am I to tell Tiger Woods how to play golf?" he said, adding: "I think he's getting there.

"I don't think the golf swing is something you just get and have. You keep working at it and you keep trying and you keep getting closer and closer and closer."

One little statistic, though, should open a few eyes.

Of the 50 players who made the cut in the Masters, Woods was ranked 49th in driving accuracy. What'll he be like when he gets it completely right?