Twelve years after his first victory at The PLAYERS Championship at the iconic TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville, Fla., Tiger Woods put on a clinic of sorts, and perserved a one-stroke victory on Sunday at the 2013 playing of the crown jewel of the PGA Tour.

The last time that Tiger won this often prior to June 1 was in 2000. He went on to to win the next four majors in a row –  claiming the ‘Tiger Slam’ in the process – and dominated the golf world.

Is his most recent victory a foreshadowing of things to come for Woods?

His performance through 2013 has been, as the saying born at Sawgrass goes, “better than most,” and Tiger said after his round to a throng of reporters, “I’m getting better.”

We’ve seen week in and week out that the times have changed on the PGA Tour with respect to who can win. That answer is, of course, anybody.

But Tiger has made it look easy this year. He’s already racked up nearly $6 million in earnings thanks to his four victories, and his record looks like this: 1-t33-t37-1-1-t4-1.

The argument about whether Tiger is “back” should have been quashed as soon as he won again at the end of 2011. However, its the majors that Tiger wants, and that’s likely why he claimed he was just “getting better” after his latest triumph.

Tiger doesn’t need any more top-5 finishes at majors. He wants wins. He works towards those wins. And going into Merion for the U.S. Open next month, he’ll again be the favourite.

His game seems to be on track, along with his mental toughness. My girlfriend, a frequent-enough watcher of golf, mentioned last night that Tiger just “seems to not be intimidated like the other guys,” and that could not be more true.

Sergio Garcia is one of those ‘other guys.’ He’s a winner, a wonderful ball-striker, and a firey Ryder Cup competitor. But there’s something that he’s lacking: self-confidence.

He’s admitted he can’t win majors, and after he rinsed two in the water at the famed 17th island green (plus one more off the tee on No. 18) you just shrug your shoulders because that wasn’t unexpected.

What should be expected is Tiger back on the prowl, winning golf tournaments.

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Canadian Notes:

15-year-old Brooke Henderson won the CN Future Links Pacific Championship this weekend at the Crown Isle Golf Club in British Columbia… PGA Tour Canada is hosting a media call with Wildfire Golf Club in Peterborough tomorrow regarding a 2013 PGA Tour Canada tournament announcement… Fairways Magazine named The National Golf Club of Canada as the No.1 golf course in Ontario… Golf Canada has launched a mobile app for its members to post and track their scores on the go… the PGA of Ontario announced Warsteiner Brewary as its official beer… The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame is hosting a special meeting today to discuss the future of the museum and the Hall… Rick Young from SCOREGolf celebrated 30 years as a golf columnist last week (congrats Younger)…