Granted, Tiger Woods’ fall from grace started with himself: a cheating scandal which broke up his marriage in 2009. But, in the years following, injuries, particularly to his back, became the overriding reason his once-dominant reign in professional golf fizzled out and almost came to an end entirely.

Woods has since expressed regret for the breakup of his marriage as he focused on rehabbing and remaking his game, something that, over time, looked more and more impossible.

Following a DUI arrest last year in which 5 different prescription drugs were found in his system, it looked even more bleak that Woods would ever regain the form he once had. Many people wondered if he’d simply ever be able to get his life back together.

Through it all though, it appears Woods never gave up on himself, continuously trying to recapture the skill set that made him one of the most dominant athletes in their sport, ever. He entered and was cut from countless tournaments, or withdrew due to physical or personal issues. Anyone with even a passing interest in golf could reasonably assume his best days were long gone. Because of his back, he would have to unlearn all the mechanics that made him so great, and relearn new skills that would accommodate him physically. Um, that’s hard. Even for a pro.

But this season on the tour, he appeared to be improving, surprising a lot of fans by competing well in several tournaments. And then yesterday, he didn’t just compete well, he won the 2018 Tour Championship…his first victory in 5 years, his 80th overall. It was remarkable.

And the reason I bring all this up isn’t to glorify Woods; he’s got his faults, to be sure, and personally, I’m a bigger fan of other golfers. But to me, the perseverance Woods showed through all the adversity he faced is nothing less than herculean, especially in light of so many skeptics…many of whom are sports “experts”. Case in point? Take a look at this video posted on Twitter by Golf.com that shows Woods prior to his victory watching a “montage of doubt” aimed at him. Could YOU hold up under that kind of negativity? A lot of people would ask, “why bother”? For many of us, their doubts would become ours, and that would finish most of us off. Tiger withstood all of that.

Say what you want about him, but the fact that he failed over and over and over and over (and over) and still never gave up? There’s a lesson there. For all of us.