When Tiger Woods turned professional in 1996 the golf world knew he was good. Then everybody waited to see just how good.

Nine years on and there is no doubt we are witnessing one of the greatest careers in sporting history. That's how good.

Not 30 until December, Woods now has an incredible 60 wins from 220 starts - phenomenal in golfing terms - after capturing the NEC world championship for the fourth time in Akron.

His earnings stand at £35m. And that is just what he has taken home from tournament play. With sponsorship deals and appearance fees you can multiply that several times over.

The Masters and Open champion has ten World Golf Championship victories to sit alongside his ten majors after pushing Chris DiMarco into second place just as he did at Augusta in April.

He has missed only two halfway cuts in those nine years and has a total of 156 top-ten finishes out of those 220 events.

But the most staggering fact is surely this.

Woods has held at least a share of the lead going into the final round 43 times and has gone on to take the title on 38 occasions. Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn are on that select list of five golfers who have come from behind to beat him, but DiMarco and Paul McGinley left Akron feeling they could and perhaps should have made it six.

DiMarco, who came from three behind to force a play-off in the Masters, out-scored Woods by three again at Firestone, but had started four back this time.

McGinley was only one behind after 54 holes, but scored 72 to Woods' 71.

The Dubliner, like DiMarco, bogeyed the 17th and after a 40-foot birdie attempt on the last narrowly missed he had to be content with a share of third place with Vijay Singh and Ryan Palmer.

But how Woods finished ahead of both of them was almost a miracle. He missed putt after putt early on, but from two ahead Kenny Perry had five bogeys in six holes around the turn.

And when Woods had the chance to regain top spot he took it. After a wild drive down the 667-yard 16th he still had 189 yards to go with his third, but hit a seven-iron to 18 feet and the curling putt died into the hole.

DiMarco must be thinking 16 is his unlucky number. On the same hole at Augusta Woods had that outrageous chip-in.

''Bridesmaid is getting old, I can promise you,'' said the 36-year-old. ''Just like the Masters I've played good enough to get it done and not gotten it.''

McGinley, who bogeyed the 16th and 17th to lose the BMW Championship at Wentworth in May, double-bogeyed the short 12th by three-putting from a mere five feet.

Two birdies followed, but he reflected: ''You can't afford to do what I did on the 12th. I gave it away there.

''It was a day for battling and I really battled. I dug deep and rallied, but I left myself too much to do.'