Tiger’s ascent back to dominance has almost been lost in the shuffle.

With both the college and professional football seasons about to begin, and a fierce wild card race in both baseball leagues, the re-rise of Tiger Woods to the top of his game has been pushed to the side.

Everyone remembers the Tiger of 2000, when he won three of golf’s four major championships, turning himself into a seemingly unstoppable force.

He added Masters wins in both 2001 and 2002, followed by his second U.S. Open triumph later that year.

But then he went into a slump.

Tiger didn’t win a major for more than two years.

He only won once in 2004, shattering the previous notion that he was unbeatable.

He had knee surgery, got married and went through swing changes.

People thought his reign was over. Some even began a search for his replacement as the face and future of golf.

But then the swing changes clicked. He won twice before this year’s Masters, then went ahead and won that tournament, slipping on his fourth career green jacket.

In July, he ran away with the British Open, giving him 10 career professional major wins, just eight behind Jack Nicklaus’ previously untouchable mark.

Poor putting cost him the U.S. Open, although he played well enough to finish in second place. A first-round 75 put him too far behind to win the PGA Championship earlier this month, but he rebounded by shooting three rounds in the 60s to close the tournament, moving all the way from the back of the field to a tie for fourth.

Tiger put the disappointment of not winning the year’s final major out of his mind and won the next week, moving this year’s victory total to five.

The old swagger is back for Tiger – the rest of the Tour’s biggest fear.

In 17 events this year, Tiger has 11 top-10s, and has finished out of the top 25 just twice. He hasn’t been out of the top four since May.

Here’s the scary thing: He has more confidence now than his nine-win season in 1999 – more confidence than the next year when he won eight times.

Tiger’s ability to pound mammoth drives has always been his major strength, but he now has the skill to control where his ball is going.

“I’ve never had that ability before,” Tiger said in Golf World magazine after winning in Ohio a week and a half ago.

Tiger will play in at least three more events this year, maybe four. And now they’re all his to lose.

He is the premier force in golf. If someone wants to win, they have to go through Tiger.

After nearly running the table in 2000, many thought we would never see another stretch of sheer dominance like that one.

They were wrong. Tiger is back and he’s better than ever.

The other scary thing: He still has room to grow.

“You’re never there,” Tiger said. “People ask me, ‘Are you there yet?’ You never get there. And that’s the great thing about it. You can always be better the next day.”

Welcome back to Tiger’s world.