Tiger Woods comments on his relationship with President Donald Trump and believes you have to respect the office. (0:51) 
 
 Tiger on Trump: 'We all must respect the office' (0:51) 
 
 PARAMUS, N.J. -- Tiger Woods did his best to stay clear of controversy Sunday when he was asked after the final round of the Northern Trust about his relationship with President Donald Trump. 
 
 Woods has played golf with Trump, including after he was elected in 2016 and again last year at Thanksgiving with golfers Dustin Johnson and Brad Faxon. 
 
 "Well, I've known Donald for a number of years,'' Woods said during a post-round interview at Ridgewood Country Club. "We've played golf together. We've had dinner together. I've known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency.'' 
 
 Editor's Picks Tiger finishes in 40th, minimizes putting woes Tiger Woods finished his first FedEx Cup playoff event in five years on Sunday at Ridgewood Country Club pretty much the way it began -- unable to explain a dearth of birdies and poor putting while shooting a 1-under-par 70. 
 
 DeChambeau wins FedEx Cup playoff opener Bryson DeChambeau cruised to a four-shot win in The Northern Trust on Sunday, moving atop the FedEx Cup standings. He's hoping to be a captain's pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team when Jim Furyk announces three of his choices a week from Tuesday. 1 Related 
 
 When pressed about some people being threatened by Trump "and his policy,'' as well as Woods' seemingly friendly relationship with the president, Woods said: 
 
 "Well, he's the president of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.'' 
 
 Asked if he had any more to say about the state and discourse of race relations, Woods said: "No. I just finished 72 holes and am really hungry.'' 
 
 Trump weighed in Monday morning on Twitter, praising Woods' answers and recent play. 
 
 The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn't want to say. Tiger wouldn't play the game - he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2018 
 
 Woods has played golf with former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the latter both in and out of office. There were efforts to coordinate something with George W. Bush, but it never came together, as the president cut back on his golfing in his second term. 
 
 Like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Phil Mickelson, Woods has a villa named after him at Trump's Doral resort in Miami. ||||| Tony Finau hits a fairway shot on the third hole during the final round of the Northern Trust golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, in Paramus, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) (Associated Press) 
 
 Tony Finau hits a fairway shot on the third hole during the final round of the Northern Trust golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2018, in Paramus, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) (Associated Press) 
 
 PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — To his right was the silver trophy Bryson DeChambeau won Sunday at The Northern Trust, a victory that felt comfortable to everyone but him. To his left was the silver FedEx Cup trophy, a reminder of the ultimate prize in the PGA Tour season. 
 
 Missing was the gold Ryder Cup trophy. 
 
 DeChambeau took a giant step toward playing for that, too. 
 
 "Like I said yesterday, I'm a man on a mission right now — two missions, actually," DeChambeau said after a four-shot victory in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event. "One being the Ryder Cup and one being the FedEx Cup. I'm doing pretty well right now and just got to keep moving forward in the right direction." 
 
 That was the only direction his game went in a final round devoid of much drama. 
 
 Staked to a four-shot lead, DeChambeau never let anyone closer than two shots, ended the threat with consecutive birdies and closed with a 2-under 69 to win by four shots over Tony Finau, who also had the Ryder Cup on his mind. 
 
 DeChambeau never felt entirely in control until he stabbed at a chip short of the 12th green — a shot he had worked on all week and used that one time — that rolled out to 4 feet for a birdie that turned back his only threat. 
 
 His only wild shot was on the 18th hole, sending his drive so far to the right that landed in the fairway of a hole that wasn't being used at Ridgewood Country Club. He still had a good angle to the green, made par and finished at 18-under 266. 
 
 He won for the second time this year, both against some of the strongest fields. He moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and is virtually assured of being one of the top five seeds at the Tour Championship who have a clear shot at the $10 million bonus. 
 
 Also on his mind is playing for no money at all at the Ryder Cup. 
 
 DeChambeau narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatic spots for the U.S. team when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship. Jim Furyk makes three of his four captain's picks a week from Tuesday, and it will be tough to ignore a 24-year-old Californian with victories at the Memorial and a FedEx Cup playoff event. 
 
 "Hopefully he can see that I've got some grit and grind, and that even when I don't execute certain shots, I can get it done," DeChambeau said. 
 
 DeChambeau, who stayed on the practice range until it was dark Saturday night, came out firing with two straight birdies to stretch the lead to six shots. His only mistakes were a pair of three-putt bogeys on the front nine, the second one at No. 9 that reduced his lead to two shots over Aaron Wise. 
 
 But not for long. 
 
 Wise's threat ended with a bogey on No. 16, about the time DeChambeau got up-and-down with that chip from just short of the reachable par-4 12th for birdie. 
 
 No one got any closer the rest of the way. 
 
 Finau also made a strong statement about a captain's pick. Furyk invited Finau to join a small group of Americans who played Le Golf Nacional the weekend before the British Open. He was playing with Furyk at the PGA Championship when Finau tied a tournament record with 10 birdies in the second round. 
 
 And while he stared five shots back on a course where the greens were as firm as they have been all week, Finau closed with a 68 to finish alone in second. Finau cracked the top 20 in the world (No. 18) for the first time in his career. 
 
 "If I'm in the conversation, this doesn't hurt my chances, I don't believe," Finau said. "I had a solid week all around. My game feels good and I feel confident. Whatever his decision is, I'll be ready to play." 
 
 Tiger Woods, coming off a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship, never got anything going. He closed with a 70 and tied for 40th, 14 shots out of the lead. 
 
 "I'm sure you guys are used to seeing me win five times a year or more," Woods said. "It's not that easy to win out here. What you're seeing is that I'm close, and just one shot here, one shot there per day, flips momentum." 
 
 Woods has played plenty of practice rounds with DeChambeau and is a strong advocate for adding him to the U.S. team that goes to France at the end of September. 
 
 "The guy is fiery," Woods said. "He's competitive, and we want guys like that. It's going to be a tough environment, so we want guys that are mentally tough and can handle it." 
 
 Billy Horschel (68) and Cameron Smith (69) tied for third. 
 
 Ryan Palmer also felt like a winner. He came into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 100 — the top 100 advance to the second stage next week at the TPC Boston — and Palmer delivered a 65 on Sunday highlighted by a wedge he holed for eagle on the par-5 third hole. He tied for fifth, along with Wise (67) and Adam Scott (69), and moved all the way to No. 50. 
 
 Dustin Johnson's only consolation was four birdies over the final four holes for a 68 that enabled him to stay No. 1 in the world by the narrowest of margins over U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka. 
 
 Nick Watney was among six players who moved from outside the top 100 to advance to the Dell Technologies Championship, which starts Friday. The others were Scott Stallings, Jhonattan Vegas, Bronson Burgoon, Brian Stuard and Danny Lee. ||||| The birdie putt on the final hole to win. The sweeping fist pump. The red shirt. 
 
 Tiger Woods waves his cap after winning the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) (Associated Press) 
 
 Zach Johnson tees off on the sixth hole during the final round of the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J.... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods tees off on the fourth hole during the final round of the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok) (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods reacts after winning the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Woods closed with clutch birdie putts, including holing... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods reacts after winning the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Woods closed with clutch birdie putts, including holing... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods makes his approach shot on the fifth hole during the final round of the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods hits out of a sand trap on the third hole during the final round of the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. (AP... (Associated Press) 
 
 Tiger Woods makes his approach shot on the 18th hole during the Chevron World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Woods closed with clutch... (Associated Press) 
 
 It all looked so familiar Sunday afternoon in the Chevron World Challenge, where Tiger Woods ended a drought that once would have seemed inconceivable. He went 749 days and 26 tournaments without winning as he tried to repair his image, his personal life and a golf game that used to be the best in the world. 
 
 When the final birdie putt from 6 feet disappeared into the cup, Woods swept his arm across the air, yelled through the din of the gallery and slammed his fist in a celebration that was a long time coming. 
 
 He birdied the last two holes for a 3-under 69 and won against an 18-man field at Sherwood Country Club. It was a two-man race against former Masters champion Zach Johnson over the final hour. Even so, winning is all that ever mattered to Woods _ now perhaps more than ever before. 
 
 "Any different?" Woods asked about his win. "It feels great. Kind of hard for me to elaborate beyond that. I know it's been awhile, but for some reason, it feels like it hasn't. As far as making the putt and the feeling afterward, I think I was screaming something. But it was just that I won the golf tournament. I pulled it off with one down, two to go. 
 
 "To go birdie-birdie is as good as it gets." 
 
 The last time Woods won was Nov. 15, 2009, at the Australian Masters for his 82nd title worldwide, and his seventh win that year, back when winning at least looked routine for him. Twelve days later, Woods crashed his car into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home, and stunning revelations of extramarital affairs soon emerged. It cost him his impeccable image, his marriage and four major sponsors. 
 
 He has added three sponsors in the last five months. He showed signs of coming back with nine solid rounds in the wind in Australia, finishing third at the Australian Open and delivering the clinching point for the Americans in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne. 
 
 It wasn't clear if Woods was elated or relieved, whether he felt satisfied or vindicated. 
 
 It didn't really matter to him. 
 
 "It just feels awesome, whatever it is," he said. 
 
 A two-shot lead on the back nine had turned into a one-shot deficit as Woods faced a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole. He thought Johnson's birdie putt was going in until it stayed just high of the hole. Woods adjusted his line ever so slightly and drained the putt to pull even going to the 18th. 
 
 From 158 yards in the middle of the fairway, Woods hit 9-iron that landed on the slope and rolled down to easy birdie range. 
 
 If this win felt different than the last one, Woods wasn't saying. 
 
 "They all feel good," he said. "They're not easy. People don't realize how hard it is to win golf tournaments. I've gone on streaks where I've won golf tournaments in a row, but still ... I don't think I've taken it for granted. And I know because of how hard it is." 
 
 Johnson had done just about everything right on the back nine _ a tough birdie putt on the 13th to tie for the lead, a spectacular pitch from the putting surface, over a ridge to 4 feet to escape with par, and a 12-foot birdie on the 16th to take the lead. 
 
 He had a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th that never had a chance, and stood to the side watching a familiar sight _ Woods making clutch shots at the end of a tournament to win. 
 
 "If the man is healthy, that's paramount," Johnson said. "I mean, he's the most experienced and the best player I've ever played with. In every situation, he knows how to execute and win." 
 
 Although those situations have been rare of late, Woods looked as if he had not forgotten how to win. The only other times he has been in contention this year were the Masters and the Australian Open. 
 
 "I felt normal, felt very comfortable," Woods said. "I've been here so many times that, you know, I just feel very comfortable being here in this position. Was I nervous? Absolutely. Always nervous in that position. But it's a comfortable feeling, and I enjoy being in that position. For some reason, it's kind of a comfort to be in there with a chance to win." 
 
 Woods won the Chevron World Challenge, which he hosts for his foundation, for the fifth time. He finished at 10-under 278 and donated the $1.2 million to his foundation. 
 
 The win moved him from No. 52 to No. 21 in the world ranking, and likely will send expectations soaring for 2012. Woods will not play again until starting next season in Abu Dhabi at the end of January. 
 
 There were similar expectations last year, even though Woods blew a four-shot lead in the final round at Sherwood and lost in a playoff to U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. Woods said that was more smoke and mirrors. He only had one shot back then, and took the lead because he made a bunch of putts. 
 
 Is there reason for expectations now? 
 
 "I think there's always expectations," Woods said. "So be it." 
 
 Johnson closed with a 71 and took home $650,000 for the holidays. Paul Casey, who opened with a 79, had his third straight round in the 60s to finish alone in third at 5 under. 
 
 "Tiger can have a long career," Casey said when he finished. "We might look back in another 10 years and actually forget about the last couple of years." 
 
 These last two years are starting to feel like a blur for Woods, this year in particular. He never looked as low as he did when he hobbled off the TPC Sawgrass, withdrawing from The Players Championship after a 42 on the front nine because of leg injuries that ultimately kept him out of competition for three months, including two majors. 
 
 Then he missed the cut at the PGA Championship and failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs. 
 
 But his peers noticed a difference about the way his game was coming together in Australia, and it appears to be going in only one direction as Woods headed home to Florida. 
 
 "Last year I played with him here the first round and I thought, `Wow, this guy is back,'" Steve Stricker said. "You could tell this time around, he's got even more confidence, more game. He feels even better about the direction he's headed." 
 
 Woods' tournament has been a good stepping stone for others over the years. The most recent example was Jim Furyk, who won in 2009 and then had his first three-win season the next year and captured the FedEx Cup. 
 
 No one ever imagined Woods needing a boost, but that might be the case. 
 
 "I don't think we're going to see another 2011, if that makes sense," Furyk said, alluding to Woods failing to reach the FedEx Cup playoffs this year. "If he steadily progresses, keeps getting confidence and moving forward, he's going to return and be one of the best players in the game again."
– President Trump thinks Tiger Woods' interviewing skills are as good as his golf ones, or so he suggested in a Monday tweet. After finishing up the Northern Trust tourney Sunday, the golfer was asked by the press about his relationship with Trump, whom he has golfed with on several occasions. Woods said simply, "I've known him pre-presidency and obviously during his presidency," adding that they've both golfed and dined together. ESPN reports he was then "pressed" about what appears to be a warm relationship. His response: "Well, he's the president of the United States. You have to respect the office. No matter who is in the office, you may like, dislike personality or the politics, but we all must respect the office.'' He was finally asked if he had comments about race in America, and said, "No. I just finished 72 holes and am really hungry.'' Trump's Monday reply on Twitter: "The Fake News Media worked hard to get Tiger Woods to say something that he didn’t want to say. Tiger wouldn’t play the game - he is very smart. More importantly, he is playing great golf again!" The great golf part is debatable: The AP reports he tied for 40th place, 14 shots behind winner Bryson DeChambeau. (Though he did come close at the British Open.)