ATLANTA, Ga. -- Bart Bryant did his best Tiger Woods imitation on Sunday and held off the man himself on the way to a dominating six-stroke victory at THE TOUR Championship Presented by Coca-Cola.

Bryant birdied his first two holes -- and three of his first four -- and was never really threatened as he ran away with the $1.17 million first prize. The victory was the second of the season for the understated 42-year-old and the third of his career, all of which have come in the last 15 months.

The lopsided margin of victory matched Tom Lehman in 1996 for the largest in the 19-year history of the PGA TOUR’s season-ending event that brings together the top 30 players on the money list. Bryant, who finished at 17 under after Sunday’s 67, is the third player to win THE TOUR Championship in his debut.

“I’m thrilled beyond description,” he said. “(To have) struggled for as long as I did, and all of a sudden in the last 15 months to win three events – even if I hadn’t won this weekend, this would all be worth it. This exceeds my expectations for the week. I didn’t think I could make it into THE TOUR Championship, and I certainly didn’t think I could win THE TOUR Championship.

“It’s a really cool feeling, and it’s one that I’m going to relish for a long, long time.”

OK. So Bryant doesn’t exactly have Woods’ innate confidence. But on Sunday, the unheralded veteran had the same kind of focus and resiliency as he beat the game’s No. 1 player by six strokes and Scott Verplank by eight. Ten strokes back in a tie for fourth were Davis Love III, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh, who picked up his remarkable 54th top-10 finish in the last three years.

The focus was evident with every fairway and green Bryant found this week -- and make no mistake, there were many. While the big-hitters like Woods and Goosen frequently found themselves hitting out of the trees, even visiting a concession tent once, Bryant played with machine-like precision, hitting 45 of 56 fairways, including all seven on the back nine Sunday, and 58 of 72 greens.

The resiliency was most evident at the sixth hole. Bryant, somewhat indecisive after he saw Goosen’s 9-iron go long, hit his tee shot on the par 3 into the water. “That was an anxious moment there,” he admitted. “I started having things going on in my mind like how many can we chunk into the water from this ball drop.”

Bryant cozied his third shot to within 8 feet, though, and calmly made the putt to preserve a four-stroke advantage. He credited the work he’s done with Brian Mogg -- as much on the mental side as the mechanics -- with the successful outcome.

“I felt like I was supposed to make that putt, where two years ago, I don’t think I would have believed I was supposed to make it,” Bryant said. “That may have been the biggest difference.”

Still, there was reason for concern. Woods began to find fairways and make his presence felt as he made the turn with birdies on Nos. 9, 10 and 12. But Bryant got back on track with an up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 ninth, and he answered Woods’ call with birdies from 24 and 32 feet, respectively, on the 11th and 12th holes.

“He did what he had to do,” said Woods, whose longshot bid ended with a double bogey from the trees on the 16th hole. “That’s what he was doing all week. I had my opportunity early in the round to make some putts. I hit it in there on a few occasions, and lipped out. If those putts go in, then obviously I put a little more pressure on him going into the back nine.

“I got a little momentum on 9 and 10, but I still was on the periphery trying to play my way into it. He just kept hitting fairways and greens and making a couple putts. He had a little spurt on the back nine that basically iced it.”

Bryant, who led wire-to-wire, said he began to think about winning when he made the birdie at the 11th hole. The cushion he gained after the putt at No. 12 allowed him to shake off a bogey at the 15th that otherwise, Bryant said, “could have been a little unnerving.”

Instead, Bryant allowed himself to breathe in the sweet smell of success as he played the final three holes at historic East Lake, then went off to enjoy the moment with his wife and two daughters, as well as his mother- and father-in-law and an assortment of friends. He’ll have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday -- adding that appendage to the two elbows that went under the knife earlier in his career -- and celebrate his 43rd birthday 10 days later.

At the start of the week the pro who once would have best been described as a journeyman said he liked flying into a tournament under the radar. Bryant, who is a veteran of eight qualifying schools, talked about not quite feeling connected to the elite company he was keeping now.

“Every week, I feel like I belong more and more where I am,” Bryant, said. “Some of the guys asked me earlier, well, now you belong with Tiger Woods, Retief Goosen. I belong on the same TOUR. I certainly don’t put myself in the same category as Retief and Vijay and Davis Love and Tiger Woods. I mean, these guys are the elite players in the world. They hit the ball really, really far, and they can play any golf course well.

“But I have found out that if I’m on top of my game under the right conditions, I definitely can compete with these guys.”