PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - OK, this was getting ridiculous. It's easy to concede that Tiger Woods was the best golfer in the world. In fact, it was by this point a pretty lazy argument to make. Even the question of whether he was the best golfer of all time was getting absurd - after five straight victories, most of them in dominating fashion, even those arguments were starting to sound silly. But this - this was getting absurd.
As Woods teed off on the 12th hole in the final round of the 2000 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he was seven shots behind tour rookie Matt Gogel. After he rolled in his final putt on the 18th green, he was the victor by two shots, a stunning turnaround that enabled Woods claim to his sixth straight victory. Three birdies and an eagle helped Woods gain back five shots from Gogel, while Gogel gave the rest back himself with four bogies coming in.
But it wasn't just Woods' remarkable back nine that was the story here. Those nine holes - or rather, those seven holes if you want to be specific - marked the beginning of a season where Tiger Woods played better than anybody had ever played before. Most tournaments seemed like they were over the moment he applied to play in them. Great players, even major-quality players, wilted under the pressure of merely playing with him. And as Woods dominated golf like no one ever before him, television ratings for the sport shot through the roof, and Woods became one of the most famous athletes in the world.
Woods' streak of consecutive tournament wins stopped at six, and he somewhat surprisingly didn't win the Masters in 2000. But from then on, he was unstoppable. His record-shattering performance at that year's U.S. Open - coincidentally, back at Pebble Beach - was hailed by many as the greatest performance in golf history, though his annihilation of the field at the British Open the next month rivaled that for dominance. He won the PGA with another record-setting score, even if he needed a playoff to do it.
In all, Woods won 10 events in 2000, the peak of a three-year run in which he won 23 events and firmly established himself as the greatest golfer of his generation. But he was perhaps never better than on the back nine at Pebble Beach, where he made a seven-shot deficit disappear into thin air.
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tiger Woods. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Saturday, November 27, 2010
November 27, 2009: Crash
WINDERMERE, Fl. - The first news reports were straightforward: Tiger Woods was in a car accident outside his home. The back window of his car was broken, and he was found with a cut on his head and asleep in the street. Very strange, mildly scary, especially since the first reports said he was in "serious" condition.
Details started coming out: Woods' wife had apparently broken the window of his car in an attempt to get him out faster; the broken glass had caused the scratches. Then, it came out that Woods was sleeping in his street because he had taken a pain medication.
Then the questions: how did he run into a fire hydrent at the end of his own driveway? He had to know it was there. Plus, where was he going in such a hurry? He really needed to go screaming out of his driveway at 2:00 in the morning? Something wasn't right.
It was here that the legend, the carefully constructed personality of Tiger Woods began to quickly unravel. Why was he leaving so quickly? Most likely, he had been having an argument about the allegations of cheating that were revealed the day before. Did his wife actually break the window trying to get him out of the car, or had she smashed it in anger trying to get at him?
By the time Woods came clean about his infidelity a couple weeks later, it was everywhere. He had slept with countless women, had made frantic phone calls and text messages he had sent out asking for their silence (who can forget "Huge. Quickly. Bye"?). It was shocking.
And America couldn't get enough. Here was this clean-cut golfer, one who could supposedly do nothing wrong, and it turns out everything people had assumed about him was wrong. His behavior was no different than that of many other athletes who got famous too young and too quickly, but the fact that it was Tiger Woods doing these things made it the story that wouldn't go away.
His personal life in shambles, Woods retreated into relative obscurity. He stepped away from golf to go into sex addiction therapy in a last-ditch hope to save his marriage (it didn't work). He greatly reduced his golf schedule while he tried to work out his personal life, and he didn't win a tournament in 2010. His carefully crafted image was shattered, crashed into pieces, and it's still unknown exactly how long the effects will last.
One of the proudest, most seemingly untouchable athletes of his time had become humbled. He had spent 12 years on a golf course making many people think he was superhuman, only to be revealed as someone who was all too human. And it all started when he backed his SUV into a fire hydrant.
Details started coming out: Woods' wife had apparently broken the window of his car in an attempt to get him out faster; the broken glass had caused the scratches. Then, it came out that Woods was sleeping in his street because he had taken a pain medication.
Then the questions: how did he run into a fire hydrent at the end of his own driveway? He had to know it was there. Plus, where was he going in such a hurry? He really needed to go screaming out of his driveway at 2:00 in the morning? Something wasn't right.
It was here that the legend, the carefully constructed personality of Tiger Woods began to quickly unravel. Why was he leaving so quickly? Most likely, he had been having an argument about the allegations of cheating that were revealed the day before. Did his wife actually break the window trying to get him out of the car, or had she smashed it in anger trying to get at him?
By the time Woods came clean about his infidelity a couple weeks later, it was everywhere. He had slept with countless women, had made frantic phone calls and text messages he had sent out asking for their silence (who can forget "Huge. Quickly. Bye"?). It was shocking.
And America couldn't get enough. Here was this clean-cut golfer, one who could supposedly do nothing wrong, and it turns out everything people had assumed about him was wrong. His behavior was no different than that of many other athletes who got famous too young and too quickly, but the fact that it was Tiger Woods doing these things made it the story that wouldn't go away.
His personal life in shambles, Woods retreated into relative obscurity. He stepped away from golf to go into sex addiction therapy in a last-ditch hope to save his marriage (it didn't work). He greatly reduced his golf schedule while he tried to work out his personal life, and he didn't win a tournament in 2010. His carefully crafted image was shattered, crashed into pieces, and it's still unknown exactly how long the effects will last.
One of the proudest, most seemingly untouchable athletes of his time had become humbled. He had spent 12 years on a golf course making many people think he was superhuman, only to be revealed as someone who was all too human. And it all started when he backed his SUV into a fire hydrant.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
August 25, 1996: Undeniable
PORTLAND, Ore. - Who is Steve Scott?
No, we're not playing Jeopardy. We're simply posing a question. Who is Steve Scott? He's the golfer who came close to dethroning Tiger Woods at the U.S. Amateur Championship, the man who came ever so close to stopping Woods' run at a third straight Amateur championship.
Through 18 holes on August 25, 1996, Scott was five holes up on Woods. Woods was scuffling, nothing was going right for him. It seemed like his run at history was going to get derailed. He would fail where so many great golfers before him had, coming short in his quest to be the first man to win three straight Amateur titles.
But then he became Tiger Woods, the fearsome golfer. He showed the golf world what the future held. In the second 18 holes of the day at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course, Woods roared back against Scott, making the putts that had been missing in the morning, showing the tenacity that had already, at age 18, given him the reputation as a lethal competitor.
Woods never held the lead in the 1996 U.S. Amateur until the final hole, when he tapped in a two-foot par putt on the second hole of the playoff, the 38th hole of the day, to clinch the championship. He had done what nobody had done before him, something none of the great amateur champions of golf's early days could do.
Less than a month later, Woods was no longer an amateur. He was playing on the PGA tour, beginning his meteoric rise up the golf rankings. He won two events in his first three months on tour, and he won the Masters by 12 shots in his first Major as a professional. But that August in Oregon, he was just a college kid at Stanford who needed 38 holes to beat somebody named Steve Scott.
So who is Steve Scott? He's the guy who, after playing 38 of the best holes of golf of his life, could only look at Tiger Woods and say "I don't know how I stayed with you that long."
No, we're not playing Jeopardy. We're simply posing a question. Who is Steve Scott? He's the golfer who came close to dethroning Tiger Woods at the U.S. Amateur Championship, the man who came ever so close to stopping Woods' run at a third straight Amateur championship.
Through 18 holes on August 25, 1996, Scott was five holes up on Woods. Woods was scuffling, nothing was going right for him. It seemed like his run at history was going to get derailed. He would fail where so many great golfers before him had, coming short in his quest to be the first man to win three straight Amateur titles.
But then he became Tiger Woods, the fearsome golfer. He showed the golf world what the future held. In the second 18 holes of the day at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course, Woods roared back against Scott, making the putts that had been missing in the morning, showing the tenacity that had already, at age 18, given him the reputation as a lethal competitor.
Woods never held the lead in the 1996 U.S. Amateur until the final hole, when he tapped in a two-foot par putt on the second hole of the playoff, the 38th hole of the day, to clinch the championship. He had done what nobody had done before him, something none of the great amateur champions of golf's early days could do.
Less than a month later, Woods was no longer an amateur. He was playing on the PGA tour, beginning his meteoric rise up the golf rankings. He won two events in his first three months on tour, and he won the Masters by 12 shots in his first Major as a professional. But that August in Oregon, he was just a college kid at Stanford who needed 38 holes to beat somebody named Steve Scott.
So who is Steve Scott? He's the guy who, after playing 38 of the best holes of golf of his life, could only look at Tiger Woods and say "I don't know how I stayed with you that long."
Friday, August 20, 2010
August 20, 2000: The Battle at Valhalla
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Tiger Woods was exactly where everybody expected him to be. After his record-shattering performances earlier that summer at the U.S. and British opens, nobody was surprised to see his name topping the leaderboard of that year's PGA championship with another record-setting score, this time a score of 18 under par. But there was something else up on the leaderboard, something that people didn't expect to see.
Sharing the line with Woods on the leaderboard was the entry "May, -18."
Confusion. Was that a reference to May 18? What happened then? No, it wasn't the month. It was a player. Somebody had tied Woods.
Very few people had heard of Bob May before the 2000 PGA Championship. He had only played in three majors before going to Valhalla that weekend and had won only one event in his career. And yet, there he was at the end of the round on Sunday, standing eye-to-eye with the greatest golfer in the world, the man who was playing better that summer than anybody had ever played before.
And it wasn't just that May was tied with Woods, it was how he got there, making up six shots on Woods over the final three rounds. The playoff, expanded to three holes for the first time that year, was a true David-vs.-Goliath matchup in golf.
While May's story was impressive, so was Tiger's. Challenged in a major championship for the first time, Woods birdied 17 and 18 on Sunday to force the playoff with the surprising May, then birdied the first playoff hole to take charge of the tournament. His putt on the first playoff hole featured one of his most famous moments on the course, as he jogged after the ball as it rolled toward the hole and emphatically pointed towards the cup as it was falling.
The one-shot advantage Woods gained with a birdie on the first playoff hole was all he needed, and he became the first man since 1937 to defend his title in the PGA championship. He also became only the second player to win three professional majors in the same year, and the next April, he would win the Masters to become the first man to hold all four major championships at the same time.
For Bob May, the 2000 PGA was his first and only moment in the golf spotlight. He played in all four majors in 2001 but was nowhere near contention, and he hasn't played in a major since. A back injury further curtailed his career, and he has since lost his Tour card. Now, May plays mostly on the second-tier Nationwide Tour, a humble place for the man who once stood face-to-face with the best in the world and didn't flinch.
Sharing the line with Woods on the leaderboard was the entry "May, -18."
Confusion. Was that a reference to May 18? What happened then? No, it wasn't the month. It was a player. Somebody had tied Woods.
Very few people had heard of Bob May before the 2000 PGA Championship. He had only played in three majors before going to Valhalla that weekend and had won only one event in his career. And yet, there he was at the end of the round on Sunday, standing eye-to-eye with the greatest golfer in the world, the man who was playing better that summer than anybody had ever played before.
And it wasn't just that May was tied with Woods, it was how he got there, making up six shots on Woods over the final three rounds. The playoff, expanded to three holes for the first time that year, was a true David-vs.-Goliath matchup in golf.
While May's story was impressive, so was Tiger's. Challenged in a major championship for the first time, Woods birdied 17 and 18 on Sunday to force the playoff with the surprising May, then birdied the first playoff hole to take charge of the tournament. His putt on the first playoff hole featured one of his most famous moments on the course, as he jogged after the ball as it rolled toward the hole and emphatically pointed towards the cup as it was falling.
The one-shot advantage Woods gained with a birdie on the first playoff hole was all he needed, and he became the first man since 1937 to defend his title in the PGA championship. He also became only the second player to win three professional majors in the same year, and the next April, he would win the Masters to become the first man to hold all four major championships at the same time.
For Bob May, the 2000 PGA was his first and only moment in the golf spotlight. He played in all four majors in 2001 but was nowhere near contention, and he hasn't played in a major since. A back injury further curtailed his career, and he has since lost his Tour card. Now, May plays mostly on the second-tier Nationwide Tour, a humble place for the man who once stood face-to-face with the best in the world and didn't flinch.
Friday, June 18, 2010
June 18, 2000: 12 under
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - The wind was howling, the rain coming down hard. The ball was in the deep rough, more than 200 yards from the hole. Between the ball and the hole was a large cypress tree - oh, and the Pacific Ocean. Seems like a perfect time for the sensible golfer to lay up, take a par, and move on.
Not Tiger Woods. Nothing he did this week was sensible or ordinary. And when his approach shot - the one out of the rough, over a tree and the ocean, fighting the wind and the rain - landed within 15 feet of the hole, everybody else should have taken it as a sign that the tournament was over.
Most of the scores posted during the 2000 U.S. Open reflected the weather's impact. Pebble Beach is a tough course in perfect conditions, but the rain and the wind were howling in 2000. A score of 3 over was good enough for second place. But then there was Woods' score, a score that stood out so impressively and improbably that it had to be a misprint, a score that made it look like he was playing a different course than everybody else.
12 under.
Woods had wowed golf fans before. His performance at the 1997 Masters was jaw-dropping in its brilliance. But he had only one major since, and the whispers started about whether he would live up to the lofty expectations placed on his shoulders at such a young age.
But then 12 under happened, and everybody stopped doubting.
On its own, 12 under doesn't seem that impressive - after all, he had gone 18 under in winning the Masters three years before, and players routinely break 12 under in non-Majors. But he became the first player in the 106-year history of the U.S. Open to hit double-digits under par for the tournament, and his 15(!)-shot victory set the standard for all Major championships.
Woods started strong, getting a break by playing his first round in calm conditions on Thursday morning. His opening 65 was the low round of the tournament, but it left him only 1 shot clear entering the second round.
The wind and the rain picked up in round 2, and the scores plummeted. While players were taking turns falling down the leader board, Woods was improbably climbing, posting a 2-under for the day, including his impossible approach shot on 6, to push his lead at the halfway mark to 6 shots.
In the U.S. Open, the 36-hole cut line is usually set at the top 60 players and ties, plus anybody within 10 shots of the leader. In 2000, only 63 made the cut, the lowest number ever. That's because only 17 players were within 10 shots of Woods. It was only Saturday, but the tournament was already over.
Woods shot an even-par 71 in the third round, but still extended his lead to 10, as the weather continued to wreak havoc on the field. The weather clamed down for the final round on Sunday, but that only gave Woods an opportunity for more birdies. His 67 was the low round of the day, and punctuated a remarkable weekend.
The U.S. Open was the start of a three-month stretch where Woods was untouchable. He set scoring records in the British Open and the PGA Championship later that summer, firmly stamping his place at the top of the golf world. But for all his success that summer, and in the future, he likely was never better than he was in the four days of the U.S. Open. It's possible nobody ever played as well as Woods did that June.
(The aforementioned iron shot - over the tree, et al - is at 1:12 of this highlight package)
Not Tiger Woods. Nothing he did this week was sensible or ordinary. And when his approach shot - the one out of the rough, over a tree and the ocean, fighting the wind and the rain - landed within 15 feet of the hole, everybody else should have taken it as a sign that the tournament was over.
Most of the scores posted during the 2000 U.S. Open reflected the weather's impact. Pebble Beach is a tough course in perfect conditions, but the rain and the wind were howling in 2000. A score of 3 over was good enough for second place. But then there was Woods' score, a score that stood out so impressively and improbably that it had to be a misprint, a score that made it look like he was playing a different course than everybody else.
12 under.
Woods had wowed golf fans before. His performance at the 1997 Masters was jaw-dropping in its brilliance. But he had only one major since, and the whispers started about whether he would live up to the lofty expectations placed on his shoulders at such a young age.
But then 12 under happened, and everybody stopped doubting.
On its own, 12 under doesn't seem that impressive - after all, he had gone 18 under in winning the Masters three years before, and players routinely break 12 under in non-Majors. But he became the first player in the 106-year history of the U.S. Open to hit double-digits under par for the tournament, and his 15(!)-shot victory set the standard for all Major championships.
Woods started strong, getting a break by playing his first round in calm conditions on Thursday morning. His opening 65 was the low round of the tournament, but it left him only 1 shot clear entering the second round.
The wind and the rain picked up in round 2, and the scores plummeted. While players were taking turns falling down the leader board, Woods was improbably climbing, posting a 2-under for the day, including his impossible approach shot on 6, to push his lead at the halfway mark to 6 shots.
In the U.S. Open, the 36-hole cut line is usually set at the top 60 players and ties, plus anybody within 10 shots of the leader. In 2000, only 63 made the cut, the lowest number ever. That's because only 17 players were within 10 shots of Woods. It was only Saturday, but the tournament was already over.
Woods shot an even-par 71 in the third round, but still extended his lead to 10, as the weather continued to wreak havoc on the field. The weather clamed down for the final round on Sunday, but that only gave Woods an opportunity for more birdies. His 67 was the low round of the day, and punctuated a remarkable weekend.
The U.S. Open was the start of a three-month stretch where Woods was untouchable. He set scoring records in the British Open and the PGA Championship later that summer, firmly stamping his place at the top of the golf world. But for all his success that summer, and in the future, he likely was never better than he was in the four days of the U.S. Open. It's possible nobody ever played as well as Woods did that June.
(The aforementioned iron shot - over the tree, et al - is at 1:12 of this highlight package)
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
June 16, 2008: Rocco pulls a Rocky
SAN DIEGO - It was supposed to be the feel-good story of golf. The journeyman underachiever with back problems, he of the 5 career victories, going against the greatest player of his, or any, generation. Even his name, Rocco, was just a couple steps away from that of America's most famous fictional underdog, Rocky.
Indeed, when Rocco Mediate teed off for the playoff round of the U.S. Open on June 16, 2008, he likely had many Americans pulling for him. After all, Tiger Woods had played this game before. In many of his 13 Major victories, he had been the favorite, both sentimentally among fans and statistically among oddsmakers. Sports fans tend to love dominating performances, even if they won't admit it, but they also love the underdog. So Mediate was easily the fan favorite in this playoff.
Along with the fan support for an emotional boost, Mediate also had, for perhaps the only time in his career, the physical advantage. Woods had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery that April, and as he cringed and grimaced his way through the four rounds, it was apparent to everybody watching that he hadn't completely healed from that surgery and he was playing at much less than 100 percent. After the tournament, Woods revealed that in his rehab from the surgery, he had suffered a double stress fracture in his leg. Everybody knew he was hurt, but nobody knew it was that bad.
Still, that didn't prevent Woods from sinking one of the biggest putts of his career that Sunday. With Mediate holding a one-shot lead in the clubhouse, Woods and Lee Westwood found themselves with medium-length birdie putts on the 18th hole to force a playoff. Westwood missed his 15-footer, but Woods' 12-footer snaked in, going halfway around the lip of the hole before dropping.
The Monday playoff was a battle of attrition between two men who knew about perseverance. Mediate hadn't won a tournament of any kind since 2002, and had missed upward of five years in his career because of back problems. For Woods, the perserverance was more in the present, as he was playing his fifth round of golf in as many days on a leg he shouldn't have even been walking on.
Halfway through the playoff, things seemed to be going the way everybody expected, with Woods taking a three-shot lead. But Mediate stayed patient, kept believing, and took a one-shot lead on the 15th hole. There the score remained until the 18th green, when Woods once again found himself with a medium-length birdie putt needed to force a tie. Once again, the indomitable Woods sank the putt, forcing a sudden death playoff hole. A par for Woods was enough to top the bogey of Mediate, and Woods had his 14th Major victory.
For Woods, it was the most difficult and unexpected victory of his tremendous career. Only after having surgery on his knee and missing the rest of the 2008 season did golf fans truly appreciate how difficult his accomplishment was, and only then did he start getting the credit he deserved.
For Mediate, the ending wasn't the one he had hoped for. The fairy tale didn't have the storybook ending. But for people who wanted to compare Rocco to Rocky, it shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, in the movie, Rocky stands up to the champ, doesn't flinch, and becomes America's hero. And he loses.
Indeed, when Rocco Mediate teed off for the playoff round of the U.S. Open on June 16, 2008, he likely had many Americans pulling for him. After all, Tiger Woods had played this game before. In many of his 13 Major victories, he had been the favorite, both sentimentally among fans and statistically among oddsmakers. Sports fans tend to love dominating performances, even if they won't admit it, but they also love the underdog. So Mediate was easily the fan favorite in this playoff.
Along with the fan support for an emotional boost, Mediate also had, for perhaps the only time in his career, the physical advantage. Woods had undergone arthroscopic knee surgery that April, and as he cringed and grimaced his way through the four rounds, it was apparent to everybody watching that he hadn't completely healed from that surgery and he was playing at much less than 100 percent. After the tournament, Woods revealed that in his rehab from the surgery, he had suffered a double stress fracture in his leg. Everybody knew he was hurt, but nobody knew it was that bad.
Still, that didn't prevent Woods from sinking one of the biggest putts of his career that Sunday. With Mediate holding a one-shot lead in the clubhouse, Woods and Lee Westwood found themselves with medium-length birdie putts on the 18th hole to force a playoff. Westwood missed his 15-footer, but Woods' 12-footer snaked in, going halfway around the lip of the hole before dropping.
The Monday playoff was a battle of attrition between two men who knew about perseverance. Mediate hadn't won a tournament of any kind since 2002, and had missed upward of five years in his career because of back problems. For Woods, the perserverance was more in the present, as he was playing his fifth round of golf in as many days on a leg he shouldn't have even been walking on.
Halfway through the playoff, things seemed to be going the way everybody expected, with Woods taking a three-shot lead. But Mediate stayed patient, kept believing, and took a one-shot lead on the 15th hole. There the score remained until the 18th green, when Woods once again found himself with a medium-length birdie putt needed to force a tie. Once again, the indomitable Woods sank the putt, forcing a sudden death playoff hole. A par for Woods was enough to top the bogey of Mediate, and Woods had his 14th Major victory.
For Woods, it was the most difficult and unexpected victory of his tremendous career. Only after having surgery on his knee and missing the rest of the 2008 season did golf fans truly appreciate how difficult his accomplishment was, and only then did he start getting the credit he deserved.
For Mediate, the ending wasn't the one he had hoped for. The fairy tale didn't have the storybook ending. But for people who wanted to compare Rocco to Rocky, it shouldn't have been a surprise. After all, in the movie, Rocky stands up to the champ, doesn't flinch, and becomes America's hero. And he loses.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
April 13, 1997: Tiger, Tiger, burning bright
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Perhaps no professional golfer started his career with loftier expectations than Tiger Woods. Many of those expectations were self-imposed, by both Tiger himself and his father. Traditional golf fans scoffed when Tiger said his goal was to set the record for career majors won, and they just shook their heads when Earl Woods said Tiger would be the most important athlete in the world.
Then Tiger played his first career major, and those claims suddenly didn't seem so outlandish.
Nobody had any inkling of what was coming that week when Woods shot a 40 on the front nine in round 1. But he found his game and stormed to a six-under 30 on the back nine, ending the first round three shots behind the leader. And he never stopped charging.
A stunning 66 on Friday gave Woods the lead in a major for the first time. A bogey-free 65 on Saturday gave him a jaw-dropping nine-shot lead entering the final day. With a round still to play, Woods had completely buried the competition in a way never seen before.
Sunday's final round was nothing more than a coronation; the way he had been playing, nobody expected Woods to give back nine shots to the field. He didn't disappoint, further increasing his lead despite not playing all that sharply in the final round. His final numbers were staggering: a tournament-record score of -18 and a grand-slam record 12 shot margin of victory.
His dominance was so complete that all those predictions about Woods suddenly seemed reasonable. When Jack Nicklaus said Woods could end up winning 10 Masters, people seemed to think that was reasonable. When the TV ratings came back showing sky-high numbers despite Tiger's complete domination, Earl Woods' claims about Tiger changing the world didn't seem all that strange. And Tiger's stated goal of winning the most majors suddenly didn't seem lofty enough. He had completely changed the game, and golf has never been the same.
HONORABLE MENTION:
April 13, 1986: Augusta, Ga. - He was 46 years old, four shots behind the leader, and trailing seven players overall. Jack Nicklaus was no more than an afterthought entering the final round of the 1986 Masters. After shooting one-under on the front nine, he was pushed out of people's thoughts even more. But then he entered the back nine started. The shots started dropping. The roars got louder, echoing throughout the course. Though the leaders were several holes behind him, they knew what was going on. Jack was making a charge. When it was over, Nicklaus had shot a 30 on the back nine, a 65 overall, and had taken the lead at -9. The third-round leaders still had three holes to play, but everybody knew this one was already over. Twenty-four years after winning his first major, Nicklaus had won his 18th.
Then Tiger played his first career major, and those claims suddenly didn't seem so outlandish.
Nobody had any inkling of what was coming that week when Woods shot a 40 on the front nine in round 1. But he found his game and stormed to a six-under 30 on the back nine, ending the first round three shots behind the leader. And he never stopped charging.
A stunning 66 on Friday gave Woods the lead in a major for the first time. A bogey-free 65 on Saturday gave him a jaw-dropping nine-shot lead entering the final day. With a round still to play, Woods had completely buried the competition in a way never seen before.
Sunday's final round was nothing more than a coronation; the way he had been playing, nobody expected Woods to give back nine shots to the field. He didn't disappoint, further increasing his lead despite not playing all that sharply in the final round. His final numbers were staggering: a tournament-record score of -18 and a grand-slam record 12 shot margin of victory.
His dominance was so complete that all those predictions about Woods suddenly seemed reasonable. When Jack Nicklaus said Woods could end up winning 10 Masters, people seemed to think that was reasonable. When the TV ratings came back showing sky-high numbers despite Tiger's complete domination, Earl Woods' claims about Tiger changing the world didn't seem all that strange. And Tiger's stated goal of winning the most majors suddenly didn't seem lofty enough. He had completely changed the game, and golf has never been the same.
HONORABLE MENTION:
April 13, 1986: Augusta, Ga. - He was 46 years old, four shots behind the leader, and trailing seven players overall. Jack Nicklaus was no more than an afterthought entering the final round of the 1986 Masters. After shooting one-under on the front nine, he was pushed out of people's thoughts even more. But then he entered the back nine started. The shots started dropping. The roars got louder, echoing throughout the course. Though the leaders were several holes behind him, they knew what was going on. Jack was making a charge. When it was over, Nicklaus had shot a 30 on the back nine, a 65 overall, and had taken the lead at -9. The third-round leaders still had three holes to play, but everybody knew this one was already over. Twenty-four years after winning his first major, Nicklaus had won his 18th.
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