5 magical moments for Tiger at the Masters

It didn’t start off so hot despite all the hype coming in. But after shooting a disappointing 40 on the first nine on Day 1, a 21-year-old Tiger turned it around on the back nine, shooting a 30 and absolutely taking off from there. Literally no one came close.

The records that he set that weekend were many.

Not only was he the youngest and the first non-white player to win the Masters, he won by a record-shattering 12 strokes — a record that still stands to this day. He also set a four-day score record at 270 (18 under par), though it was broken by Dustin Johnson in 2020.

Tiger, a new kid on the scene who had only gone pro the previous year, made it clear that he was ushering in a new era of golf.

And it was up to everyone else to keep up or fall into irrelevance.

And who can ever forget the embrace with his father Earl off the 18th green (right)?

Coming off of victories in 2000 of the last three major tournaments of the year (British Open, U.S. Open and PGA Championship) and having become the youngest player in golf to complete a career grand slam, Woods’ 2001 victory at Augusta made even more history as he became the only player in the history of pro golf to hold all four majors title at the same time. Going head-to-head with Phil Mickelson, who had yet to win a major at that time, Woods’ older competitor was done in by the same hole that would cement Tigers’ next Masters win in 2005 — the 16th.

The greatest in every sport are agents of change — sometimes, of how the sport is played, or how it is perceived, and other times, of how the rules are enforced. This was Tiger’s banned dunk moment — Augusta National altered its course because of how well Woods had been playing on it. They added 285 yards of length to the course over nine holes (though you could argue that actually all the did was help Tiger by hurting everyone else...hmm), but even that couldn’t stop Woods from a back-to-back victory.

Neck-in-neck with Retief Goosen for the first three rounds, Tiger took off on Sunday morning, never to be caught again, to earn his third green jacket at age 26.

It was the (chip)shot heard round the world (followed by the world’s worst high-five)— in a remarkably tough spot on 16 in the final round, right at the edge of the rough, Woods aimed left and gave it his best. And it was, perhaps, his best shot of all time, as the ball rolled slowly but surely down the green, paused just at the lip of the hole, and fell in. The crowd went wild.

The birdie on 16 was big, but he’d gained a lot of traction the day before when he hit seven straight birdies in the third round between holes 7 and 13, tying a record for the tournament.

Following years of ostracization, family issues, severe health problems, substance abuse, countless surgeries, and a decade without a major win, Tiger had the whole world cheering for him as he beat all the odds to win the 2019 Masters. It was, for all intents and purposes, a resurrection.

With several major contenders heading into Sunday, the 12th hole proved to be the deciding factor, as well as a testament to Tiger’s experience on the course. As player after player found water, and competitors racked up nine double bogeys on that hole alone, Tiger made par. Going into the 15th hole, there were still five golfers tied for the lead, but Woods was able to pull away on the final three holes.

Perhaps the most significant moment of this one was the emotional aftermath — Woods, celebrating with the crowd all these years later, running up to his son to embrace him in a mirror image of Woods’ embrace with his father, who died in 2006, at his first Masters win in 1997.