Upon entering the world of professional golf, Woods was already saddled with ridiculously high expectations, yet he managed to wildly exceed them. In his first Masters tournament 22 years ago (a mere 7-1/2 months after going pro), Tiger set the tourney record with a low score of 270 (-18) and won by a whopping 12 strokes. In addition to his appealing to golf fanatics, Tiger proved he transcended the sport given the 1997 Masters set a television ratings record for the final round. His legend would only continue to grow over the next 11 years as he accumulated thirteen more major titles, culminating with winning the 2008 U.S. Open in sudden death despite playing the tournament with a shredded left knee. That victory marked Woods' 14th major title, which was good for second place all time behind Jack Nicklaus's 18. It seemed a forgone conclusion that Tiger, only 32 years old at the time, would eventually usurp Nicklaus for most majors.
Then 2009 happened.
In August of that year, Woods lead the 2009 PGA Championship (which I was fortunate to attend on day two) by two strokes going into the final round. At that juncture of his career Woods had never lost a major when leading after three rounds.....until this one. Tiger went +3 that final day while the golfer in second place, Y.E. Yang, went -2 to claim the title. Then on Thanksgiving of that year, Woods and then wife Elin had a high profile domestic dispute which eventually led to revelations that Tiger was a serial adulterer. The couple divorced months later.
With Woods' personal life and health deteriorating over the next several years, he was rarely a factor in any tournament he played. He occasionally showed signs of life by popping up with a top ten finish here and there but could never break through with a win. But it was the 2017 Masters where it was ascertained by many that Woods (then age 41) was truly finished. He would withdraw from the tournament, making it the third Masters in four years in which he would miss out. Shortly thereafter, Tiger would undergo his fourth back surgery, a spinal fusion procedure. Even Woods himself privately conceded that he had no future.
But then seemingly out of nowhere, Woods had a solid 2018 season which was highlighted by a second place finish at the PGA Championship and his first tournament victory in five years with a win at the Tour Championship. Woods also finished 8th overall in tournament winnings. While there were no overly optimistic sentiments that Tiger was truly back, it showed he could at least occasionally compete at a high level.
As I summarize Woods' fascinating 20+ years on the PGA Tour, I can't help but believe that what we witnessed this past weekend was not only the most unlikely redemption story in the history of pro golf but perhaps all of professional sports.
Tiger Woods is the winner of the 2019 Masters after posting a 70 on Sunday and rolling through the rest of the field that even dared to get in his way. Having been told by some that he could never win another major in his career, Tiger silenced the naysayers as he captured the fifth green jacket of his career and his 15th major overall.
Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell also grappled with the question if this was the greatest comeback in sports history.
Yes, of course it is.
Why? Since last year, this Greatest Comeback debate has arisen everywhere sports media types — a nasty bunch — congregate. We make our cases for something, anything, that would beat a Tiger win in a major. With respect for everybody who gets mentioned, we have all given up. Ben Hogan coming back to win majors after almost dying when his car was crushed by a bus is the only competition. But Woods checks boxes for misery and self-inflicted embarrassment that nobody knew existed.
Now let the accolades roll in. Jack Nicklaus sent a text: “A big well-done for Tiger. I am so happy for him and for the game of golf. This is just fantastic.”
Instead of “greatest comeback ever,” we now have a different and almost ridiculous question: Will Woods enter a 40-something renaissance and challenge Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors?
After the way Woods won his fifth Masters, that’s not impossible. His command of himself and his ball’s flight, his sense of what the leader board was telling him and, most important, his ability to avoid even a single dangerous, win-killing mistake — one fatal splash — spoke to a champion who was not simply summoning one magical, lucky week. Rather, this was a player whose polished but merely normal game could churn out a score of 13 under par at Augusta National.
In the end, I'm still skeptical Woods can ultimately surpass Nicklaus's record of 18 major victories given that Father Time is undefeated (again, Woods is 43) combined with the fact there are so many incredibly young and gifted pro golfers currently on the PGA circuit. But similar to this past weekend, I would absolutely love to be proven incorrect.
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