Tiger Woods’ win at the Masters was one of the most amazing comeback stories in sports history. The past decade has been the toughest years of Tiger Woods life. In June of 2008 he won the US Open in a playoff to win his fourteenth major of his career. He was only four short of matching Jack Nicklaus’ career major wins record. Something many deemed Tiger would certainly break. However, from then on Tiger’s life got turned upside down. The publicity around his divorce and familial issues began to consume the narrative with Tiger. He took time away from golf and needed to reset. Tiger returned to golf in 2012 with a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his first win since the divorce scandal. From then on he bounced around mediocrity on the course and faced four back surgeries that sidelined him from action. At this point many believed his career in golf was over. Everyone was convinced of that fact in October 2017, when he was arrested and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. Even Tiger believed his golf career might have been coming to close, telling other golfers at the 2017 Masters Champions’ dinner that his career was done. A career that started off unbelievably dominant and would end with a public divorce and embarrassing arrest.
Tiger made his return to golf in December of 2017 and finished in the middle of the pack in each of his tournaments leading up to the British Open. He was leading going into the final round of the Open when he double-bogeyed the twelfth hole to end in a tie for sixth. From then on, Tiger has picked up his game and started to reach the level he was once at before his back surgeries and off the course issues. This all led to last weekend, when Tiger went into the Masters with no one betting on him and no one expecting anything from him. However, Jack Nicklaus believed in Tiger, saying “I felt for a long time he was going to win again.”
Tiger’s play this weekend was great from the start. He was among the leaders going into the final two days, and he entered play in the final round a few strokes back. Up until that point he had never won a major in a come from behind fashion. Tiger’s last round was special, finishing two under par to reach thirteen under for the tournament. On the final hole of the day, the eighteenth green was swarming with spectators and golfers alike, all watching to see if Tiger could pull out his fifth Masters win, for which he had been waiting fourteen years. His last hole was not his best, but it certainly was good enough to secure the win. The loudest roar for a bogey to end a round of golf erupted from Augusta National on Sunday. Tiger enjoyed a heartfelt moment with his son and mom, shedding more than a few tears. Everyone, even his competitors who had pushed him to the last hole, were happy to see Woods back in his old form once again, something no one thought would happen. It was not just Tiger playing well, it was Tiger playing like Tiger. He was intimidating on the course, and it seemed that everyone was there to watch him win and the other golfers lose.
Social media exploded with Tiger’s win. Though it felt like everyone doubted Tiger during his arrest, his divorce, his poor play, and his injuries it still seemed that everyone was behind him when he finally figured out his game and roared back to top of the PGA on Sunday. It was a moment of ecstasy for both Tiger and all golf fans to see the world, who once doubted him, applaud the dedication and skill that Tiger needed to win that fifth Masters at age 43. Tiger’s win was not only important for him but for golf. It seemed everyone knew about the Masters and followed the tournament closely because Tiger was winning. Tiger’s popularity is needed to keep growing the game of golf, and his win means good things for the future of golf and the influence on younger generations. Tiger’s win was emotional and important not only to him but to all.
Go Tiger go …