Ten years ago, it was very clear that Tiger Woods was en route to living up to his considerable promise, having won two PGA Tour events entering his first Masters as a professional. However, the 21-year-old had never won a major and this was Augusta National, one of the most difficult courses on Earth. In his previous two appearances, Woods had tied for 41st and missed the cut. But over four days in 1997, Woods put on a display that, given the changes to the course, may never be equaled, winning by a record-setting 12 strokes. Entering the opening round of the 2007 Masters, here are the recollections of some of golf’s notable figures about that epic victory:
THE BAG MAN
Mike “Fluff” Cowan
Cowan was Woods’ caddie for the golfer’s first two-plus years of his career, a span that included the 1997 Masters.
“If you play golf at all, you know that you try to play the game with no expectations at all. Expectations kill you in this game. You go out and play.
“That back nine on Thursday was a huge key (Woods opened his round by shooting a 40 over the first nine holes but rallied to finish with a 30). He took what could have been a, I don’t know, a 72 or 73 or 74 or 75 and turned it into a 70. And anytime you shoot a red (under-par) number around Augusta, you’re doing OK. You’re not gonna get hurt by shooting something in the red there – ever.
“It was only the first nine holes of the golf tournament, so you certainly weren’t thinking like it was over, but you certainly felt like you had dug a hole for yourself. But it wasn’t one that you didn’t think you could dig yourself out of.
“People ask me about what it all meant – I don’t know how to answer that. Was it a fun ride working for Tiger? Absolutely.”
THE PREDECESSOR
Tom Woodard
Now the director of golf for The Meadows and Foothills golf courses in suburban Denver, in the 1980s Woodard was one of a number of African-American men who played on the PGA Tour.
“There were several of us, friends who would get together and watch the telecast on Saturday and Sunday; a bunch of the older black golfers in town who had been playing forever. It was very emotional seeing him win; he’d had an outstanding amateur career, but there had been several players who’d been outstanding amateurs who’d turned pro and were supposed to be ‘The Next Jack Nicklaus’ – Johnny Miller, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson, who came out before Tiger – but none of them had.
“I remember reporters interviewing Paul Azinger afterward and I’ll never forget what he said, something about Tiger being 21 years old and already being the best golfer in the world. That was a pretty powerful statement about someone who was only in his first full year on tour. But it all turned out to be true.”
THE CHRONICLER
Dan Jenkins
Journalist Dan Jenkins was honored Wednesday for being in attendance at more than 40 Masters, a span that runs the gamut from the heydays of Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson to Woods.
“The thing that I remember the most about that Masters is that he did something that I thought was impossible – he didn’t three-putt over 72 holes. You can’t do that here. That was outstanding, more outstanding than winning four or five titles.
“You can’t do that. That’s obviously why he won. He’s a great putter, a great reader of greens – he’s the best reader of greens I’ve ever seen, he almost never misses one badly. And most of them go in right down the throat.
“I didn’t care about the cultural significance of it all; that didn’t matter to me. I don’t think about it, I don’t care about it – he’s an athlete. We knew he had talent; I’d seen him win one of the U.S. Amateurs, I knew darned well he could play. I wasn’t surprised; I was delighted he won, but I just didn’t know he was gonna win the way he did. I thought he’d win with his golf clubs – I didn’t know he’d win it with his putter. I should have known though.”
THE FAN
Annika Sorenstam
Nowadays Annika Sorenstam considers herself a good friend of Woods, but that wasn’t the case in 1997. At that time, with two U.S. Open championships in her pocket, she was arguably further along in her profession than Woods. Even so, that year’s Masters provided thrills the Swedish star said she’d never felt before.
“I watched it on television; it was flawless, the way he played, the control he had in his game. It was something new, a new wave, and you knew it was the beginning of something.
“You were in awe of what he did, you admired it, but for me, it was more the idea of making it possible to do something like that. Talent, hard work, focus, dedication, you name it, he had all of that. If I read a book, it’s about people who can inspire you, who can give you a kick in the butt, who can give you hope.
“That makes it possible, you don’t have to limit yourself. It’s inspiring; I would love it if, when someone looks at me, they would feel the same things. I don’t know if they do, but we all start right here, and if you work hard, you can get to there.”
