25 years after the start of Tigermania: Woods proves himself in the Masters with the indelible mark of the past

There are sporting triumphs that automatically become a culture landmark. In an unparalleled event, stainless over time. Tiger Woods’ victory at the 1997 Masters, the first of his 15 major titles, transcended the result itself to become a true phenomenon, at a new starting point. It had such an impact that it had multiple consequences: it led millions of people who had never been interested in golf to pay attention to it, if only to see what the crack would do next. He inspired an entire generation of players, many now among the world’s top professional men and women, to take up the sport. He forced to modify the extensions of the courses and favored a gigantic growth of the golf industry, which has since enjoyed a face as charismatic as a winner after Jack Nicklaus. The planet definitely embraced Tigermania.

Twenty-five years after the consecration of that young Californian whom several fellow golfers underestimated and even discriminated against, Tiger is willing to perpetuate his legend, that started precisely in that idyllic event in 1997. Starting at 11:34 this Thursday in our country (Star+ and ESPN 2 will be televised live from 3:45 p.m.), he will hit from tee 1 of the Augusta National club in the group with the Chilean Joaquín Niemann and the South African Louis Oosthuizen.

“I feel like I’m going to play. If I am able to win? Yes I believe it. I have no doubt what I can do golf-wise. Walking is the hard part.” he mentioned, still with the aftermath of the car accident he suffered in February 2021, and which led him to a forced break in official tournaments until today. At 46 years old, Tiger is grateful that they did not have to amputate his right leg, in which a metal rod was placed in the tibia and screws in the bones of the foot and ankle.

Regardless of what happens after the first round, it is convenient to squeeze the memory to remember the main traces of that masterpiece, which had distinctive features: with a total of 270 hits (-18), that little brunette with a catchy nickname became What the youngest golfer to win at Augusta (21 years old) and with the lowest accumulated. In addition, the victory by 12 strokes over the Italian Costantino Rocca was the biggest difference in any major from the 1862 British Open at Prestwick. There, Tom Morris Senior won by 13 strokes, on a course where only eight players played and in a contest of three rounds of 12 holes each, at a time when Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States and golf it had not yet established itself in North America.

An unforgettable tournament

How was that success of Tiger in 1997 consummated? That player who had won everything within his reach in his amateur stage already had an important background in the big leagues: the previous year he had already won his first two PGA Tour titles and opened the ’97 season with his third conquest at the Mercedes Championship, in La Costa, California, defeating Player of the Year and Open Championship winner Tom Lehman in a playoff.

Sure, there were good vibes to Eldrick Tont Woods, his real name. Signs that something very big was about to explode, although no one really saw it coming. The Friday before heading to Augusta, Tiger felt that “her bag of clubs was carried by God”, as the Master of Vicenzo used to say as a metaphor. He hit a field record 59 strokes at Isleworth, Florida, going 32–27 on a 7,179-yard course, one of the most intricate in the Florida area. Experienced Mark O’Meara had been stunned as he watched all of his playing partner’s balls go straight for the flag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtcRbALNXTo

Until Thursday, April 10, the first chapter of a fairy tale. Although Tiger’s first blows were not easy, in the midst of nerves and expectations about his figure. It happened that the eyes were on that budding talent: in the bets he was the maximum favorite and paid 8-1 as well as Nick Faldo and Greg Norman, defending champion and second in 1996 respectively. As per tradition and as the defending US amateur champion, Tiger was paired in one outing with the English player. But the one pointed out as a prodigy seemed to tremble his legs and his drive off the first tee went well off the fairway, an error that led to a bogey on the first hole. He even added three mistakes in the first nine, to use 40 hits in the first leg and a total of +4.

After the bogeys, he needed to hang on to a feeling that gave him confidence. And then he recalled that incredible 59-shot card at his home course in Florida, making the return trip a triumphant ride: four birdies and an eagle. That score of 30 (-6) in the last nine rounded out a 70 card, which left him just three behind the first round leader, John Huston. In his column for the PGA Tour, journalist Bob Harig echoed the words of Faldo, who had become frustrated with a first round of 75: “Tiger came in with a lot of attention on him and used it to his advantage. No player had ever walked to the first tee with eight police officers around them before. Suddenly, Tiger decided that he needed security. He had a completely different aura; everyone looked at him and listened. And everyone wanted a piece of it. It was incredible”.

A voracious pointer

On Friday, Woods captured the top of the championship with a card of 66 (-6), for a total of 136 (-8), three strokes ahead of Scottish Colin Montgomerie. The public was already roaring for him and admiring his poise and long game. On the par 4 of the 11th hole, he played the second shot with a sand-wedge, while the others used a 6 or 7 iron. Without a doubt, he was beginning to make a difference with distances. Paul Azinger had played with the Californian on the second day and to this day he keeps a certainty: “He has less fear of failure than anyone I’ve seen.”

In golf, Saturday is called the “moving day”, the day in which the board can vary considerably. And more so in the Masters, which is used to changing positions in a crazy way on weekends. However, the drive of that irreverent who the previous year had not made the cut in Augusta as an amateur was uncontrollable. He was going toe-to-toe with a European Tour star, but Monty had nothing to do: he succumbed with a 74-shot third round. The boy in the movie, meanwhile, accelerated with an incredible run of 65 (-7) and took a light 9 shots compared to the second, now the Italian Costantino Rocca. After his stumble in the pageant, Montgomerie surprised by declaring: “We are all human beings here. But there is no humanly possible chance that Tiger Woods will lose this tournament.”.

In Sunday’s preview, the only thing left was the curiosity of seeing Tiger play under pressure, with someone who demanded it to the fullest. Tom Kite, Tom Watson and Fred Couples were hanging around the top positions, but they were far behind. The reality is that no one lived up to his display among magnolias and azaleas and Rocca, his escort, never came closer than 8 shots. Throughout the four days, Woods was a perfect machine: strong hitting, magical approaches and touches on the green. A victory by beating and a celebration dressed in red, a sign of “power” -according to his mother- and that would become a Sunday classic.

Elder, that model of the past

But that day of the consecration things also happened outside the club. Lee Elder, the first African-American golfer to have participated in the Masters (1975), he was amazed with the feat that his colleague was about to consummate and the identification with that boy was immediate. He took a flight from Florida to Atlanta and from there drove too fast to Augusta, until in the rearview mirror he saw a patrol car chase. The brake. And while the police gave him a ticket, Elder defended himself by begging him: “In his state (Georgia) he is close to making history. Tiger Woods is about to win the Masters. I’m just trying to get there before he plays!” The uniformed man looked at him incredulously and I assure him that he had no idea who Tiger Woods was. He handed her the ticket paper for her to sign and blurted out: “I don’t like golf.”

Finally, Elder arrived at the field as a spectator and witnessed live the feat of the young man who came to break all the molds of this sport. Of course, they also vibrated there Earl and Tida, Tiger’s parents, moved when Faldo put on his son the green champion jacket. In fact, the most emotional celebration took place when Woods hugged his dad –his golf mentor- behind the 18th green. A scene repeated many times on TV and that had its mirror 22 years later, when Woods himself won the Masters for the fifth time and hugged his son, Charlie, in exactly the same place.

The leap in quality

From the moment he triumphed in 1997, Tiger entered another dimension and then more than confirmed his destiny of greatness. In addition to being the first black player to win a major golf championship, he did not stop breaking records. He has 15 major titles (3 behind Jack Nicklaus) and equaled the number of wins on the PGA Tour (82), paired with Sam Snead. Suddenly, he rubbed elbows with the great personalities. “Michael Jordan and President Clinton called to congratulate me. I was on my way to the press conference when Clinton called. He was about to enter the press center and they told me: ‘The president wants to talk to you.’ At the time, Jack Stephens was the president of the club, and I said: ‘I think Jack is already there. I just saw him at the Butler Cabin’. And they answered me: ‘No, not the president of the club, but the president of the United States.’ I replied: ‘Oh, that president: Mr President.’ I talked to him for a while and he congratulated me, it was very nice.”

No one missed the social significance of an African American winning at Augusta National, 22 years after Elder broke the color barrier at the Masters. Fuzzy Zoeller, champion in 1979, he had already finished playing that Sunday, April 13 with a meager 78. In front of the cameras, when asked about the imminent champion, Zoeller brought out his inflamed verb: “That little boy is playing well with the driver and with the putter. Do you know what to tell him when he comes back here? You have to pat him on the back, congratulate him and order him not to order fried chicken at next year’s champions dinner. He smiled, snapped his fingers, and started to retreat. But in his short walk he turned around and added to the press: “… or cabbage leaves, or whatever the hell it is of food that they usually serve themselves.” With his coronation, Tiger also swept away discrimination in golf and ushered in a new era.