Back surgery for a pinched nerve knocked Tiger Woods out of the 2014 Masters.
Chipping yips threatened his participation in the 2015 Masters.
After Woods had a microdisectomy March 31, 2014, he missed the first two majors and played just five times the rest of the year, a dismal stretch that included two missed cuts, one WD and a finish of 69th in the British Open. He made his last start in his Hero World Challenge, where despite finishing in a tie for last, he looked healthy.
But his chipping in the Hero was an alarming collection of chunks and skulls.
The malady followed him into 2015 – in his first two starts, he missed the cut in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he posted an 82 in the second round, and withdrew with a stiff back after 11 holes at the Farmers Insurance Open.
2015 Masters: Final leaderboard
He took a nine-week hiatus from the game and announced himself fit to return at the Masters, where he would go to the first tee ranked 111th in the world.
On Monday of the Masters, Woods arrived at Augusta National at 3:25 p.m. and all looked good in his world. He was relaxed, strong, fit. He smiled often and with ease, bro-hugged a bunch of players. And his short game was in order. After popping in some headphones, he hit nearly six dozen chips shots at the short-game area of the practice ground and was clearly grooving to the music in his ears.
“I’m on the good side now,” Woods said after playing 11 holes with Mark O’Meara that day. “I felt like I had to get my game into a spot where I could compete to win a golf tournament and it’s finally there. I worked my ass off. That’s the easiest way to kind of describe (my break).”
And your chipping?
“It’s my strength again,” he said. “That’s why I’ve busted my butt. That’s why I took time off. That’s why I hit thousands and thousands of shots to make sure that it’s back to being my strength. I’m back to hitting shots, making it hop, check on the second bounce, third bounce, I can figure those things out again.”
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But Woods and the rest of the field had no answer for Jordan Spieth.
The Big Kid from Big D, who tied for second behind Bubba Watson in 2014, was a tour de force from the first hole. Spieth, who had won the Valspar Championship and twice finished second in his three prior starts to the Masters, opened with a 64 and led wire-to-wire.
He started to suck the air out of his foes with a 66 in the second round and followed with textbook 70s on the weekend to finish four ahead of Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose. In his Masters masterpiece, Spieth, at 21, became the second youngest to win the Masters – only Woods was younger (by five months). He tied Woods’ scoring record for 72 holes at 18 under and set scoring records through 36 holes (-14) and 54 holes (-16). He is the only player to reach -19 in the Masters.
As for Woods, he opened with a 73 but followed with rounds of 69-68 to move into a tie for fifth through 54 holes. But he was still 10 shots in back of Spieth. Woods closed with a 73 to fall back into a tie for 17th.
“Well, considering where I was at Torrey and Phoenix, to make the complete swing change and rectify all the faults and come here to a major championship and contend, I’m proud of that part of it,” Woods said. “Just wish I could have made a few more timely putts and moved up that board.
“I going to have a little time off, go back to the drawing board, work on it again, and refine what I’m doing. I really like what I’m doing. I got my distance back, and everything is good.”
And then it wasn’t. Woods only played 10 more times in 2015, a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship being his best result. In September, he underwent a second back surgery to remove a disc fragment that was pinching his nerve. In October, he had another surgical procedure to his back to relieve discomfort.
He would play just four times over the next two years and missed the Masters each year.
This is the 20th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.
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