But if you were given the chance to play the famed course down Magnolia Lane, what would you be willing to give or spend? Earlier this year the folks at Time 2 Play asked more than 1,000 golfers – 79 percent male and 21 percent female – from various income brackets and some of the answers are bound to surprise.
Players who earn more $100,000 a year would pay, on average, $3,189 for a round. On the flipside, players who earn less than $20,000 per year would pay $388 on average, which is short of what it would cost for a round at two of the other popular PGA Tour stops, Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass.
Enough about money. What else would the participants give up?
Almost half would shave their heads (only about 12 percent of the women, though)
36 percent would give up drinking for a year, while 21 percent would do so for three years
17 percent would get a visible tattoo
Nearly 10 percent would give up TV and movies for three years
3 percent said they would miss the birth of their child, and we hope the 2 percent that said they’d put their kids up for adoption were kidding
And if they got to pick who to play with? A friend was the top answer at nearly 23 percent. In second place were fathers just above 16 percent, followed by Tiger Woods in third. Two percent of participants want to play with the likes of Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Jack Nicklaus, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.
Here are some stories of what golfers do to prep for arguably the toughest set of greens they’ll face all year.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The week before Tiger Woods played in the Masters for the first time as an amateur in 1995, he practiced for Augusta National’s lightning-fast greens by putting on Stanford’s basketball court.
Ernie Els famously practiced on a billiards table to which Stewart Cink said, “My ceilings aren’t high enough for me to putt on my pool table otherwise I would too.”
Others have settled for the smooth concrete of their garage. Then there’s the possibly apocryphal story of players trying to simulate the speed of the Augusta greens by putting in a bath tub. Something tells us Bryson DeChambeau tried this or something even wackier.
When TPC Sawgrass superintendent Jeff Plotts was asked if the pros that practice there ask him to ratchet up the green speed on the practice green ahead of the Masters, he said, “Get it all the time.”
Here are some of the stories of the rude awakening pros experienced their first time at Augusta National and what they do to prep for arguably the toughest set of greens the pros face all year.
The course measured 6,700 yards in 1934. Over time, holes have been lengthened 55 times.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The changes are made at Augusta National Golf Club each summer after it closes. Most are subtle. The front of a green raised by inches, a slope softened. Others are more obvious, announced months before the invitees arrive in April to compete in the Masters Tournament.
Over the last two decades, as 300-yard tee shots became ordinary and an occasional 400-yard blast no longer obscene, the major alterations to the Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones-designed layout have centered around adding length to holes to restore the original shot quality the architects envisioned.
The course measured 6,700 yards in 1934 and grew by only 285 yards in the next 67 years. Major changes, so-called “Tigerproofing,” occurred prior to 2002, stretching the layout to 7,270 yards and included hundreds of new pine trees in strategic locations.
Over time, holes have been lengthened 55 times, and this year competitors will face a course measuring 7,510 yards, highlighted by beefed-up versions of three key holes on the pivotal second nine, golf’s most familiar scene of triumph and broken dreams.
More grass, less trees on No. 11
The 11th hole has been tweaked as often as any at Augusta National. It’s never been a pushover. Last year it was the course’s second-most difficult hole, yielding only 15 birdies and a 4.399 stroke average; it has been the toughest test on nine occasions since 2006.
Phil Mickelson had to punch out of the trees on the right side of the fairway on No. 11 in 2021, but others might not be required to follow that decision in 2022. (Photo: Andrew Davis Tucker)
The par 4 signals the beginning of Amen Corner, the three-hole stretch where many men have felt the green jacket slip away. Lengthened by 15 yards for this year’s tournament, White Dogwood has also undergone a dramatic renovation in the fairway, returning closer to its original design.
The large swath of pine trees down the right-hand side – added prior to the 2004 and 2006 Masters – is much thinner based on aerial photographs posted on Eureka Earth’s Twitter feed, and the tee box shifted to the left. Some of the trees also disappeared before the 2008 tournament.
The 11th is listed at 520 yards this year, some 65 yards longer than 2001, and the wider recontoured landing area on the right side should restore some shotmaking options for golfers who hit tee shots there.
From the former tee, there was more room than appeared on the left side of the fairway according to Mark Urbanek, caddie for Tony Finau, who has two top-10s in four Masters appearances.
There were two options to escape the right trees.
“You could try to slice it near the front of the green, a scary option because of the pond in front of the green,” Urbanek said. “Or pitch it down the right side and leave a 60-70 yard third shot.”
This is the fifth time the 11th has been lengthened. After the most recent change it took only two years for the hole to return to its pre-change scoring average (4.35) and the average dipped to 4.296 eight years later.
Urbanek hasn’t been to Augusta National since last year’s tournament.
“I was a fan of the way it was before,” Urbanek said. “It was wider down the left side but a tougher angle and if you challenged the right side you had a better angle to the green.”
Will No. 15 become a three-shot hole for most of the field?
Defending Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and his fellow competitors will have a longer distance to drive on No. 15 this year after the hole has been lengthened at least 20 yards.
The par-5 15th hole, Firethorn, is Augusta National’s easiest hole and presents the last true opportunity for birdie or better on the second nine. Gene Sarazen’s albatross in 1935 and Jack Nicklaus’ eagle in 1986 are just two of dozens of seminal moments to unfold on 15.
The wind, a pesky nuisance throughout the property, can swirl stranger and gust stronger in the 15th fairway, Urbanek said, planting doubt as player and caddie select a club and shot shape.
Finau was one of 84 players to average more than 300 yards driving distance last season on the PGA Tour. A solid tee shot generally produced a second shot from 220 to 240 yards, leaving a mid-to-long iron approach to a green defended by a treacherous pond in the front and a difficult pitch in the rear.
This year, the tee has been moved back some 20 yards. It’s the first change since more than 30 yards were added and the angle of the tee shot was altered in 2006 and 2009.
And while Sergio Garcia used an 8-iron for his second shot in the final round of the 2017 Masters to set up a short eagle putt he converted en route to victory, Urbanek expressed concern that the additional 20 yards could remove the risk/reward element from the 15th.
If golfers need a fairway metal to reach the 15th green, laying up and making it a three-shot hole will become the sensible – and less exciting – play.
Tee shot becomes even more important on No. 18
No course in the world opens and closes with more difficult tee shots. Like the nearby first hole, the tee shot at 18 asks for a left-to-right ball flight. Coming home, however, the players fire out of a tree-lined chute with protruding limbs to enhance their discomfort.
The view from No. 18 tee looking out toward the scoreboard at Augusta National. (Photo: Andrew Davis Tucker/Special for the Augusta Chronicle)
Jordan Spieth nicked a branch on the final hole of the 2018 Masters, settling for a bogey to sour a brilliant 64 and third-place finish, two shots behind champion Patrick Reed. Steep-faced bunkers guard the left side of the fairway while dense trees penalize a player who loses his tee shot to the right.
With 13 yards added to the tee box since last year, Holly is now potentially a 478-yard uphill brute.
Perhaps no hole at Augusta National has changed more dramatically in the last 20 years. The club expanded the teeing ground and stretched the hole from 405 to 460 yards in 2001, shifting the tee box five yards to the right to accentuate the left-to-right dogleg.
Gone were the days of Ian Woosnam and Tiger Woods bombing tee shots over the bunkers guarding the left side of the fairway, flipping a wedge shot onto the green as they marched to the title.
In 2001 the stroke average was 4.014 (sixth-easiest hole). After the changes the average soared to 4.32 in 2002 and the 18th was the most difficult. The number of birdies dipped from 55 to 15. It’s landed somewhere in the middle most years since, allowing fewer than 50 birdies each year since and playing to a 4.141 average last year as the ninth-most difficult hole.
Still, in recent years with a trailing wind the power faders of professional golf could hammer their 460cc head drivers and generate a short-iron approach shot, if not a wedge to the two-tiered green with its false front and deep bunkers in front and to the right. The additional length and altered angle this year puts an even greater premium on a powerful, well-placed tee shot.
Disaster rarely strikes at 18 but an errant tee shot creates an easy path to a bogey.
How much will changes affect scoring?
Bryson DeChambeau signals his errant tee shot on No. 11 during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.
How will these three significant changes affect the scoring? The Masters champion has reached double digits under par each of the last four years, staying in line with scoring trends since the 1960s.
Expect scoring to increase on each altered hole this year, although for 20 percent of the previous changes, players scored lower the first year. Still, the best golfers in the world adapt quickly. Within five years of previous changes, scoring was lower on more than 50 percent of the holes.
How much property could $5,000 buy on Washington Road today? “Not even a billboard.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Visitors to the Masters Tournament who haven’t seen Augusta since 2019 might notice several changes on Washington Road. Perhaps the biggest change will be almost impossible to spot.
“The first thing that they’ll notice is the new buildings that the National has done, where the old San Souci Apartments were,” said Jordan Collier, director of commercial development at Augusta’s Meybohm Real Estate. “The thing that they won’t notice, but what’s there, is the tunnel.”
Those new buildings, difficult to see from the road, likely comprise the “Global Broadcast Village” whose construction Augusta National Golf Club announced in 2019. Apartment complexes Savannah West and The Greens on Washington also formerly stood on the property and were demolished.
The tunnel, near the club’s Gate 1, connects Augusta National to the broadcast complex. It’s 26 feet wide, 16 feet high and about 10 feet beneath Washington Road.
The National, using an array of limited-liability companies, has been quietly acquiring property on and around its 2604 Washington Road address for decades. Year to year, the landscape on the city’s busiest road rarely looks the same.
To borrow an old saying, the only constant on Washington Road is change.
The front entrance at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, during the 2020 Masters Tournament, held in November that year (Photo: Michael Holahan/The Augusta Chronicle)
For example, Top Dawg Tavern, at 2821 Washington Road, opened in July 2019 after the last pre-pandemic Masters. It replaces Tin Lizzy’s Taqueria Cantina (2015-2019), which replaced Road Runner Café (opened 2012), Flyin’ Cowboy (2009), Famous Dave’s Barbecue (2000), Rio Bravo Cantina (1996), The Dugout sports bar (1995), Infinity nightclub (1994), Valentino’s Restaurant (1993), Georgia Diner (1992) and, from 1977 to 1991, a Western Sizzlin steakhouse.
Nearby, the Venus & Adonis beauty salon at 2735 Washington Road served as an odd local landmark for visitors because of its kitschy Greek statues standing outside the business. The salon and statues are gone. Now it’s the address for Summer House Realty in a building completed in late 2020 and designed to resemble an Art Deco beach house.
Rush hour traffic along Washington Road on Dec. 30, 1989. (Photo: Lannis Waters/The Augusta Chronicle)
The 3,000-square-foot office and its 1,800-square-foot second-floor deck operates as a real estate business during the week and as a rentable event venue on the weekends.
“This year it’s going to be a hospitality house,” said Courtney Quivell, Summer House’s flagship director. “So there’s probably going to be people hanging out outside, making their way across the street to go to the Masters.”
Pre-COVID pandemic visitors might remember a sports bar called Somewhere in Augusta. They will now find it nowhere in Augusta. A Metro Diner now operates at the club’s former 2820 Washington Road location.
PDQ, a fast-casual chicken restaurant at 2999 Washington Road, near the Interstate 20 on-ramp, is now a delivery center for online auto dealer EchoPark Automotive. What used to be a Wachovia National Bank drive-through at 3131 Washington Road is now a Take 5 Oil Change drive-through.
The former Wild Wing Café at 3035 Washington Road has reopened as local-concept eatery Doc’s Porchside.
Developers hunting for property
In the past three years or so, Washington Road properties reaching from the National to the interstate have become both highly desirable and difficult to acquire, according to Jonathan Aceves, a commercial Realtor with Meybohm.
“We routinely have needs that we know have to be filled, so we’re hunting for sites, to the point of calling owners and turning over stones to see what can be bought and what can be combined with an adjoining piece to get enough acreage to do an acre-and-a-half, two-acre deal,” he said.
The gate 2 entrance to Augusta National Golf Club for the 1982 Masters Tournament. (Photo: The Augusta Chronicle)
Motivated buyers have been ready to pounce. A 1.7-acre parcel in front of the shuttered Clarion Suites, 3038 Washington Road, was snapped up almost immediately by an Atlanta developer after being placed on the market in February.
“We didn’t even have enough time to get a sign on it,” Aceves said. “It was a matter of days that we were under contract, full price, for solid terms, and with a developer with a franchisee already signed up. There are a bunch of developers who wanted to speculate on it or who had a franchisee and are looking.”
Other businesses are seeking to expand. The franchise owner of the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 3066 Washington Road bought the closed Mi Rancho Mexican restaurant next door, with plans to build a bigger Chick-fil-A.
Owners of the Jim Hudson Infiniti dealership at 3315 Washington Road also own its neighbor at 3333 – the site of a former BP gas station/convenience store whose 0.8-acre lot lies half in Richmond County and half in Columbia County.
Washington Road – then and now
For much of its existence, Washington Road was a country thoroughfare. Its entire length in Richmond County wasn’t even completely paved until 1927.
Originally the road was a path used by indigenous members of the Cherokee tribe, connecting where they traded in Augusta to their homes in the hills, said Lee Ann Caldwell, director of the Center for the Study of Georgia History at Augusta University.
“For a long time throughout the 1800s that was indeed a very rural area, and even the 1900s, but in the World War II era, people began moving beyond,” she said.
Miami hotelier and real estate developer J. Perry Stoltz actually spurred the first major interest in developing Washington Road. In 1925 he announced plans to build a 15-story hotel and golf resort on the site of the former Fruitlands Nursery, but a hurricane the following year wiped out much of his Florida fortune and his project was abandoned.
In 1931, golfing legend Bobby Jones and stockbroker Clifford Roberts bought the abandoned property to establish Augusta National Golf Club, then inaugurated what would become the Masters – the Augusta National Invitation Tournament – in 1934.
When suburban neighborhoods developed west and south of Augusta in the 1930s and after World War II, businesses expanded on Washington Road to create the city’s first shopping centers.
“By that time the National’s neighborhood had already been established,” Caldwell said. “Shopping was responding to the demand of people not wanting to go all the way into town. You see it expanding beyond there.”
The result is the churning commerce seen on Washington Road today that keeps its real estate in high demand.
An advertisement in a 1924 Augusta Chronicle offered property for sale on Washington Road more than two miles outside the old city limits, which would place the land just short of the interstate. The ad described a five-room cottage, tenant house and two barns on more than 37 acres of land.
The asking price: $5,000 – the equivalent of about $80,000, according to online inflation calculators.
Estimating the property’s compounded annualized return, Collier said it could be worth $30 million today.
How much property could $5,000 buy on Washington Road today?
“Not even a billboard,” Collier said.
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Rory McIlroy was watching every shot from Northern Ireland.
Jason Day was waking up at 3 a.m. to catch every round in Australia.
Pat Perez was peeking in on the action from Arizona.
Millions of others around the world were sitting in awe, as well.
On TV sets before them was Tiger Woods pulverizing the revered, opulent Augusta National Golf Club’s grounds and demoralizing, as we would come to learn, his peers en route to a ground-shattering romp in the 1997 Masters.
On the silver anniversary of the historic triumph, those who witnessed Woods’ momentous domination of the golf course and his sport continues to resonate.
Twenty-five years ago, Woods was an unrelenting Goliath who crushed all the outmatched Davids. Over 72 holes at Augusta National, where no black man was allowed to join the club until 1990 and all the caddies were black until 1982, Woods changed the landscape, style and future of the game nearly 50 years to the day after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball.
Woods forced a significant rewrite of the record books; led golfers worldwide into the weight room; changed the perception of the pasty, stale game; powered the Neilson ratings to new heights; forced Madison Avenue to turn a discerning eye toward golf; altered the fashion of a sport; and ignited a generation of hopefuls who wanted to be like Tiger.
All in 270 magnificent strokes.
Tiger Woods gets his green jacket from 1996 champ Nick Faldo after winning the 61st Masters Tournament in 1997 at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Porter Binks/USA TODAY)
“He’s Michael Jordan in long pants,” Paul Azinger said that day as Woods wrapped up rounds of 70-66-65-69 to finish at a record 18 under; the field average that year was 74.31. Woods, who was 21 when he slipped on the green jacket and remains the youngest to win the Masters, won by a preposterous 12 strokes, a record that still stands and marks the worst annihilation in a major championship since Old Tom Morris won the British Open by 13 when Abraham Lincoln was president of the Unites States.
“I beat all of us mortals,” said Tom Kite, who finished second.
And no less an authority than Jack Nicklaus put it this way after watching the first Black man win the green jacket in the 61st edition of the Masters.
“He’s more dominant over the guys he’s playing against than I ever was over the ones I played against,” Nicklaus said after he saw a 6-foot-2, 155-pounder with a 30-inch waist break his 17-under Masters record of 271 that stood for 32 years.
And to think, Woods began his first major as a pro alongside defending champion Nick Faldo looking more like a deer caught in the headlights than a tiger hunting prey. He bogeyed holes 1, 4, 8 and 9 on the outward nine in the first round, his 4-over 40 two shots worse than any first nine played by a Masters winner.
But the mixed-race kid with a middle-class background who grew up on a municipal course in the sprawl of Los Angeles resoundingly rebounded with a back-nine 30 to sign for a 70 and stand three shots out of the lead.
“The way he fought, hung in there after a terrible start with expectations on him to perform and to win and he opens up with a 40 on the front nine, he didn’t back down,” three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who missed the cut that year, once said. “He didn’t wilt, he came out and brought his best golf on the back nine and shot 30 to open with a 70 and ultimately won by 12 shots or so.
“It was one of the most impressive performances ever in the game.”
Tiger Woods is surrounded by patrons at Augusta National on the 18th hole during the final round of the 1997 Masters Tournament. (Photo: Robert Sullivan/AFP via Getty Images)
Woods’s assault continued on Friday.
As CBS’ Jim Nantz announced when Woods eagled the 13th: “Let the record show, a little after 5:30 on this Friday, April the 11th, Tiger Woods takes the lead for the first time in the Masters.”
He never relinquished the advantage. Instead, he built on it.
The sea of change had arrived and his 66 was the finest round of the second day. His lead had grown to three over Colin Montgomerie, the top player in Europe and the No. 2 player in the world; Woods was ranked 13th.
“The pressure will be mounting on Mr. Woods,” Montgomerie said after his second round. “I have a lot more experience in major golf than he has. Hopefully, I can prove that through the weekend.”
Oops. Game over.
Woods tripled his lead from three to nine with a bogey-free 65 while Montgomerie finished with a 74. The last round was basically a coronation parade, which ended with a bear hug with his father, Earl, who was six weeks removed from heart-bypass surgery. Also on hand was Lee Elder, who in 1975 became the first Black golfer to play in the Masters.
Tiger Woods hugs his his father, Earl, after winning the 1997 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, on April 13, 1997. (Photo: Dave Martin/Associated Press)
“When he won the Masters by 12, that’s when I knew he was getting ready to take over the frickin’ world,” said Perez, who defeated Woods by eight shots to win the 1993 Junior World Championships. “It was unreal to watch, and then I watched it for another 20, 25 years.”
Woods set off Augusta National’s alarm bells with his shocking power. He averaged 323 yards off the tee on the measured holes – 25 yards longer than the next player. The longest iron he hit into a par-4 the entire week was 7-iron. He twice hit wedge into the green on the 500-yard, par-5 15th – for his second shot. He hit 9-iron into the green on the 555-yard, downhill par-5 second hole – for his second shot. He hit sand wedge into the green on uphill, 405-yard, par-4 18th – for his second shot.
Thus began the club’s alterations to the course – better known as Tiger-proofing. In his first Masters, the course was 6,925 yards from the first tee through the 18th green. This year it will play 7,510 yards.
Woods also didn’t have a single three-putt over 72 holes.
“I had a poster of Tiger in my bedroom,” McIlroy said. “I had a picture of Tiger winning the ’97 Masters and everything that went along with it – the 270 strokes, 40-30 the first day, all the records. I can even tell you who finished second that day. Tom Kite.
“The win made me want to get a Scotty Cameron putter. And Nike golf balls and all that sort of stuff. I wanted to wear a red shirt the last day of a tournament. I got a tiger headcover. He made me practice more. He made me dream.”
The same was true for Day.
“I wanted to go out and play golf every day and do everything I could to play golf for a living after I watched what Tiger did,” he said. “He really got me into the game with the 1997 Masters. He made me wake up and hit golf balls, made me work harder, made he want it more.”
Here is what Woods did to others and what he did for the sport.
Paul Azinger
“(CBS sportscaster) Jim Nantz summed it up on the last green, ‘It was a win for the ages.’ And the ages were the past and the future. And the future has been nothing but bright since Tiger showed up. The money’s quadrupled, or maybe more. And the interest in the sport probably is five to 10 times greater than it was. Nobody has ever attracted more non-golfers to a sport really than him.
“I had a guy tell me the other day that his mom only watched golf when she was alive because of Tiger. She never watched golf until 1997. And there are thousands and thousands of people like that. And so his impact was monumental.
“He pushed players to get into the gym. He had a significant influence on players feeling the need to work out to keep up because he was out-preparing them and his fitness gave him an edge. And he definitely pushed the players to be better in every aspect of their game.
“He looked like a middle linebacker and he wore tight shirts and his reactions were great in a sport that’s so subdued. He was a showman. I would have to say that there will never ever be anything like it again because Tiger just had it all. He didn’t have a weakness. He’s the only player I ever hit balls next to where, after watching and hearing his shots, I scooped up my balls and moved away because he was causing me to lose confidence.”
Rory McIlroy
“He’s been massively important to the game and sport. He’s meant everything. Just start with the prize money, which went way up because of his popularity when he was in his prime and it kept going up. We are still benefitting 20, 25 years later because of Tiger. Every time you see Tiger we should thank him for the life we live because he made the game popular for the masses, made the game cool, brought in more minorities into a sport that is still predominately white. He broke barriers to at least give hope to minorities that golf is a game for you.
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods shake hands after completing the final round of the 2015 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
“He’s a guy you can try to emulate, associate with and identify with, and that’s really important. There really aren’t enough accolades for Tiger.”
Brandt Snedeker
“I remember watching him on ESPN and win all those U.S. Amateurs. Seeing how different he was. Just unbelievable talent and being able to do what he did. I remember seeing him burst on the scene in 1996 when he won Vegas and Disney that year. He came out dominating. It was just a different ballgame.
“What he’s done for the Tour is undeniable. The Tour wouldn’t be in the position it’s in without him. He’s been an unbelievable icon of sport, and to have him in golf has been extremely important for the sport’s growth. He pushed everybody out here. He made you reevaluate what you were doing, to make sure you were working as hard as you could. He was doing unbelievable stuff out on the Tour, his physical tools were undeniable, and his work ethic was second to none.”
Pat Perez
“We had a boring sport. And he took it and brought in the entire world and now everybody wanted to be involved in the game or be around him. I don’t think in my life there’s going to be another moment like the 1997 Masters where somebody can take over the game of golf the way that he did. I don’t think anybody would be close enough to do what he did.
“He has influenced everybody that’s ever played in the last 25 years. Anybody in the last 25 years tried to be him or tried to do something he did. And he made the best players in the world work harder and try to get better.”
Pat Perez, Part II
“We had lovely shirts and tan slacks and ugly shoes and visors back then. And Tiger wore Nike. It was so brilliant by Nike to get him. Nike was basketball with Michael Jordan and baseball with Bo Jackson. And now Nike was golf with Tiger. The clothes started to look cool because he was wearing awesome Nike shirts and then he had his own shoes, and it was a cool shoe. Everybody wanted Nike this or Nike that because of Tiger. And MJ, too. And Bo.”
Max Homa
“I’m serious about this: I don’t know if I would be playing golf if it wasn’t for Tiger and how cool he made the game back when I was growing up. The whole landscape of the sport changed because of him. More athletic sport, much bigger sport. He still is the driving force of the game. For me personally, I know a lot of the guys around my age, he was like the reason we played. It was cool to say you played golf because Tiger Woods was playing golf.”
Max Homa poses with the winners trophy with event host Tiger Woods following his playoff victory in the final round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports)
Graeme McDowell
“I was 16 when he won the 1997 Masters. It was at the turning point in my career. I was really just starting to find my competitive feet, you know, and really starting to believe that I could be a good college player and potentially a tour player as well. And so watching him dominate the sport the way did in the late 90s, that was inspiring to me. He was certainly one of my heroes and a guy that really made golf cool and athletic and sexy and just all the things you wanted to be a part of. He made me work my tail off at a very important time in my life.”
Viktor Hovland
“The earliest memories I kind of have that he had an impact on me was just kind of sitting in class and we had school computers, and I would just watch his highlights all day. That’s kind of how his influence has kind of affected me. I was probably 12. It was kind of just an overall motivator, just like seeing what he did on the course, and he had such charisma, the way he did it, the fist pumps, and obviously hitting the shots out of the rough and slicing around trees. It just motivated me just to play golf and have fun essentially.”
Billy Horschel
“He’s done everything for the game. Jack and Arnie did so much, but Tiger made golf cool. He made people think of a golfer as an athlete instead of a fat, chubby guy who drinks a lot and smokes a lot and likes to party. There are still guys who like to drink, who like to party, but there are more athletic guys now than there’s ever been in this game of golf. And he did so much more. There isn’t one aspect of the game that he hasn’t had his hand in in changing.”
Harris English
“I grew up playing all sports and watching him do what he was doing made me want to be the greatest athlete of all time. He brought that course in 1997 to its knees. There have some guys that have done that to courses but they didn’t have the touch. They didn’t have the shot making skills, the wedge game, the iron game, the putting. He meant a lot to me and he’s meant everything to this game. He kind of brought in fitness; he really took it to the next level. He made guys work hard. I was like a lot of kids back then who grew up watching Tiger and we all wanted to be like him and he pushed the best players in the game to a level that’s never been seen before. Think about that. He did all that. That’s something.”
Brooks Koepka
“The only reason I’m playing golf is because Tiger made the game cool. Seeing him do what he did when I was growing up, how he dominated the game, how he made it cool for anyone to play, how cool he was, that made me want that. Growing up you want to be the best and you want to play the best and I do that now because of Tiger.”
Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka during the second round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. (Photo: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)
Bubba Watson
“There are so many memories of Tiger but 1997 stands out and I remember that huge red sweater he was wearing. And the fist pumps. And all those shots he hit that no one else could hit. I was just about to graduate high school. And I’m thinking, I want to be there one day. I want to do what he’s doing. I want to be a professional, I want to be a guy that has a chance to play the Masters. That’s what Tiger did to me. That was the first time I really started working hard on my game.
“I learned by watching him. I never hit a cut until I turned so called pro and a lot was because of Tiger. I’d go out to the range and try to emulate what he was doing. As far as golf, there are only a handful of people in our history, and in all the sports, for that matter, who make people be glued to the TV, and Tiger was one of those guys. Because he did and does things that people can’t do. He inspired so many others. How many people can say they did that?”
The 2021 RSM Classic champ made a rookie mistake at Augusta.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Masters rookie Talor Gooch didn’t realize shorts aren’t allowed at Augusta National Golf Club – not just for Masters Tournament participants like himself, but members and their guests, as well. The rule even carries over to the volunteer day held in May.
On Saturday afternoon, Gooch, was putting on the practice green adjacent to the driving range at the Tournament Practice Area. For at least 15 minutes, no one said anything before co-head pro J.J. Weaver approached. A few minutes later, a pair of black rain pants arrived, Gooch put them on over his black shorts and continued his practice.
On the PGA Tour, golfers are allowed to wear shorts during the practice rounds. Caddies are allowed to wear them during practice rounds and tournaments rounds. At the Masters, which is conducted by Augusta National Golf Club, caddies must wear the white jumpsuits every time they are on the course or practice area.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – At 3:21 p.m. local time on a peaceful Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club, Tiger Woods took to the practice ground and caused a stir.
With a smile on his face and without a limp in his step, Woods took a spot on the left side of the range and quickly went through a warmup.
Wearing a Georgia peach short and black slacks, Woods hit 33 golf balls – seven with his driver – in 20 minutes. At his side were Joey LaCava, his caddie, and Rob McNamara, his trusted friend, frequent playing partner and second pair of eyes.
The time on the range was extended by Billy Horschel, who came over for a big hug and began to chatter away. Also on the range were Sungjae Im, Max Homa, Mackenzie Hughes and Jason Kokrak among others.
Reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama greets five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods as he arrives at the practice facility Sunday afternoon at Augusta National Golf Club on April 3, 2022. (Photo: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports)
The five-time Masters champion and 15-time major winner then was escorted in a golf cart to the 10th tee, where he began what was likely a nine-hole practice round.
The course was closed to all but the players in the field.
“He looked like the Tiger we saw before the accident, the way the swing looked and the speed,” Horschel told reporters. “For him to hopefully be playing – which I think he is – I think we’re all giddy about it.”
Sunday was the next step for Woods, who will speak to the media at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday, as he determines if he will be fit enough to play in the 86th Masters starting Thursday. Woods could withdraw right up until his tee time on Thursday.
“It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete,” wrote Woods in a Tweet posted earlier in the day where he said he was heading to Augusta National.
Woods has been playing at The Medalist near his home in Jupiter, Florida, and on Tuesday flew up from the Sunshine State for an 18-hole practice round at Augusta National. He played with his son, Charlie, and 2017 PGA champion Justin Thomas.
It was a major test on the rugged, hilly Augusta National course for his surgically repaired right leg and foot on the rugged. Woods was involved in a horrific, single-car crash north of Los Angeles on February 23. He suffered multiple, serious injuries to his right leg and foot, and he later acknowledged that amputation of the leg was a possibility.
He was bed-ridden for months before slowly building back his body. Then he started putting and hitting golf balls. In December at the Hero World Challenge that benefits his foundation, Woods said that if he did return to the PGA Tour, he’d play on a limited basis.
Later that month, Woods, riding a golf cart, teamed up with Charlie in the PNC Championship, the two finishing second to John Daly and his son, John Jr.
His last official event was the 2020 November Masters, where he tied for 38th. At the time, he was ranked 33rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is now 944th.
Depending on how Sunday’s practice round went and considering the forecast that calls for heavy rains on Tuesday and more rain on Wednesday, Woods likely will play a practice round on Monday.
“It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete,” Tiger Woods posted on social media Sunday morning.
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods is heading to the Masters.
The five-time Masters champion and 15-time major champion tweeted Sunday that he was heading to Augusta to continue his preparation and practice ahead of Thursday’s start of the 86th Masters.
“It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete,” wrote Woods, who also congratulated 16-year-old Anna Davis on her win in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Woods, 46, is expected to board his 2008 Gulfstream 5 private jet with the registration number N517TW and featuring the logo of his foundation on its tail at 12 noon local time. That would mean an arrival in Augusta around 1:30 p.m. If past is prologue, he would likely check into his residence and then head to Augusta National.
I will be heading up to Augusta today to continue my preparation and practice. It will be a game-time decision on whether I compete. Congratulations to 16-year-old Anna Davis on an amazing win at the @anwagolf and good luck to all the kids in the @DriveChipPutt.
In 2019, when he won his fifth green jacket, Woods, his caddie, Joey LaCava, and his good friend and frequent playing partner, Rob McNamara, spent a peaceful Sunday evening on the front nine at Augusta National, with Woods only chipping and putting during his nearly three hours on the course. The next day, he played a practice round.
Last Tuesday, social media exploded when various plane-tracking outlets reported that his private jet had taken off from Stuart, Florida. The airport is near his compound in Jupiter. A few Twitter feeds included Celebrity Jets (@CelebJets) and Radar Sports (@radarsports) supplied updates on the plane’s path.
Eureka Earth (@EurekaEarthPlus), which is based at the Augusta airport, further tweeted out a video and photo after the plane landed.
Woods indeed was on the plane. Upon its touchdown, Woods headed to Augusta National Golf Club and played an 18-hole practice round alongside his son, Charlie, 13, and 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas.
In addition to seeing changes made to the course, Woods tested out his surgically repaired right leg and foot on the rugged, hilly course.
Woods last played in an official event in the 2020 November Masters; he tied for 38th. The following month he played in the 36-hole PNC Championship alongside Charlie.
But just under three months later, however, the 15-time major champion with a record-tying 82 PGA Tour titles was involved in a horrific, single-car crash north of Los Angeles on February 23. He suffered multiple, serious injuries to his right leg and foot, and he later acknowledged that amputation of the leg was a possibility.
Woods was bed-ridden for months before slowly building back his body. Then he started putting and hitting golf balls. In December at the Hero World Challenge that benefits his foundation, Woods said that if he did return to the PGA Tour, he’d play on a limited basis.
Three weeks later, Woods, riding a golf cart, teamed up again with Charlie in the PNC Championship, the two finishing second to John Daly and his son, John Jr.
Woods is listed among the past champions expected to play this year. But could withdraw right up until his tee time on Thursday; tee times annually come out Tuesday at 12 noon (local time).
Will he or won’t he? Can he or can’t he? The drama runs deep as the Masters Tournament approaches.
Will he or won’t he? Can he or can’t he?
The drama runs deep as the Masters Tournament approaches, and, of course, it centers exclusively on Tiger Woods, as it has for a quarter of a century now. That’s normal and expected. Of course the Masters is coming and of course we’re talking about Tiger.
This year, though, it’s actually stunning to be having this conversation. It was little more than 13 months ago that Woods was in that awful car accident. His right leg was shattered. Golf was a distant dream for him at that point. If he could just walk again, that would be a successful recovery, that would be enough. That was the thinking not all that long ago.
What does that mean? Is he in? Or was he just testing out the leg on the hills of Augusta National, trying to gauge what it will take to make a comeback?
So far, anyone who knows isn’t saying. But as long as Tiger doesn’t withdraw, there’s obviously still a chance he will play. What was unthinkable just a few months ago is still probably unlikely, but not impossible.
So let’s explore the idea, even if it ends up not happening: Tiger playing in the 2022 Masters.
What a gift that would be to the Masters, and to the game of golf. Tiger needs golf, but golf has always needed Tiger even more.
With Phil Mickelson sitting in the penalty box for who knows how long, and Tiger out since his accident, men’s golf is struggling to find transcendent personalities who can draw in people other than those who already are hooked, which is mainly white males who play golf.
Tiger is that guy, and has been since he won his first Masters in 1997. Who can bring grandmothers running to their TVs on Sunday afternoon of Masters week? Tiger, Phil — and, to a lesser extent, perhaps Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. Am I missing anyone? I don’t think so.
McIlroy was at Augusta National when Tiger played his practice round Tuesday.
“He was there, obviously, and he’s trying to see what he can do,” McIlroy told reporters at this week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. “Obviously no one knows but him if he can make it around and if he believes he can compete.”
But if he somehow can, McIlroy said, “I think for golf and for the Masters tournament and for everyone, to have Tiger there would be phenomenal. I think it just adds to the event. Obviously, it does. Anything Tiger Woods does in the game of golf is heightened whenever he’s there. I mean, it would be awesome for him to be there.”
If Tiger were to be able to play, he changes everything about next week at the Masters. He would turn the usual routine at Augusta National into a spectacle, in a great way. His comeback story would be extraordinary at any age, but Tiger is now 46, which happens to be the same age Jack Nicklaus was when he became the oldest winner of the Masters in 1986. Ah, the symmetry.
Fans will be back in droves at Augusta National as COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, meaning this will be the first “normal” Masters since 2019, which was won by, well, you know who, the golfer who isn’t expected to play, but what if he does?
If Tiger returns, improbably, it will mark one of the greatest comebacks the game has ever seen.
Sure, the PGA Tour is in San Antonio this week, and we’re in the middle of the year’s first major on the LPGA schedule, but the eyes of the golf world have been squarely focused on one thing — will Tiger Woods play the 2022 Masters at Augusta National?
Although speculation has been rampant, no official word had been given by Friday morning.
While others in the golf world have had plenty to keep them busy this week, almost everyone has had an opinion on Tiger and his potential return. Here’s a look at a few:
