Masters – Page 57 – Syndication Server

The greatest chip in Masters history, as told by Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods explains greatest chip in Masters history

The red shirt was in control once again Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club. As the shadows from the pine trees started to lengthen over the emerald setting below, Tiger Woods had a 1-shot lead with three holes to play. A fourth green jacket in nine years and his ninth major victory were well within reach.

It was 2005.

Woods and Chris DiMarco had turned the Masters into a two-man show. DiMarco led after 18 and 36 holes before Woods made seven consecutive birdies over two days in a third round delayed by rain to grab the lead after 54.

When they reached the lake-guarded 16th on Sunday, they were six shots clear of the field. And then Woods sailed his 8-iron left of the green.

His ball wound up near the collar of the rough, below the green, 50 feet from the hole. He had to take an adventurous route, pitching the ball 25 feet to the left of the hole and into a large ridge that dissects the green. He needed the ball to make a right turn and head downhill toward the hole. On a lightning-fast green. On a Sunday in a major.

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Making par was unlikely. Bogey was probable. Double bogey was in play.

Tiger pitched in for birdie.

Spinning halfway up the ridge, then making the right turn, the ball slowly started rolling toward the hole.

Then the Nike swoosh hung on the lip for 1.8 seconds before disappearing into the hole.

Instead of losing his lead, Woods walked to the 17th tee two shots clear of stunned DiMarco, who missed his birdie putt from 20 feet. Although Woods bogeyed the last two holes, he defeated DiMarco on the first hole of a playoff with a 15-foot birdie on the 18th.

“It was one of those magical moments in sports history — a time you remember where you were when it happened,” says Marc Patrick, vice president of global marketing for Nike, which cashed in as the shot was replayed over and over and later became a massive hit on YouTube.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the memorable shot. And the 10th anniversary of Tiger’s last win at Augusta National.

Here is what those at the 16th hole that day remember:

Tiger Woods

“Well, the thing is I hit a crappy 8-iron. I pulled it way left, and I thought it was in the water. So I was thankful it wasn’t in the water. I get over there, and I see the ball is up against the cut (of rough). I had to pick the club up steep, and I had to put spin on it, and I had to drive it into the hill.

“But back in those days when we had square grooves, I had that ability to play that shot. And I had already seen that shot, because either a year or two before Davis Love holed a very similar shot. But he was slightly further up the hill, and I saw him give it a little bit extra for it to break. So I kind of knew the line already.

“The shadows were coming down through the trees, and there was a glimmer of light. As I was reading it, I was thinking that if my ball hits that light and then starts to move to the right, I’ve got a good chance. So that’s all I was focused on, hitting that piece of light between the two tree shadows. And I pulled it off.

“I had never been down there before. And I haven’t been down there since.

“I kept telling myself, even though I messed up and I lost a chance to win it outright on the last two holes of regulation, I said, ‘It doesn’t matter, because I’ve still got a chance to win in the playoff.’ And I kept telling myself going back to the tee on 18 that I’ve still got a chance to win in a playoff. And I hit two sweet shots. That 8-iron I hit (to the green) was absolutely phenomenal, right on top of the flag, and then I holed the putt.”

Chris DiMarco, lost the 2005 Masters to Woods in a playoff

“I knew he hit a terrible shot to hit it where he was, but I was thinking to expect the unexpected. I literally prepared myself for every scenario as I walked up to the green.

“Tiger knocking it in was certainly not what I was expecting, but I had prepared for it. It was Tiger Woods, and it is expected that stuff like that happens to him.

“The one thing that I was lucky with in my career is that when I played well in majors I played well down the stretch. I haven’t really blown it down the stretch, at least when I had the chance to win. … If I were to have missed a 3-footer on the last hole with a chance to win, then that probably would have stayed with me a lot longer. I did a lot of really good things. I just didn’t win the tournament, and unfortunately you’re playing against probably one of the greatest players that I’ve ever seen up close.

“Jack Nicklaus is right there with Tiger. It’s neck and neck, but I’ve seen a lot of Tiger Woods up close and personal, and there’s never been anyone close to him.”

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Steve Williams, Woods’ caddie in 13 of 14 majors

“My immediate thought was that it was in the water. But I confirmed with the camera guy that the ball was dry. I didn’t know what was over there. Walking to the green, Tiger asked me, ‘What’s over there?’ I had to be honest and say in all my years of caddying at Augusta I had not been long left of the green.

“Once we got to the ball, I was very relieved to see Tiger had a shot and could get it on the green and most likely make a 4. Tiger had a long look at the shot and pointed out an old pitch mark on the green and asked me what I thought if he landed it in that area. Incredibly, when he pitched the shot it landed exactly on the pitch mark. When the ball started rolling towards the hole I thought, ‘You know what? We can escape with a 3 here.’ What happened next was incredible. I was so pumped I went to high-five Tiger and we missed.

“It’s hard to believe Tiger has not put on the green jacket in 10 years. His game is so suited to playing Augusta, and he has a great understanding of how to play the course. Not many would have believed he would go 10 years without a win at one of his favorite venues.”

Pat O’Brien, DiMarco’s longtime caddie

“I’m trying to forget that shot. That’s a Masters we should have won. We were 13-under par when they blew the horn on Saturday evening, and then we went out and had that bad Sunday morning.

“I certainly didn’t expect to walk off the 16th green two down. Where Tiger hit it wasn’t exactly the garden spot. I was standing right by Chris over by the bunker. Tiger hits it, and I’m watching the damn thing and thinking it looks pretty good. I still didn’t think it was going to go in. But obviously Tiger had it going those days. Over the years we played with Tiger a few times and you knew him and you would kind of expect him to pull off a miracle shot, but that was a little much.

“Then Tiger did us a favor by making two bogeys coming in. It sucked in the playoff. We felt like we should have won that thing, and it’s all of a sudden a playoff and it’s over and you’re done. It still stays with you.

“Tiger has got 13 other majors, you know, so it is what it is. That’s why Tiger is Tiger.

“Chris tried as hard as he could. He didn’t win that year, but he played by far his best golf. Chris lost in the final at the Match Play, lost to Tiger at the Masters, lost to Tiger by one again at Firestone, and he played great when the U.S. won The Presidents Cup. But this time of the year, I think back to Tiger’s shot and think what could have been and what should have been.”

Legendary CBS announcer Verne Lundquist was sitting in the tower behind the green. Lundquist also made his famous “Yes sir” call when Nicklaus made his birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday when he won the 1986 Masters.

“I just thought it would take a miracle for Tiger to par the hole. I remember someone saying in my ear that Tiger would be lucky to get his shot to stop inside DiMarco’s ball. But Tiger looked at the shot a long time.

“When he hit it, I remember I didn’t think anything initially that it was a remarkable shot. And then you could see he hit the shot with perfect spin, and then you could see it had perfect speed going down the ridge. And it had a perfect line to the hole. And I said something about, ‘Well, here it comes,’ and then, ‘Oh my goodness,’ was, I think, my second line.

“And then when it sat at the cup for 1.8 seconds and fell in, I just reacted the way I think anybody sitting at home reacted, and that was to yell, ‘Oh, wow.’ And then, of course, the crowd went crazy and I said, ‘In your life have you ever seen anything like that?’

“I have been so blessed over 40 years of network television. I’ve just been so fortunate to be there for terrific occasions when something memorable broke out, so for me, that call and the fact that it was Tiger and the fact that he went on to win, places … it’s up there at the top. I say this with humility that I’ve had so many lucky moments like that that I’ve given up trying to rank them.”

This story originally ran on For The Win on April 8, 2015.

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (2005): A most memorable chip shot, a fourth green jacket

“In your life!” roared CBS announcer Verne Lundquist as Tiger Woods pulls off one of the most amazing chip shots in Masters history.

Before we get to the swoosh hanging on the lip for 1.8 seconds on the final day of the 2005 Masters, let’s deal with a few other matters that set the stage for one of the greatest chip shots in the history of the game.

Tiger Woods, his latest new swing in tune, came into the Masters with two wins that year and brimming with confidence. Then he opened with a dismal 74 that included a putt into Rae’s Creek at the 13th hole.

Foul weather marred the first three days of the event and Woods got back on track with a 66 in the second round that was completed Saturday. In the third round that spilled into Sunday, Woods birdied his final three holes on Saturday and then his first four on Sunday en route to a 65 that gave him a commanding 3-shot lead over Chris DiMarco heading into the final round.

2005 Masters: Final leaderboard

DiMarco had held a 4-shot lead when darkness halted play Saturday.

But DiMarco didn’t go away and wasn’t overwhelmed by the Sunday red shirt. When DiMarco and Woods got to the 16th tee, they were six shots clear of the field. Then Woods, who was one clear of DiMarco, sailed his 8-iron over the green, the ball coming to rest against the collar of the rough, well below the putting surface and 50 feet from the hole.

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He had to play the shot away from the hole, run it up a severe ridge, have enough spin on the ball to make it stop on the ridge and change direction and start heading toward the cup. Well, he clipped the ball perfectly, it made a seamless right-hand turn and started trickling toward the hole. Then the Nike swoosh hung on the lip for 1.8 seconds before disappearing into the hole.

“In your life have you ever seen anything like that!” CBS announcer Verne Lundquist roared.

“I was just trying to throw the ball up there on the hill and let it feed down there and hopefully have a makeable putt,” Woods said that day. “All of a sudden, it looked pretty good, and all of a sudden it looked like really good and it looked like how could it not go in and how did it not go in and all of a sudden it went in, so it was pretty sweet.”

But Woods squandered his 2-shot advantage with bogeys on 17 and 18 but won on the first playoff hole with a 15-foot birdie.

“Even though I was kind of throwing up on the last couple of holes, I kind of snuck one out in the playoff,” Woods said.

On the 10th anniversary of the 2005 Masters, the duel with Woods – and the chip shot heard round the golf world – was still fresh in DiMarco’s mind.

“Tiger knocking it in was certainly not what I was expecting, but I had prepared for it,” DiMarco said 10 years later. “It was Tiger Woods, and it is expected that stuff like that happens to him. Jack Nicklaus is right there with Tiger. It’s neck and neck, but I’ve seen a lot of Tiger Woods up close and personal, and there’s never been anyone close to him.”

Speaking of Nicklaus, it was the final Masters for the Golden Bear.

Remarkably, Woods won in each of Nicklaus’ final appearances in the four majors – the 2000 U.S. Open, 2000 PGA Championship, 2005 Masters and 2005 British Open.

Woods now had nine majors – halfway to Nicklaus – and four green jackets. It was his first major win since the 2002 U.S. Open.

“I think it’s pretty neat for me to have an opportunity to have won four before the age of 30. No one’s done that, so to be able to do something that no one has ever done is pretty neat,” Woods said. As for his chase to catch Nicklaus, he added, “There’s a long way to go.”

Little did Woods know that it would be a long time before he won his fifth green jacket.

This is the 11th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (2004): More swing changes ahead of 10th career start

Tiger Woods was working through another swing change heading into the 2004 Masters, which marked his 10th start at Augusta National.

Tiger Woods was working through another swing change heading into the 2004 Masters, which marked his 10th – yes, 10th – start at Augusta National.

He had won the World Golf Championships Match Play that year and posted four other top-10s in seven starts before turning onto Magnolia Lane. But at each stop, he was questioned and questioned and questioned about his new swing.

“I feel like I’m playing well,” Woods said ahead of the tournament. “Things that I’ve been working on are starting to come together, which is great. It’s exciting.”

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But Woods signed for a dull 75 in the first round – he shot 40 on the front nine just as he did in 1997. Unlike in 1997, however, when he dramatically rebounded to rout the field, Woods was never a factor in 2004.

He flashed some good form during a second-round 69 but stumbled to another 75 in the third round and finished with a 71 to wind up at 2-over 290 in a tie for 22nd.

His final round was not without drama, however, as he vomited in a garbage can after playing the first hole.

2004 Masters: Final leaderboard

“I ate something that didn’t agree with me,” Woods said. “I felt kind of sick on the range and got progressively worse. On the first green, I had to lighten the load a little bit.”

Much of his data on the stat sheet left him feeling ill, too. While he tied for sixth in greens in regulation (72.2 percent), he needed 123 putts as he finished 11 shots back.

“No,” Woods said when asked if there was an issue with his swing. “I’m very close to putting it all together. I made actually nothing today. I just need to make a few more putts, get the ball a little closer to the hole, and it will be all good.

“I didn’t make any putts this week, at all. Any putt that I had within 10 feet for birdie, I didn’t make them, and you have to make those. Occasionally I had a couple of par putts, four or five feet, and I didn’t make those, either. You can’t go around here and not putt well and expect to win.

“I’m disappointed because I didn’t win. That’s obviously the ultimate goal. I felt like I hit the ball well enough to do it, but I just didn’t make any putts.”

As for putts, Phil Mickelson delivered one for the ages. Lefty canned an 18-footer on the 72nd hole to win his first green jacket and his first major. With one giant leap – OK, a vertically challenged leap – Mickelson put an end to his 0-for-42 futility in major championships.

While Mickelson put an end to his streak, Arnold Palmer capped off his remarkable streak. At age 74, the King, an owner of four green jackets, hiked up the 18th fairway for the final time in competition in what was his 50th consecutive Masters start.

This is the tenth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Tiger Woods at the Masters (2003): A first-ever Augusta three-peat?

In 2003, Tiger Woods was in line to become the first to win three consecutive green jackets. “I really would like to win this week,” he said.

Tiger Woods is the only player to win the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in three consecutive years.

He’s the only player to bag a three-peat in the U.S. Amateur.

And in 2003, he was in line to become the only one to win three consecutive green jackets.

“I really would like to win this week,” Woods said ahead of the tournament.

“I’ve been able to do certain things in golf that no one’s ever done before. And if you’re ever in that position, you want to take advantage of it because it doesn’t happen all the time. I was in that position to win the Juniors, to win the Amateurs, and now hopefully I can win three straight Masters.”

2003 Masters: Final leaderboard

He headed to the Masters with three victories in five starts that year and was installed as the 7-5 favorite. Someone not named Woods, however, made history (we’ll get to him in a bit).

Woods opened with a 76 – his worst first-round score in his 22 Masters starts – and shot a second-round 73 to make the cut on the number and stood 11 shots behind the leader.

But Woods vaulted into contention with a bogey-free 66 in Saturday’s third round and went to sleep just four shots behind the leader.

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“Tomorrow you just play one shot at a time and see what happens,” Woods said after the third round. “I played well here and there and then finally today I got something going and I continued it for all 18 holes.

“We all know that anything can happen on that back nine. You just need to get yourself in position. I’m four back. That’s not inconceivable. That’s for sure.”

He got within three with a birdie on two but then his three-peat ran into trouble on the third hole named Flowering Peach. With a strong wind at his back, Woods pulled driver and had a go at the green 350 yards away. Instead he wound up in a batch of trees. He punched out left-handed but needed four more shots to finish off a disastrous double-bogey 6.

“That cost me a lot right there, a lot of mo,” Woods said.

He went on to bogey three of his next five holes and finished with a 75 – tied for his worst final-round in his history in the Masters.

“It was just one of those weeks where I couldn’t really get anything going for an extended period of time,” Woods said. “It’s disappointing. We try to put ourselves in a position to win and you’re not going to win every time. You look at the greatest champions of all time and their winning percentage in all sports, it’s not too good.”

But Woods did end his day on a historical note. He helped Mike Weir slip on the green jacket as he became the first Canadian and first left-handed player to win at Augusta National. Weir defeated Len Mattiace in a playoff.

This is the ninth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Tiger Woods at the Masters (2002): Woods wins back-to-back green jackets

Tiger Woods returned to Augusta National in 2002 and became the third golfer to win back-to-back green jacks at the Masters.

Something was different heading into the 2002 Masters.

No, not with Tiger Woods — he was still the dominant force in the game. He’d won 25 times worldwide since the start of 1999, including five majors, and had four top-10s in seven starts in 2002 when he arrived in Augusta, Georgia.

That included another victory in Arnold Palmer’s annual invitational at Bay Hill.

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Instead, the altered nature of the tournament had everything to do with the iconic course. After Woods began turning Augusta National’s hallowed grounds into a pitch-and-putt in 1997 – hitting wedge to the par-5 15th, sand wedges to the longer par-4s, etc. – the green jackets called renowned architect Tom Fazio with one goal: put some teeth back into the course.

Fazio delivered, which meant new trees were planted, extra tee boxes ingrained and 285 extra yards of length added to nine holes, stretching the course to 7,270 yards. The modifications, naturally, became known as Tiger-proofing.

“This golf course has certainly changed on your approach mentally,” Woods said. “I think it’s more of a mental test now than it was when I first won here, because of the lengthening.”

2002 Masters: Final leaderboard

Well, 100 years after Bobby Jones was born, and in Arnold Palmer’s last Masters, the Tiger-proofing was no match for Tiger. With rounds of 70-69-66-71, Woods finished at 12-under 276 and three shots clear of Retief Goosen when the manual white scoreboards came to a standstill.

But it was far from easy as he joined Jack Nicklaus (1965-66) and Nick Faldo (1989-90) as the only players to win back-to-back green jackets.

“I always felt that I had the game that was good enough to win here at this tournament. But you need to have — and I keep saying it — you’ve got to have some good breaks,” Woods said. “I played well this week, made some good putts when I really needed them, but I had some good breaks as well. I was able to somehow finagle a way to get up-and-down and save a lot of pars this week.”

Woods signed for a 70 after the first round, then played 26 holes on Saturday to finish off his second round and conclude his third round due to a rain delay. He woke at 4:30 a.m. that Saturday, trailing Vijay Singh by six shots, but by nightfall he held co-ownership of the lead at 11 under with Goosen. His third-round 66 was the lowest of the day.

As Masters Sunday took flight, six of the top 7 players in the world were within four shots of the lead – Goosen tied with Woods, Singh two back, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els four back.

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Woods birdied two and three and from there no one got within two shots of him the rest of the way. While Els and Mickelson each birdied the first two holes, their offensive on Woods stalled, as did all the others. Woods let them insert their own daggers and while he made three bogeys, he kept his distance with four birdies.

The extra length did him no harm – he hit 69 percent of his fairways in regulation, 75 percent of his greens. He made 19 birdies, averaged 295 off the tee.

It was his third green jacket, his seventh major championship. And he was just 26. No one had ever gotten to seven major victories at such a young age.

“It’s pretty neat to be able to have my name mentioned with some of the golfing greats, especially at this tournament,” Woods said. “This tournament is very historic and very special to all the players. This is a tournament we really want to win, and to be able to put my name on that trophy three times, it’s really cool.

“It would be nice to win as many majors as Jack did. That would be great. But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. I think the thing I keep saying to myself every year is I want to become a better player at the end of the year than I was at the beginning. If I can keep doing that year after year, I’ll have a pretty good career.”

This is the eighth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Tiger Woods at the Masters (2001): Woods sweeps majors in less than a year

Tiger Woods outlasted Phil Mickelson at Augusta National to win the 2001 Masters Tournament and sweep the four majors in less than a year.

For nearly eight months, Tiger Woods carried around the burden of expectation and pondered the budding history that awaited at the 2001 Masters.

While he’d grown accustomed to living in the spotlight, a laser beam of attention tracked Woods after defeating Bob May in a dramatic playoff at Valhalla to win the 2000 PGA Championship. In a year in which he won nine times, Tiger’s PGA triumph was his third consecutive major conquest, a nail-biter following a record 15-shot runaway in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and an 8-shot waltz in the British Open at St. Andrews.

A victory at Augusta National and Woods would become the only player ever to hold all four professional major titles at one time. Grand Slam? Tiger Slam? Woods didn’t want to argue the terminology; he just wanted to get on with it.

2001 Masters: Final leaderboard

“Do I feel the burden of it? No,” Woods said two days before the ceremonial tee shots. “To be honest with you, it is a special tournament, and we are here at the Masters, and that is very special. But, you know what, I guarantee you, come Sunday night, win or lose, life is going to go on. The sun will come up on Monday. People obviously are excited about what could transpire, and so am I. But it’s not life or death. I enjoy competing and it is fun. Take it as that.”

Woods headed into the Masters after victories in his previous two starts – at Arnie’s Bay Hill Invitational and the PGA Tour’s Players Championship.

Woods opened with a 70 and followed with a 66 to get within two of the lead through 36 holes. A 68 in the third round put him atop the famous white scoreboards by one and gave way to a final-day, final-group pairing with Phil Mickelson.

David Duval was three shots back and birdied seven of the first 10 holes to move into a tie with Woods, who followed a bogey at the first with birdies at two, seven and eight. Meanwhile, Mickelson had a share of the lead after four of the first five holes but bogeyed six and then remained one, two or three shots behind the rest of the way.

Woods regained the lead when he nearly holed out his approach on the 11th, fell back into a tie with a bogey on 12, then grabbed the solo lead again with a birdie on the 13th. Looking to regain the advantage, he shockingly three-putted for par on the 15th from just 18 feet. Duval, however, bogeyed 16 to fall one back, missed birdie chances from 10 and 6 feet on the final two holes, and wound up in second as Woods parred 16, 17 and birdied 18 from 18 feet to win by two at 16-under 272.

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Woods walked to the side of the 18th green and buried his head in his cap as Mickelson took the last stroke of the tournament.

“When I didn’t have any more shots to play, that’s when I started to realize what I had done; I won the tournament, and I started getting a little emotional, and I was trying to pull it together,” Woods said.

It was his sixth major title, his fifth in the last six played, his second green jacket. And he earned a clean sweep of all four majors in 294 days.

“I have a better appreciation for winning a major championship,” Woods said. “To win four of them in succession, it’s hard to believe. I don’t think I’ve ever accomplished anything this great.”

The achievement was so great the most powerful man in golf heard from the most powerful man in the world.

“We all apologize for the delay, ladies and gentlemen,” Billy Payne, then chairman of the media committee, said as he introduced Woods at the post-round interview with the media. “President (George H. W.) Bush just called Tiger and expressed his congratulations.”

A worthy call indeed.

This is the seventh story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

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Augusta in October would certainly be a Masters unlike any other

Instead of being the annual rite of spring, the Masters could serve as a different version of a Fall Classic.

It would certainly be a Masters unlike any other.

Instead of being the annual rite of spring for golf in April, the Masters could serve as an autumn awakening in October. A different version of a Fall Classic, if you will.

Shortly after Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley announced this year’s Masters was postponed – not canceled – due to the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world, speculation has run rampant as to when the best players in the world would arrive in Augusta, Georgia, and drive down Magnolia Lane in pursuit of a green jacket.

Word got out that the club was making calls to local schools, rental agencies and government officials to get a sense of how a Masters in October would pan out, seeing as every Masters has been played in April except the two years it was held in March. Quickly, area hotel rates in the 10th month of the year skyrocketed.

A few clues

These bites of information naturally spawned some questions. If the Masters were to be held in October – and that’s a big if – how would the course play? How would it look? How would it feel?

Past Masters champions Zach Johnson and Trevor Immelman and former world No. 1 Luke Donald have all played Augusta National in October and offered some clues.

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A few basics first: The average temperatures in April and October are similar – from the upper-40s to the upper-70s. On average, October (6.19 inches) gets more rain than April (4.31 inches). Northerly winds are the norm in October, which means players would hit into wind streams on the first hole and on three of the four par-5s.

In April, players play on rye grass and putt on bentgrass greens. In the fall, when the seasonal club reopens in October after closing in late May, the rye overseed is introduced while the Bermuda grass is shaved. That would mean an October Masters would play out on a carpet of rye and Bermuda from tee to green.

“Playing in October is very different to April in the fact the Bermuda grass was still fighting with the overseed,” Donald said of the 7,475-yard course.

But Donald said the club’s resources, including a SubAir system that controls the temperature and moisture of all the greens and many landing areas in the fairways, would make an October Masters course play as similar as possible to April’s course.

“And the greens are always pure there so they’d be fast and true. But there would certainly be some Bermuda grass fighting with the overseed,” Donald continued. “The fairways would be a little bit softer because you’re usually coming off a very warm summer in Georgia, which goes through September, so you’re just starting to cool off in October. With that heat you have to water the course a lot.

“I just think the course would play a bit longer.”

‘It would still be Augusta… still be pure’

Johnson, who held off Tiger Woods to win the green jacket in 2007, said it’s difficult to predict how the course will play in October.

“The bottom line is, if they knew they were going to host the Masters in October, the course would look and play dramatically different this October than any other October,” said Johnson.

“My guess is that you would see more Bermuda, but it would still be Augusta National and it would still be pure. It would still be green and it would still be a major championship at Augusta National.

“And the playability of Augusta National will still be based on Mother Nature, not the grass. It’s Augusta National. It’s going to be pure. You’re going to have great lies; the greens will be pure. If it’s in October, it still would be unbelievable.”

Which would be true with the visuals, as well. The vibrant spring colors of the lush dogwoods and azaleas would be replaced by the autumn splendor of various shades of yellow, orange, red and brown hues.

“In the spring, all the color is popping and it’s very lush,” said Immelman, who also held off Woods en route to his green jacket in 2008. He has played Augusta National more than 20 times in October. “Now, in the fall, you’ve got great color, too. It’s just different colors. You have that fall orangey, reddish thing going.

“But it’s still breathtaking.”

And a Masters in October also could be inspiring.

“We’ve become so accustomed to the fact that the Masters signals the fact the major season is starting, it’s spring time for most of America. It signals that we’ve come through a long winter and those who had been locked in by winter are feeling the warmth of spring,” Immelman said. “If the Masters is played in the fall, it would feel a little different. But the world is going through such a tough time right now, and everybody is so unsure how the next little while will pan out.

“At some point, when we do feel we have the ability to be able to go back out there and start our normal lives, hopefully with as minimal and little damage as possible, I think sports and arts and entertainment are going to be such a huge part of our signaling to ourselves that we’ve made it through this and we can start celebrating those things once again.

“The Masters and all the great events in sports would be so inspirational for us to start building back up.”

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (2000): Green jacket eludes Woods in most successful year

Tiger Woods entered the 2000 Masters Tournament on a hot streak, but finished fifth after struggling over the weekend at Augusta National.

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As the world welcomed a new millennium — and remained far removed from the stone age as the Y2K scare vanished when computers correctly shifted from 1999 to 2000 — Tiger Woods was at the zenith of his powers.

With his retooled swing fully on point, Woods went on a 12-month heater that left authors scrambling to revise the record books and his fellow pros struggling to keep pace with his dust.

In 20 starts, he finished first or second 13 times. His nine wins were the most in a single year since Sam Snead won 11 times 50 years earlier. The $9.2 million in earnings broke his single-season record set the previous season by $2.6 million.

He destroyed picturesque Pebble Beach and bludgeoned his colleagues to win the U.S. Open by a record 15 shots. He became the youngest, at 24, to complete the career Grand Slam when he won the Claret Jug at St. Andrews by eight. He finally put away Bob May in a playoff to win the PGA Championship a second consecutive year. He won Jack Nicklaus’ and Arnold Palmer’s tournaments. And he teamed with David Duval to close his year out with a win in the World Cup.

2000 Masters: Final leaderboard

But in his best year of so many, the green jacket eluded Woods despite rolling down Magnolia Lane with three wins and three runner-up finishes in seven PGA Tour starts under his belt. The field or Woods? Some bettors took Woods.

But a first-round 75 included a double-bogey 6 at No. 10 and a triple-bogey 6 at the 12th. A second-round 72 left him at 3 over and nine shots behind the pace-setting Duval. Tiger stirred up some hope with a 68 in the third round – he was the only player to break 70 that day – and he trailed Vijay Singh by six shots with 54 holes to play.

“At least I gave myself a chance after Thursday,” Woods said.

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But as he arrived at the first tee for Masters Sunday, something seemed amiss. Instead of wearing his Sunday red shirt, he was sporting some weird blend of horizontal black-and-white stripes splashed with purple tones. What was that?

After making the turn in 33 strokes — and you know what can happen on the back nine on Sunday among the Georgia pines — Woods couldn’t sustain his charge and signed for a 69. That left him at 4-under 284 and in fifth place, six shots behind Singh, who had never finished better than a tie for 17th in six starts at Augusta. In winning his second major, Singh beat Ernie Els by three.

“For some reason, the golfing gods weren’t looking down on me this week,” Woods said.

This is the sixth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

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Tiger Woods at the Masters (1999): Duval-Tiger showdown was all the buzz

A showdown between No. 1 David Duval and No. 2 Tiger Woods was all the talk heading into the 1999 Masters.

A showdown between Tiger Woods and David Duval was all the talk heading into the 1999 Masters.

Woods, who won his first green jacket in 1997 by a record 12 shots and finished in a tie for eighth in 1998, was in the midst of fine tuning his revamped swing but remained a serious contender. Coming into the Masters, he had six top-10s in eight starts, including a victory in the Buick Invitational and a tie for second in the Nissan Open.

But Duval was the clear favorite.

He was on a remarkable run of 11 wins in 34 starts. He had won his two previous starts ahead of the Masters, including The Players Championship. He had won his first two starts of the year, the second coming in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where he closed with a 59.

Duval was No. 1 in the world rankings, Woods No. 2.

1999 MASTERS: Final leaderboard

But the Sunday showdown never materialized.

Woods never threatened and shot rounds of 72-72-70-75 to finish at 1-over 289 and in a tie for 18th. He made a triple-bogey 8 on the eighth hole in the first round, a double-bogey 5 on the 12th the second round, and made three consecutive bogeys, something he had never done in the Masters, in the third round. He started the final round five shots out of the lead but shot 75 and finished nine shots behind Jose Maria Olazabal, who won his second green jacket.

“I hit a lot of great shots and a lot of ugly ones,” Woods said. “I just didn’t make the putts or give myself a lot of opportunities.”

While he wasn’t in full control of his game in the Masters, everything clicked for Woods the rest of 1999. He won nine times, including his second major victory in the PGA Championship. He won eight of his final 12 starts in 1999.

Duval, meanwhile, shot 71-74-70-70 to finish at 3-under 285 and in a tie for sixth. He pulled within one in the final round with birdies at 7, 8 and 10, but a double-bogey 6 on the 11th hindered his chances.

Olazabal, Woods’ first playing partner in his first Masters in 1995, held off Greg Norman and Davis Love III in the final round. Olazabal shot 70-66-73-71 to finish at 8-under 280.

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Three years prior, Olazabal didn’t think he’d ever play golf again as aching feet had forced him to crawl on all fours around his house. But his condition had been misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. It was later discovered that he suffered from a lower back hernia. Treatment and rehabilitation returned his health. Out for 18 months, he played in his first professional tournament in March 1997.

Sergio Garcia, the British Amateur champion, made it a Spanish double in 1999 as he became the first European to win the low amateur medal.

This is the fifth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Tiger Woods at the Masters (1998): Tiger-mania in full swing

Tiger Woods didn’t have his A game in 1998, but Masters week was not without lasting memories, as 58-year-old Jack Nicklaus made a run.

Tiger-mania was in full swing at the 1998 Masters.

Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National Golf Club determined to defend his 12-shot, historic victory from the previous year. He was the No. 1 player in the world and had five top-10s in seven starts leading to Magnolia Lane, including a victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic, where he overcame an 8-shot deficit on the final day to defeat Ernie Els in a playoff to claim his first European Tour title.

Woods was paired with reigning U.S. Amateur champion Matt Kuchar the first two rounds but never could call upon his best form. Woods never broke 70 and with rounds of 71-72-72-70, he finished in a tie for eighth place. While he made 18 birdies, he couldn’t overcome 13 bogeys to contend late on Sunday.

“I squeezed the towel dry and got everything I could out of my game,” Woods said after the tournament. “It just didn’t happen. I’m human. The only thing I can say about my game is I go out and give it everything I’ve got.

“Sometimes I’ll shoot like I did last year. Sometimes I’ll be like this year.”

But the 1998 Masters was not without lasting memories for Woods.

1998 MASTERS: Final leaderboard

In the final round, he was paired with Davis Love III, one group ahead of Ernie Els and Jack Nicklaus, who at age 58 was making a run for another green jacket 12 years after becoming the oldest Masters champion by winning his sixth in 1986.

Playing in his 40th Masters and with a noticeable limp, the Golden Bear made birdie on four of his first seven holes in the final round to get within two shots of the lead of Fred Couples. But he couldn’t recapture his back-nine magic from 1986 and finished with a 68 to tie for sixth.

But Woods will never forget Nicklaus’ charge.

“It was ungodly,” Woods said. “Davis and I were just listening that day. When we got to 12, the two of us were making a mess of things and we just wanted to make sure we didn’t get run over. Jack was making a run and could win the tournament, and the last thing we wanted to do was hold him up.

“We got a great view all day and every hole he was getting standing ovations, at every tee, every green. Down in Amen Corner, the echoes are so much louder and so cool. It was just so great that day, the atmosphere.”

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Woods also ended his day on a good note. He helped good friend Mark O’Meara slip on the green jacket. In his 15th start in the Masters, O’Meara became a major champion as he made three birdies in his final four holes to defeat Couples and David Duval by one shot.

O’Meara canned a nine-footer for birdie on the 17th hole and then sank his winning birdie putt from 20 feet on the last.

“I was a very proud friend,” Woods said. “It meant a lot to me and it will mean a lot to Mark to wear the jacket.”

This is the fourth story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters.

WATCH EVERY MASTERS TOURNAMENT – SUBSCRIBE TO ESPN+

Watch the full collection of official Masters films, which has a one-hour recap of every Masters from 1960 all the way up to 2018.

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.