Tiger Woods was on another heater heading into the 2008 Masters.
A white-hot heater, if you will, a scorched-golf-earth flame that began in 2007 and was burning oh-so bright en route to Augusta National. Woods won four of his last five events in 2007 and four of his first five in 2008. In the two he didn’t win he finished fifth and in a tie for second.
The blistering streak included six consecutive wins and victories in the 2007 PGA Championship, the 2007 Tour Championship where he won the inaugural FedExCup, and the 2008 World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play.
He was even-money to win the Masters. With his confidence at such a peak he talked boldly ahead of the Masters of winning the calendar Grand Slam. He had the chops to back such talk up – had won 13 majors, had won four consecutive majors for the Tiger Slam, and loved all four venues hosting the majors.
His putter, however, was tone deaf that week. He needed 120 putts to complete four rounds – tied for 29th in the field – and missed far too many putts inside 6 feet to truly put on a good run.
2008 Masters: Final leaderboard
Rounds of 72-71-68 placed his fifth through 54 holes but six shots behind leader Trevor Immelman. While Woods did can a 70-footer for birdie on the 11th in the final round, he missed a four-footer for par on the fourth, a four-footer for birdie on the 13th and another shorty on the 14th where he three-putted for bogey.
“I just didn’t quite have it this week,” Woods said. “I didn’t make the putts I needed to make this entire week. I had the speed, just didn’t get the line right. You have good weeks and have bad weeks. Certainly, this was not one of my best.”
As for his pre-tournament Grand Slam proclamation, he said, “I learned my lesson there with the press. I’m not going to say anything (in the future).”
As for his immediate future, two days after the Master he had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair cartilage damage. Throughout the 2008 Masters, Woods didn’t let on that his knee was a hinderance. Only later did we find out he likely was playing with torn ligaments.
A month after the Masters, doctors advised him to skip the U.S. Open. Woods didn’t listen and won the U.S. Open with torn ligaments and two stress fractures in his left tibia. Eight days after winning the national championship, he had reconstructive surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee and he missed the rest of the season.
The Masters champion that year also dealt with surgery. Immelman, who went wire-to-wire to win his green jacket, had surgery in December 2007 to remove what turned out to be a noncancerous tumor on his diaphragm. He missed the cut in four of his first eight starts in 2008, with a best finish being a tie for 40th.
But rounds of 68-68-69 gave him a two-shot lead heading into the final round.
Winds gusts reaching 30 mph greeted golfers on Sunday and the average score was 74.67. Only four players broke par. After Brandt Snedeker eagled the second to grab a share of the lead, Immelman took command once again around the turn and despite a double-bogey on the 16th, he cruised to a three-shot win.
Not that he cared, but Immelman’s 75 in the final round tied the record for the highest final-round score by a winner.
“This has probably been the ultimate roller coaster ride, and I hate roller coasters,” Immelman said. “And here I am, after missing the cut last week (in the Houston Open), the Masters champion. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
Made extra special because the toppled Woods.
“I don’t think it is ever easy to win a major in any era. But you know, I’m playing in the Tiger Woods era,” he said. “The guy boggles my mind. I’m an avid sports watcher, and I study top sportsmen. This guy is frightening in what he gets done and how he gets it done and the ease with which he gets it done.”
This is the 14th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.
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