This was a Masters unlike any other for Tiger Woods.
Five months after driving into a fire hydrant Thanksgiving night of 2009, a single-car crash that led to a torrent of revelations of a sordid private life full of extramarital affairs that shattered his once-pristine image, damaged his Madison Avenue charm and ultimately cost him his marriage, Woods returned to the game at the 2010 Masters.
The four-time winner of the green jacket was warmly embraced by the patrons throughout an 18-hole practice round Monday with Fred Couples.
Later in the day, he looked far more comfortable and at ease in a 35-minute meeting with the media in a packed press conference room than he did Feb. 19 when he appeared in public for the first time since the accident and read a 13-minute prepared statement in a televised address near PGA Tour headquarters.
“What I’ve done over the past years has been just terrible to my family,” Woods said at Augusta National. “And the fact I won golf tournaments I think is irrelevant. It’s the pain and the damage that I’ve caused my wife, my mom, my wife’s family and my kids. Going forward, I am going to have to explain all this to them. That’s my responsibility. I did it. And I take full responsibility for it.”
2010 Masters: Final leaderboard
While he spoke on a variety of subjects, he provided scant details of the car accident. And he emphasized he was ready to win a fifth green jacket.
Despite not having played since winning the Australian Masters the previous November, Woods quickly got in the mix to do just that with a 68, marking the only time he’s ever broken 70 in the first round in the Masters.
“It felt really good just to get out there and get into the rhythm of the round, and just kind of go about my business,” Woods said.
Woods stayed on the first page of the leaderboard with consecutive rounds of 70 and stood four shots out of the lead set by Lee Westwood with 18 holes to play. One shot behind Westwood was Phil Mickelson, who nearly made three consecutive eagles on the back nine but settled for an eagle-3 at 13, an eagle-2 on 14 and a tap-in birdie-4 on the 15th.
On Sunday, Woods, playing with K.J. Choi for the fourth consecutive day, bogeyed three of his first five holes and despite eagles on seven and 15 and four birdies in his last 11 holes, he never seriously threatened on the back nine. A 69 left him at 11-under 277 and five shots behind Mickelson, who closed with a 67 to win his third Masters. Mickelson finished three clear of runner-up Westwood.
“I finished fourth,” Woods said. “Not what I wanted. I wanted to win this tournament. As the week wore on I kept hitting the ball worse. I hit it better on Friday, but after that it was not very good.
“I entered this event and I only enter events to win and I didn’t get it done. I didn’t hit the ball good enough and I made too many mistakes around the greens.”
Phil’s shot from the pine straw on 13 at Augusta pic.twitter.com/ZcgSjZa6Jj
— Phil Mickelson Tracker (@TrackingPhil) February 26, 2019
Mickelson, who delivered one of the game’s most memorable shots when he hit a 6-iron off pine straw from 205 yards to four feet on the 13th hole in the final round, had not won heading to Augusta, Georgia. But he ended this Masters in a tearful embrace with his wife, Amy, who was battling breast cancer. His mother, Mary, also was battling breast. At a special place, he provided a special victory.
“I’m in love with this place,” Mickelson said. “It just brings out the best in me. I love Sunday at Augusta. Back in the ’90s, it was the most nerve-racking day. Still is, but I’ve just come to love and cherish it, and to play some of my best golf this week as well as today just feels incredible.”
This is the 16th story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.
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