The 18th hole
Johnson, who birdied four of his final six holes, and Koepka, who eagled the 13th after his double on 12 and birdied 15, each had birdie putts that would have forced Woods to par 18 to win in regulation. Both missed. Woods was in the fairway when Koepka missed his attempt and then knew he could make bogey and still win. He was very cautious from there, laying up well short of the green with his second shot. A pitch and two putts later, he was the Masters master again.
Koepka: I thought I hit a good putt. (Poulter’s) putt fooled me. Poulter looked like he hit it and it looked like it was going to go right in and then it went right. And I read it a right-lip putt, and then I just tried to hit it straight and hit it firm, and then mine broke. I thought I hit a good one there. I thought I hit a good one on 17. Seventeen is a tricky hole. Almost seems like it wants to go up the hill there.
Johnson: I had a chance to win. I had a really good shot, just couldn’t get it in the hole. I hit some good putts. I just burned edges. It was all weekend really. The Saturday I played great, and I played great on Sunday. I just gave myself all the chances. You can always make more putts. It wasn’t like they were long ones though. They were 15 feet or in, most of them. So I had good looks. I knew I needed to birdie 18. I figured if I birdied 18, I would probably get in the playoff. I had 14 feet maybe, straight up the hill. It just burned on the right edge. I was just short, right of the hole.
Woods: I didn’t really think the tournament was truly over until I hit that little pitch shot on the green on 18. But (Koepka) had missed his putt and that gave me a two-shot lead, and I knew that bogey was the winning number and I played it extremely conservative over to the right. But once I hit that pitch up on the green, the tournament was over. When I was walking up on the green, to see my family and friends there through the chute, I started to get a little bit emotional and I had to rein it back in and say, “Hey, it’s not quite over yet. I’ve had this putt before. Let’s go ahead and make this putt.”
Aftermath
After the final putt dropped, Woods thrust both his arms into the air with authority and soaked in the moment. He would share hugs with his playing partners and then LaCava. Waiting for him after he walked off the green was his son, Charlie, and their embrace was captured by the TV cameras. Then another hug with his daughter, Sam, and his mother, Tida. More hugs with members of his camp came next. A pathway splitting thousands of patrons chanting, “Ti-Ger, Ti-Ger, Ti-Ger,” rocked his eardrums as he made the triumphant walk to the clubhouse. There he was greeted by colleagues and Masters champions including Bernhard Langer, Zach Johnson, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott and Craig Stadler, as well as Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Schauffele, Poulter and Koepka. Shortly after signing his scorecard to make matters official, Woods slipped on the green jacket with help from defending champion Patrick Reed.
Woods: This game was taken away from me for a few years there. And I miss competing, I miss playing. Now I have an opportunity to do that again, and also to be able to share it with my kids. They don’t remember me enjoying the game of golf because all they remember is Daddy on the ground in pain. And so now golf brings me so much joy, they’re able to see that. And if it brings a smile to their faces, it brings a smile to my own.
Molinari: I had the best seat in the house in a way, but in another way I didn’t have the best seat in the house because I was trying to win the tournament. But looking back, it was cool that I was there playing against Tiger.
LaCava: The fact that he said, “We did it,” that meant everything to me. I try to give the player or Tiger all the credit. They deserve all the credit. But he’s the kind of guy who makes you feel like a team. I think he appreciates the work that we’ve done together and us hanging around together through bad times and good times. For that to be the first comment, that’s crazy. But the fact he said we did it meant everything in the world to me.
Rose: I’ve had a lot of conversations with Tiger about his motivation of wanting his kids to see him at his best. The moment on 18 was awesome. It was a very human moment, to see him enjoy that with his kids. It was kind of unfortunate to be on the couch. I’ve never seen a Masters Sunday on the couch before. Well, not for many years anyway, but if there was a good one to watch, it was that.
Reed: It was an interesting final round for me, because it was the first time I started on No. 10. Starting on 10 is a lot harder than starting on 1. That 10, 11, 12 stretch is a lot harder than the 1, 2 and 3 stretch. But the atmosphere and the energy that was going through that place with what Tiger was doing, you could feel it. When I was done, sitting there and waiting and watching it unfold, and then to see Tiger make the putt to win, was inspiring. To put the jacket on him was unbelievable. The only thing I could think of when I did that was to not mess it up. I reminded myself to make sure I put the jacket on him correctly. And we got that job done. But it was a special moment.
Schauffele: I wanted to congratulate him. I didn’t know him very well at the time, but I know him a little bit better since he was the playing captain in the Presidents Cup. It was a sight to see. Augusta is known for being very quiet and reserved, traditional, and it was a circus when Tiger came off that 18th hole. I think every green jacket loved it.
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Koepka: That was probably the coolest back nine in a major championship I’ve ever been a part of, or just in golf in general. I think with so many guys going up and down, the lead’s kind of changing hands, depending what hole you’re on. I don’t know how it looked on TV, but it was amazing to be a part of. I watch the leaderboard all the time to see where guys are at and what they are doing, and to see Tiger, what he did down the stretch was impressive. And we already knew he was back, but I think he put the exclamation point on it.
Finau: Playing with Tiger was extremely special. I dreamed of it as a kid, being in the final group with him at the Masters or any major. And I had my crack at it. I went to the first tee knowing I was playing well and had a chance at the green jacket, and Tiger was Tiger and he ended up winning. On 18, I told him how proud I was of him. I did an interview in 2015 when he was going through everything, and they asked me if Tiger could ever win another major and I said yes. I know the type of person he is, and he never gives up. That win last year was the most impressive win he’s had there because of all the injuries and personal stuff he had to deal with.
Woods: It’s crazy that somehow it all came together for one week, one magical week, and to have so many things go right that week, and that’s what you have to do in order to win an event. But to do it there, there’s so many little things that have to go right. I’ve been fortunate enough to have done it four previous times, but last year was just an amazing week. Gwk
This is the final story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters. Catch up on the series here.
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This story originally appeared in Issue 2- 2020 of Golfweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.