After saying “Hello, world,” when he turned professional in 1996, Tiger Woods said goodbye to his colleagues in the 1997 Masters.
Playing his first major championship as a pro, Woods devoured Augusta National Golf Club and destroyed his competition in a staggering, record-setting, historical victory in the 1997 Masters. The victory not only changed the landscape of the sport, it inspired a future generation of Tiger hopefuls and reshaped the game as players began incorporating weight training into their regimens.
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In becoming the first African-American – he is also half Thai – to win the Masters, Woods simply left the patrons and his colleagues in awe, as well as the 44 million viewers who tuned in for the final-round broadcast, which set a television ratings record at the time.
1997 MASTERS: Final leaderboard
After an opening-nine 4-over-par 40, Woods made 21 birdies, two eagles and just three bogeys over the next 63 holes to finish with rounds of 70-66-65-69. After his final four-foot putt dropped to best Jack Nicklaus’ scoring record by one, Woods shared a huge hug with his father just off the 18th green and then slipped on his first green jacket.
“There are a few tournaments throughout my career where I felt, ‘Just don’t screw it up,'” Woods said. “That was one of them.”
His 18-under 270 total broke the scoring record since equaled by Jordan Spieth. At 21, he became the youngest Masters champion. His 12-shot victory remains a tournament record for margin of victory. And his power – he hit wedges for his second shot on par-5s, sand wedges into some of the longer par-4s – triggered the club’s decision to lengthen the course and add a significant number of trees in what later became known as Tiger Proofing.
“I’ve never played an entire tournament with my A-game,” Woods said shortly after singing his scorecard. “This was pretty close.”
This is the third story in a series looking at each of Tiger Woods’ appearances at the Masters.