Sunday, April 14th, 2019 marks the day Tiger Woods became a Masters champion once again for the first time in 14 years. This win was also Woods’ first major championship victory since his win at the 2008 US open played at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. With his exceptional win, Woods now only sits one win away from tying Sam Snead for most wins on the PGA tour as Snead is currently at 82 and Woods is also 3 major championship victories away from the ‘Golden Bear’ Jack Nicklaus who has 18.
Going into the final round of the 2019 Masters at Augusta National, it is not surprising that many tuned in from around the world to see if Tiger Woods could do the unthinkable. In his previous 14 major championship victories, he was either leading or tied with the lead which is why his win last month was memorable. Tiger Woods was sitting two shots back entering the final round and looking to make history. With Francisco Molinari starting the final round at -13 and Woods at -11, everyone knew this was going to be a close one to the very end.
As sports analyst Dan Jenkins once said, “The Masters doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday”, which holds true to what happened on hole number 12. With Brooks Koepka and Ian Poulter hitting the water ahead of the final pairing as well as Tony Finau and Molinari landing in the drink, Tiger decided to play a smart conservative shot. Woods would go on to hit his tee shot over the bunker and safely land his ball into the centre of the green. From there he would go on to two-putt for par. Moving forward onto hole 16, Tiger Woods nearly made a hole-in-one which led to another birdie on the day for him to get to -14 with the outright lead heading onto the 17th tee box.
As Koepka missed his birdie putt on the 18th hole, Woods knew all he had to do was get the ball in the fairway. He slowly finished the 18th with a bogey, a one-shot lead, and the green jacket with the title of ‘Five Time Winner of the Masters’ to add to his already stunning resume.
Tiger’s win at the Masters last month is an embodiment of resilience and what it takes for an unsuspecting comeback. Out of all the possible scenarios heading down the back nine at Augusta National, Tiger Woods who was sporting the vintage red mock turtleneck from when he won in 2005, decided to take things into his own hands and win, silencing all those who once doubted.
This win was special not only for Tiger Woods, but for anyone else looking to make a comeback story of their own.
