The Masters of 2024 are quickly approaching, and while many are excited to see players like Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, and Rory McIlory, the field currently indicates that Tiger Woods’ presence at Augusta National Golf Club is always a major draw.
Augusta has hosted five of Woods’ 15 major tournament wins. The Masters has given golf fans countless lifelong memories of Woods’ memorable moments.
While it’s difficult to boil down Woods’ brilliance at Augusta into a select few moments, these five stick out above the others.
5. 2002 Consecutive Champion
Woods won his third green jacket in 2002, when he was the favorite to win the tournament again after winning the title the previous year ( Details below).
On Sunday, Nick Faldo became the only PGA Tour player to defend his 1990 Masters title. Woods was already at 11 under heading into the final round, firing a 1-under 71 but never threatening.
Woods finished with a three-stroke lead, Retief Goossen finished the round at two over, and finished at nine over. Woods’ reign in the majors continued when he won the U.S. Championship later that year. He won the 2002 Open.
4. 2001 Tiger Slam
In 2000, Woods won the PGA Championship. The British Open and the British Championship. Will he be able to lift the trophy in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments? You can bet on that.
Woods, forever known as “Tiger Slam,” shot 16 under par for the tournament, defeating David Duvall by two strokes and Phil Mickelson by three. The tournament was full of iconic moments that ensured he won the second green jacket of his career.
Woods shot 70 in the opening round, but it didn’t look like himself. But he showed just the flash he needed when he hit a hard shot from 253 yards on the eighth hole in the second round. But he put the ball on the green and two-putted the par-5 hole for birdie.
Woods finished the round with a 66, moving him to second place on the leaderboard at 8 under.
After a third-round 68, Woods will face David Duvall in the final round. He extended his lead on the 11th hole with a tap-in birdie on his approach shot from 145 yards.
In 1930 Bobby did not perform as well as Jones did in the same calendar year when he won all four major championships. But Woods’ success in the majors is something no one has been able to duplicate since.
3. Tiger’s First Green Jacket
How did they win their first Masters or major tournament of their career? They dominated the competition at Augusta.
Woods had one of the most dominant performances in major history, finishing the tournament at 18 under, with Tom Kite tied for second at 6 under. The margin of victory remains the largest in Masters history, and his four-day point record of 270 stood until it was broken by Dustin Johnson in 2020.
Jim Nantz said during the Masters broadcast, which was watched by an estimated 44 million viewers, that Woods was the youngest and first non-white golfer to win the Masters.
It’s confusing to think that he started the tournament at 4 over for the first nine holes, but after hitting his final putt on the 18th hole, he left the competition and hugged his father, Earl Woods. Things only got better from there. on sunday.
2. 2005 Chip-In On 16
Many will talk about the magic of Woods’ 16th-place finish at Augusta in the final round of the weekend, even though he was mired by rain most of the way.
Woods scored 74 points in the first round, but scored 66 and 65 points in the second and third rounds, respectively, and was paired with Chris DiMarco on Sunday. They battled all day, but on the 16th DiMarco hit his shot in the middle of the par-3 green and Woods hit his tee shot just to the left of the green.
Woods stepped onto a chip about 50 yards long, hoping to use the contour of the green to reach the chip and make par. When he hit a clean chip to the left side of the green, the ball rolled toward the hole and became the greatest shot in Masters history. There was a lack of tension, and in a scene where the ball was about to fall to Birdie, it looked like the ball stalled on the lip.
It took him just one second for the ball to hit the hole, and Woods and the crowd around the green cheered. Broadcaster Vern Lundquist’s iconic comment, “In your life have you seen anything like that?!” Cole Forever lives with Woods’ great brand.
Woods and DiMarco will compete in a playoff to determine the tournament winner. DiMarco played the 18th hole again, hitting par and hoping Woods wouldn’t miss his 15-foot birdie putt, but after taking a long look, he dropped it and won.
A fourth green jacket is quite an accomplishment, but Woods’ chip-in is probably the best shot of his career.
1. Woods back to top in 2019
Woods recorded a few of his second-place finishes after his 2005 win, but life off the course has affected his game. It seemed like he was giving. In late November 2009, he dealt with a personal scandal that ultimately led him to apologize for his infidelity.
Although he continued to compete on the Tour and the Masters, he did not have the same success. In 2013, he admitted in an interview with ESPN after the round that he made an illegal drop on the par-5 15th hole, although he was not disqualified.
His back injuries also plagued Woods in the years leading up to his 2019 Masters, but then something unexpected happened.
Woods tied for second with scores of 70, 68 and 67 in the first three rounds of the tournament, and Tony Finau advanced to Sunday’s final round. Francesco Molinari led by two strokes at 13 under, but the crowd felt that Woods’ 15th major victory was just around the corner.
Molinari held the lead for 11 holes, but his tee shot was swallowed up by the infamous Ray’s Creek on No. 12, forcing a double bogey. At this point, Woods was at 11 under and Molinari was tied with him.
Woods birdied the 15th hole and took the lead at 13 under. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson finished the tournament at 12 under par, as did Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka.
But Woods made a birdie on the 16th hole and a par on the 17th, heading into the 18th hole with a two-stroke lead and one bogey left to seal the victory. That’s exactly what Woods wanted to do. It wasn’t the best hole, but it was the perfect hole to end a Masters that some believed Woods would never win again in his career.
Today, many are moved by the memorable image of him embracing his son Charlie as he emerged from the 18th green, realizing that all of his effort and will to return to the winner’s circle at a major had paid off.
Though Wood was still at the height of his game at the time, the chip-in is legendary. The fact that he won his fifth green jacket despite not having won a major since the U.S. Open in 2008 is unmatched in legend-making.