USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Thankful’ Tiger guts it out for 72 holes
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The roar for the struggling Tiger Woods, as thunderous as any champion has ever received at the Masters, began well before he reached the 18th green Sunday, and four hours too early.
His limp, just a slight hitch when he began his improbable 72- hole odyssey Thursday, was the first thing anyone noticed now. Tiger clearly was in pain, a grimace frozen on his face. His rebuilt right leg was hurting so much he occasionally used one of his clubs as a cane to help him climb the hills of Augusta National over the weekend.
But there he stood, finishing his round with a short putt, standing just a few feet from where he had been three years earlier. That day, his arms were raised in triumph as he won his fifth Masters. What a stunning story that was.
This time, when Tiger finished, he offered a quick, exhausted wave of his cap, followed by some appreciative nods and a few relieved smiles. But there was no fist pump, no exultation. He couldn’t have been further from winning: he finished 47th out of 52 players, a whopping 13- over- par, including matching rounds of 6- over 78 Saturday and Sunday, his worst ever at the Masters.
But this story – it was even more remarkable than what happened here in 2019. Less than 14 months after crashing his SUV, shattering his right leg and fearing that he might lose the leg or never walk again, Woods not only returned to play at the Masters, he broke par the first round, made the cut, and played all 72 holes.
“I don’t think words can really describe that given where I was a little over a year ago and what my prospects were at that time to end up here and be able to play in all four rounds, even a month ago I didn’t know if I could pull this off,” Woods said after it was over.
Before the Masters began, the 46year- old Woods said he thought he could win the tournament, mostly be
cause that’s how he thinks and that’s what he always says. After he was finished Sunday, he was asked if he might consider this week one of the greatest achievements of his career despite how high his score was. “For not winning an event, yes,” he said. “Yes, without a doubt. To go from where I was to get to this point, I’ve had an incredible team that has helped me get to this point and incredible support. The amount of texts and FaceTimes and calls I got from players that are close to me throughout this entire time has meant a lot.”
Once his interviews were done,
Woods slowly, gingerly walked over to his family, melting into the arms of his mother, his daughter, Sam, and his son, Charlie, waiting for him by the clubhouse. The three had been by the 18th green to congratulate Tiger three years earlier when he won this tournament. This time, they were far from the cameras, far from the crowds, but still there.
Asked how he would look back on and describe this week in his life, Tiger repeated a word he used earlier here. “Thankful, as I alluded to. I keep saying it, but I am. I really am. I truly am. Just to get to this point, just to be able to play, and not only just to play, but I put up a good first round ( a 1- under 71). I got myself there. I don’t quite have the endurance that I would like to have had, but as of a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know if
I was going to play in this event.”
He was headed to ice baths and physical therapy, lots of both over the next few days, but he was also looking ahead to something else: more golf. The PGA Championship is about a month away, the U. S. Open a month after that and the British Open another month later. He hasn’t committed to the first two, but he also hasn’t ruled them out. Sunday he did tell SkySports that he plans to play the British Open at St Andrews in July.
“We’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal. I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.”