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» Jerome Solomon on Woods’ major accomplishment.
Eleven years ago, I walked alongside Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, Calif., for an entire weekend and then an extra 19 holes on Monday.
He agonized, winced and limped the entire way.
His golf coach at the time told me and a few other reporters that nobody knew it, but Tiger was playing on a torn ACL and a broken leg.
Woods refused to follow doctor’s orders and sit out the U.S. Open because he knew he could win the tournament, even if he was not at full strength.
It was an amazing performance, and he barely hung on to beat Rocco Mediate in a playoff. It was hislast major championship until this weekend.
Woods claimed his 15th major title and fifth Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, showing grit, poise and shot-making that so many thought he was incapable
of.
This feat is the greatest accomplishment in a phenomenal career that has seen him hoist more trophies in victory than all but Sam Snead.
The “Tiger will never win” again crowd has been loud and strong … and loud and wrong.
About the only nod I was willing to give to the doubters that Woods would compete at a high level again was a not-so-minor caveat “if healthy.”
Certain levels of greatness cannot be broken. Father Time will eventually win.
But even after multiple surgeries on his knees and back, and a slew of other injuries and issues, Woods continues to defy logic.
We have seen this movie before. The one with the hero wearing red.
If you still don’t believe that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of all time, you are a hopeless case. And that’s OK … if you like being wrong.
That he is still three major wins behind Jack Nicklaus matters little, considering the competition he has dominated.
In 1996, before Tiger won his first green jacket, Nicklaus said the depth on the PGA Tour in terms of players capable of winning majors had tripled during his playing career. The same can be said of the last 20 years.
The Tiger Effect not only meant growth in the game, such that modest players could get rich, it also produced talented, go-forbroke players capable of running away from the field on any weekend.
Yet a healthy Woods is still capable of outrunning them. And outsmarting them. Some days, it takes only one stroke.
This Masters title wasn’t a oneoff, highlighted by miracle, once-ina-lifetime shots. It wasn’t a gift from the golf gods.
This was the best of all time beating the best of today because, when healthy, he is Tiger Woods, and every other golfer on the planet is not.
Augusta roars can be unnerving. Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, et al. stumbled. Woods made mistakes but played smart enough to overcome them. He posted a 13-under-par 275 total in the end because that is what he needed to win.
The first time Tiger won at Augusta, he ran away from the field with a record score because he could. This time he didn’t have to.
Given the Masters’ pressure, Tiger, the man with more major titles on his résumé than the next 20 finishers this weekend combined, is still the man to beat.
Sure, the youngsters are longer and stronger, but they are far short of Woods mentally.
They claim to not be afraid of the Tiger mystique, and perhaps they believe that is true, but they haven’t come close to touching Woods’ talent at his peak.
And now Woods, at a notch or two below the stalking great he once was, is still on par with the kids in terms of talent.
Twenty years ago, he could win with his “C” game. A decade ago, he won on one leg.
It’s now 2019, and Woods, at 43, has to be healthy and must bring at least his B-plus game to win.
Yeah, he’s already the greatest, and he’s not done yet.