It had been nearly three years since Tiger Woods had added to his major tournament wins list. Some worried his latest swing alteration had impaired his game forever and he’d never again dominate the way he once had.
Well, this weekend at the 69th Masters in Augusta, Ga., Woods sent an emphatic message to his skeptics: “I’m back.”
With a four day total of 276, Woods outlasted his playing partner, Chris DiMarco, sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to capture his fourth green jacket.
On Thursday, however, you would have been hard-pressed to find someone who thought Woods was on his way to tying Arnold Palmer for second on the all-time Masters wins list.
Woods shot a very unimpressive 74 on day one of the tournament as he followed nearly every birdie with a canceling bogey. The lowlight of the day, however, took place on the par-5 13th hole.
After a fabulous second shot, Woods found himself on the green facing a 70 foot eagle putt. He misread the speed of the putt so drastically that the ball not only ran past the hole but flew off the green and landed in Rae’s Creek, turning a possible eagle into a bogey.
That memory would be soon forgotten by the weekend, however, as Woods put together a historic run. The 29-year-old played the middle 36 holes in 13 strokes under par–including a scorching run in the third round where he converted seven consecutive birdie chances.
With a three-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round, all hope seemed to be lost for DiMarco, who had held the 36-hole lead, but faltered on Saturday.
DiMarco, however, remained resilient. Even after Woods chipped in for birdie on 16, increasing his lead to two after DiMarco had pulled to within one stroke two holes prior, he kept his head in the game, finishing with two solid pars for a final round 68. In fact, if it weren’t for a little bad luck (DiMarco had a chip on the final hole hit the pin and bounce out), DiMarco would be sporting his first green jacket right now.
Woods stumbled on the final two holes, bogeying both, and creating the need for a sudden death playoff which he would steal on the first hole.
With the win, Woods regained the top seat in the Official World Golf Ranking, knocking out Vijay Singh. He also collected his ninth major title, leaving him halfway to Jack Nicklaus’ immortal total of 18.
