The Masters: Ranking the 25 most exceptional performances at Augusta
By Bill Felber
2: Tiger Woods, 1997 Masters, 270 (-18), Std. Deviation -3.20
Setting aside the sociological implications of Woods’ 1997 win – his first major – the golf alone was extraordinary and profound. Woods was only 21 and making his first professional major tournament appearance when he blew away the field by a record dozen strokes.
His tournament actually started shakily. Woods shot 40 on the front nine Thursday with four bogeys and no birdies. On the back nine, though, the tournament changed dramatically. Woods combined an eagle at 15 with four birdies for a 30 that gave him a 70 for the day, three strokes behind John Huston.
Thus energized, Woods never looked back. On Friday he shot 34-32 66 to take a three-stroke lead over Colin Montgomerie. He birdied seven more holes on Saturday to lead Costantino Rocca by nine.
That made Sunday an extended coronation. Even after he bogeyed the fifth hole – his first bogey since the third hole on Friday – Woods led Rocca and Tom Watson by eight. Hs lead was nine by the turn and 11 when he birdied the 11th.
Two final birdies at 13 and 14 moved him a dozen strokes ahead of Watson and Tom Kite, the eventual runner-up. His margin was the largest in any major since Old Tom Morris won the 1862 British Open by 13.
“I never played a full tournament with my A game,” Woods told reporters afterward, adding ominously, “this was pretty close.”