Tiger’s almighty first roar

Ask today’s young kids who their favourite golfer is and they’ll reel out several names. Reigning World No.1 Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama etc, are some of the golfers they’ll suggest. But that was not the case around the turn of the century and a decade into it. The unanimous choice was Tiger Woods. Such was his magic and charisma, even the ones who didn’t know what a birdie or an eagle was would rate him as one of their favourite sporting icons.

That ‘Roar of the Tiger’ or ‘Tigermania’ — two of the commonly used adjectives to hail one of the finest sportspersons of the modern era — all started on this day way back in 1997 at the Augusta Masters. When Woods, just 21 then, teed up on the opening day for a third time at the revered course, there was already a considerable buzz surrounding him. He’d already set the junior circuit on fire, had collected three US Amateur titles, was PGA Tour’s outstanding rookie in 1996 and Sports Illustrated honoured him with ‘Sportsman of the Year (1996)’.

The talk on the circuit was all about how gifted this youngster was and how he could rule the golfing world. Woods was already hitting the ball far longer than many pros on the circuit, his chipping was insanely masterful and the game around the greens just immaculate. He was, in short, a total package and a phenom. He proved all that right with some spellbinding golf that is hailed as one of the best sporting ‘performances of the 20th century’.

Woods, under the glaze of the global spotlight, withered at the start, shooting 4-over 40 in his opening nine holes. He quickly calmed himself, blasting a 6-under 30 to settle for a 70 after the opening round. In the second and third rounds, he fired the day’s best rounds of 65 and 66 to open up a commanding nine-shot lead heading into the final round. Dressed in his trademark red top and black trousers, Woods knew he was on course to making history. No African-American had worn the Green Jacket before and he was determined to celebrate that moment in a blaze of glory. He did just that.

Woods fired a fine 69 to romp to a tournament record 18-shot (270) victory, something which changed the landscape of golf. That final round win was watched by an estimated 44 million in US alone and Woods just went on to become the face of golf, the sport raking in the moolah thanks to this enigmatic presence. Woods also forced course managers to make conditions difficult as he went about conquering fairways and bunkers with ridiculous ease. Woods also became the reason why many youngsters picked up a club.

Woods did suffer a major fall when details of his extramarital affairs dominated global headlines in November 2009. But the famed fortitude was on display at the very same Augusta last year where he recorded an under-pressure one-shot win to claim his 15th major win.