Tiger's 2019 Masters
A fifth green jacket at 43. After four back operations and years outside the top ranks, Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters at age 43. How the final round unfolded.
Augusta's 10th hole: No machine-readable author provided. Mbrooks assumed (based on copyright claims), Public domain
Down and nearly out
Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997 at 21, by a record 12 strokes, and dominated golf for more than a decade. Then his back gave way. Between 2014 and 2017 he had four back operations, played almost no tournaments for more than two years and dropped outside the top 1,000 in the world rankings.
In 2017 he even told friends he thought he was finished. After his last surgery that year he returned slowly, and in September 2018 he won the Tour Championship, his first victory in five years.
A crowded Sunday
At the 2019 Masters, Woods started the final round two shots behind Italy's Francesco Molinari, the reigning Open champion. Play was moved earlier in the day because storms were forecast, and the leaders went out in groups of three.
For eleven holes Molinari barely made a mistake. Then on the par-3 12th, beside Rae's Creek, his tee shot came up short and rolled back into the water. Suddenly a big group of contenders was tied, and Woods was among them.
Taking the lead
On the 15th, Molinari hit a tree and found the water again, while Woods made birdie to lead on his own. At the 16th his tee shot rolled to within a few feet of the hole for another birdie. He needed only a bogey on the 18th, and he made it.
Woods finished at 13 under par, one stroke ahead of Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Xander Schauffele. It was the first time he had won a major without leading after three rounds.
Full circle
It was his fifth green jacket and fifteenth major title, eleven years after his previous one at the 2008 US Open and fourteen years after his last Masters. Only Jack Nicklaus, at 46, has won the Masters at an older age.
Woods hugged his children beside the 18th green, the same spot where he had hugged his father in 1997. Many fans and writers rank it among the greatest comebacks in sport.
Augusta's Amen Corner
The 11th, 12th and 13th holes at Augusta National are known as Amen Corner, and the short 12th is one of the most feared holes in golf. Swirling wind makes it hard to choose the right club, and Rae's Creek waits in front of the green.
In 2019 several contenders found the water there on Sunday. Woods aimed for the safe middle of the green and made par, which helped set up his charge.
- Augusta's 10th hole: No machine-readable author provided. Mbrooks assumed (based on copyright claims), Public domain
- Woods at Augusta, 2015: Shannon McGee from Huntsville, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0
Text written by Shining Champion.
