BEST. MASTERS. EVER. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, even a non-sporting fan would know that Tiger Woods is once again the Masters Champion. After his well-documented struggle with injuries and other off-course issues, Tiger Woods has arguably made the most incredible comeback in all of sports. This is Tiger’s 15th major title and fifth green jacket, surpassing Arnold Palmer’s four Masters victory and only trails Jack Nicklaus by one. With this victory, the quest to beat Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 majors is on once again.
Due to incoming weather, the final round of the Masters had an early start. Groups were started on split tees and in groups of three. At the beginning of the day, Open Champion Francesco Molinari led by two-shots but the leaderboard was packed. There were plenty of movement and reshuffling of the leaderboard throughout the day and in the beginning, Molinari seemed unflappable. He just did not make any mistakes. But then on the par-3, 12th hole, Molinari finally blinked when he dunked his tee shot into the water, making double bogey in the process and it was game on.
Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Webb Simpson, Tony Finau, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, and Rickie Fowler were all within a few shots of the lead. Defending champion Patrick Reed was a non-factor in the tournament and Rory McIlroy, who won the Players Championship in March and has been playing very well this season, finished eight shots back and will have to wait another year to complete the career grand slam. In the end, it was Tiger who played mistake-free golf in the back nine and sealed the victory with precision ball-striking and execution.
Tiger’s last major victory was eleven years ago at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, where he had an epic battle with Rocco Mediate. No one would’ve thought that eleven years would go by before he would win another major title. With his injuries, especially his back, many thought he was done. But last year, we could all see signs of life from Tiger Woods. Throughout the 2018 season, Tiger’s game was building and it gave him chances to win at the Open Championship at Carnoustie and the PGA Championship at Bellerive. However, the season reached its crescendo when Tiger broke through to win the Tour Championship.
With Tiger back to winning major championships and moving up the Official World Golf Rankings (he’s 6th in the world now), we look ahead to the rest of the majors in the 2019 season. In May, the PGA Championship will take place at Bethpage Black, where Tiger has won at the 2002 US Open. Then, the 2019 US Open will take place at Pebble Beach in June and of course, we all know that this was where Tiger won the 2000 US Open by a record 15-strokes. Finally, the Open Championship will be held at Royal Portrush in July but other than some Irish players, most of the players will not have any playing experience at this venue. Given Tiger’s history at the next two major championship venues, it’s not improbable to see him challenge for another major title. Whether he can pull it off is another question but after yesterday, we can’t wait to find out!
Source: The Masters
