AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods first came to Augusta National as an amateur in
1995. Two years later, he shattered virtually every record.
Woods continued his domination with his third Masters victory Sunday. He
won by three shots over Retief Goosen, using the storied course to once
again illustrate his supremacy in the sport.
Woods captured his seventh professional major, joining the likes of Arnold
Palmer, Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead.
Only five players in the history of the game have more major victories.
None were as young as Woods, 26, when they won their seventh. Woods also
moved into 13th place on the career victory list.
It took Woods only eight attempts to claim his third green jacket. The
only other players to get three Masters wins in their eighth appearances
were Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Nicklaus, who holds the record with six Masters victories, was the
youngest to get three wins at 26 years, two months and 20 days in 1966.
Woods got the milestone at 26 years, three months, 15 days.
"I always felt I had the game that was good enough to win at this
tournament," Woods said. "This tournament is very historic and very
special to all the players, one we all really want to win."
On a day that seemed perfect for low scores with soft greens and little
breeze, Woods stared down a star-studded field. The top six players in
the world rankings were in the top seven of the standings entering the
final round.
But none of the other contenders bettered Woods' 1-under 71. He finished
at 12-under 276, six strokes off the record score he posted in 1997 and
four off last year's mark.
"It is tough to play with Tiger," said two-time Masters winner Jose
Maria Olazabal, who finished fourth. "He is the best player in the
world, and he doesn't give you any room to maneuver."
Woods said the most difficult part for him, and others, was that the
soft conditions produced a lot of mud balls. That magnified the course
changes, which were designed to make Augusta much more difficult.
Last year, Woods became the first player to win four consecutive
professional majors at the Masters. This time, he entered the event
overshadowed by the course, which underwent the alteration of nine
holes, including 285 extra yards.
"This year was more of a physical test," he said. "Last year, with the
chance to win four majors in a row, it was a mental test to block that
out. This year was physical because of this course and the conditions.
To be under that type of pressure takes a lot out of you."
Although many thought the course changes were designed to Tiger-proof
Augusta, it did just the opposite.
"This golf course is perfect for him," Nick Price said. "It's like Jack
in his day. Jack loved this course. When you hit it high and long, it is
a huge difference. He has a two-club advantage over almost everybody,
and he is playing great golf."
Woods began the day tied with Goosen. But Goosen bogeyed the first hole,
then failed to apply pressure, making two more bogeys on the front nine.
Phil Mickelson opened with two birdies but gave those back with bogeys
on the next two holes. Having started four strokes behind, Mickelson
could not afford those mistakes. He was too far down, at 7-under, to
make a run. He finished third for the second straight time.
Ernie Els and Vijay Singh sustained meltdowns on par-5 birdie holes. Els
took triple-bogey on 13. Singh, four shots back, dropped out of second
place with a quadruple-bogey on 15.
"Anything can happen around Amen Corner, as we saw with Ernie ahead of
me," Wood said. "You can make mistakes like that, and it can happen very
quickly. I knew that only having a three- or four-shot lead, I still had
to continue plugging along and hopefully get one or two [birdies]
myself."
That mistake-free approach provided Woods a three-stroke lead on the
final two holes. Safely in, he had his 31st tour win, a check for
$1,008,000, and another green jacket.
Asked what a 26-year-old does with a green jacket, Woods smiled.
"It's in the closet," he said. "You're not going to walk around with
this thing, are you?"
