Tiger Woods’ Masters victory 20 years ago remains surreal

Looking back, I was actually looking down on golf history that Sunday, April 13, 1997.

A media perch stood next to the 18th green at Augusta National back then, and roughly 30 feet below me Tiger Woods stood over a 4-foot putt that would rewrite the Masters record book. His famous fist pump followed, an uppercut that would land across generations and surely carry significance beyond the sport.

Woods needed that putt to set the Masters scoring record at 18 under par, and the release of emotion that followed still brings goosebumps. The roar and shouts of “Tiger!” and the tearful embrace with his father, Earl, feels like a dream sequence even 20 years later. As I looked down and drifted along with the cloud, another thought added to what everyone knew was a transcendent moment:

A black man with a white caddie was about to be fitted for a green jacket.

“I don’t know if a barrier fell today. We’ll see. I think it’s going to open up a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities, and draw a lot of people into golf,” Woods said.

“I think it’s going to do a lot for the game as far as minority golf is concerned. Maybe kids will think golf is cool and they’ll start playing it.”

Another image remains seared in my mind: As Nick Faldo slipped the coat on Woods’ shoulders, a dozen or so waiters and cooks and busboys, all black, all wearing server’s uniforms, lined the back porch of Augusta National’s iconic clubhouse to watch the green jacket ceremony.

“Young faces of all colors filled his gallery. And as Woods marched toward the Masters title, as he turned a nine-shot lead into a 12-stroke victory, you sensed anything was possible,” I wrote that day as a columnist for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Surely he would destroy Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships (he has 14). No doubt he would win at least 100 tournaments (he sits at 79). Clearly he would own at least 10 green jackets by the time he was done (he’s stuck on four). Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus said as much — told us, in fact, a year before Woods won in his third appearance at Augusta National.

After playing a Masters practice round with a then-amateur Woods in 1996, Arnie and Jack added up their green jackets (four and six, respectively) and agreed the youngster would shatter their accomplishments at the storied tournament.

Nobody could have predicted that two decades later a broken down Woods would be on a book tour instead of another possible victorious trip to Butler Cabin. He’s clearly deep into the back nine of his career. And if he were teeing off Thursday, he’d be lucky to match that 4-over 40 he shot on the front side in 1997.

Indeed, Woods’ romp through the cathedral of pines began more like a reckoning. I followed him on those opening nine holes, his first as a professional at the Masters, and thought the kid was a lost ball in tall azaleas.

Woods didn’t scowl or look rattled as he walked briskly to the 10th tee. Frustrated, maybe, but you could almost feel his focus shifted into another universe. I later covered many of his rounds between the ropes, but at that moment I realized how different Woods’ shot sounded. A much deeper and authoritative thwack! than other players produced — a bass-like note that would stop a conversation and make every head turn.

Woods later revealed he shortened his swing and made a couple of simple adjustments. I recall the energy and heightened sense behind every shot he hit and putt he drained. When he stopped in the fairway, I stopped. When he looked up into the pine trees at Amen Corner, I looked, too.

Woods shot 30 on the back nine. And it was essentially over. By Sunday, he was en route to his 12-stroke victory, still the widest margin at the Masters.

As the coronation continued, I soaked in the scene like I was part of a huge LeRoy Neiman watercolor mural that was in constant motion. Woods’ galleries dwarfed those of other players, who were quick to admit that a new era had arrived.

Now, Woods, 41, finds himself on the sideline again as rivals and a generation of players that grew up idolizing him take the Masters stage.

Phil Mickelson was caught in the jet stream of Woods’ meteoric rise, but Lefty still has a tee time Thursday and at 46 has morphed into a sentimental pick.

Dustin Johnson’s power dominates Augusta National and matches Woods in his prime. Jordan Spieth has taken to the place like freshly bloomed dogwood. Rory McIlroy will one day claim a green jacket and complete the career grand slam. The Masters occasionally produces a long-shot champion such as Charl Schwartzl or Danny Willett — and always delivers unpredictable drama.

But the buzz and transcendence of Woods’ romp 20 years ago remains unmatched from whatever angle you look.

Tom Spousta is an assistant city editor at the Review-Journal. He previously covered sports for The New York Times, USA Today and The Dallas Morning News. Contact Tom Spousta at tspousta@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5205. Follow @TheRealTSpou on Twitter.