be able to walk without pain,
to be able to live without the
feelings that I had going down
my leg. I said, “This is what
the rest of my life is going to
be like? I mean, this is gonna
suck.” Now I don’t have any
of that nerve pain. I’m stiff as
hell, yes. I waddle like a duck
at times, but it’s not painful.
It’s just achy, and I can deal
with achiness.
jim nantz: We see less than
1 percent of a person’s life
when they’re out there
on display playing in a
tournament. Tiger has a life,
and we’re not supposed to
know everything that goes
on in someone’s life. But you
know, you hear things when
you’re out on tour for years
about how dedicated he’s
been as a dad, being there for
his kids, how important it is
to spend time with them at
soccer games and practices,
school pickups and drop-offs
and all of that. We don’t see it.
We’re not supposed to see it.
We don’t have to see it. So
what I saw on that shot [of his
family] is, I thought, Good for
him, for his glory in his life at
a personal level. People always
ask me, where did you come
up with this line or that line.
In this case, The return to
glory, to me, it felt right when
it left my lips.
tiger woods: Everyone is
dealt cards in their life and
obstacles that we all have to
overcome. Know that this is
all not done alone. I’ve had
a fantastic group of people
around me, and their love
and support has helped. Then
having the kids and their love.
I’ve tried to explain this over
the years... they never knew
golf to be a good thing in my
life, and the only thing they
remember is that it brought
this incredible amount of pain
to their dad, and they don’t
want to ever see their dad in
pain. And so to now have them
see this side of it, the side that
I’ve experienced for so many
years of my life, it feels good.
thomas bjorn: For the young
players today, it was a graphic
illustration of what they had
only heard about in stories.
xander schauffele
(temporarily held the lead and
finished T-2 with Koepka and
Dustin Johnson after a final-
round 68): I did have my 30
seconds in the sun with the
lead, and it was a really cool
feeling.... It was a throwback,
seeing Tiger in red in the mock
turtleneck. It’s what I saw as a
kid, and it was just really coolto know him a little bit now.
tiger woods: I thought it was
a pretty neat look back in the
day. [Laughs.] I was probably
in a little better shape back in
those days.
adam scott: It’s very hard for
the younger players on tour to
comprehend the level Tiger
was at, compared to everyone
else. He was so much better—
in every department. And
there isn’t that separation
now. Brooks has to do whathe’s doing for another 10
years to come close. I’m not
sure I see him doing that.
There is no one intimidating
the others like Tiger did.
I was a hot young player back
then. I had dreams. But the
reality was that I wasn’t even
close. And I couldn’t figure
out how to get that good.
I know Tiger didn’t win
every major, but I felt like
my dreams were unattainable
because of him. He was such
a huge hurdle.
rich beem: All the young kids
who wanted to see Tiger at his
best? Madness. No you don’t.
thomas bjorn: It wasn’t the
golf, which was nothing like
2000—it was his mind. But it
was all about him getting into
position. When he got there,
he recognized himself.jim nantz: In my 34 years
of broadcasting the Masters
and the NFL and college
basketball, I thought it was
the most riveting story that
I’ve ever had a chance to
document.
frank nobilo: I know Nick-
laus did it in ’86. It was like a
dream, because we were talk-
ing about it at the start of
the week: Could this be our
generation’s 1986? So it was
almost like too good a storyto happen. But it happened.
paul azinger: It’s as big as
Jack in ’86. Or bigger. It was
off the charts.
tiger woods: That’s for
everyone else to decide....
I can tell you that ’86 meant
a lot to me because that was
the first memory that I have
of the Masters, seeing Jack
celebrate.
jim nantz (on CBS): For
someone who has been
coming here for 34 years,
my first was Jack Nicklaus’
last [of six Masters victories].
And I’m walking off the course
that day—I didn’t know [fellow
announcer] Ken Venturi very
well—but he looked at me and
said, “Young man, you may be
around here for a long time.
I can promise you one thing:
You’ll never live to see a daylike this again at Augusta.”
You know what? Ken Venturi
was wrong. This was as good
as it will ever be.
patrick reed (2018 Masters
champion): To be able to put
the green jacket on the guyanother father-son hug▶ Twenty-two years after getting a
Masters hug from his father, Earl,
Tiger reciprocates with son Charlie.“AS SOON AS TIGER
GOT A LITTLE BIT IN EYE
SHOT, CHARLIE JUST
TOOK OFF. AND THAT
TO ME WAS THE BEST
PART.... AWESOME.”
christian iooss86 golf digest | issue 4. 2020