What Mark Calcavecchia said was ‘jaw dropping’ about Tiger Woods during his 1997 Masters win

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We have to go back 28 years now for Tiger Woods’ first major win as he romped to a momentous victory at the 1997 Masters and put the world of golf firmly on notice.

Woods was going into the tournament as a fresh-faced youngster but was still one of the favourites to win around Augusta National.

As we all know, what followed was historic, as Woods romped to a win at 18-under-par, some 12 shots clear of second placed Tom Kite.

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At the time, we heard Colin Montgomerie admit to being wrong about Woods but he wasn’t the only one to be stunned.

Indeed, other players were firmly put on their toes, including former Open winner Mark Calcavecchia.

Why Mark Calcavecchia was left stunned by Tiger Woods in 1997

There was not a lot the rest of the field could do in 1997 than praise Woods after what he did at Augusta.

In terms of dominance, we saw a performance like no other, with ball-striking, distance, and putting all on point from the now 15-time major winner.

Still, it didn’t mean his fellow pros weren’t left shocked, as Mark Calcavecchia admitted.

“It was just jaw-dropping,” Calcavecchia admitted at the time. “I hit my best drive on 15 one day and had 3-iron in to the green and he had 9-iron in. He was 50 yards beyond where I was hitting it. I was like, ‘How can you hit the ball that far? How the hell is he doing that?

“The thing was, I never looked at him as a minority player, or a black player. I was just a fan of his and knew how great he was. To see the talent and the flair that he had, and to see it so close up, it was just cool to watch.”

Another golfer from the weekend, Nick Price, even admitted that after Woods’ nightmare start that few backed against him.

“Even after the 40-30 on day one, I don’t know if you’d gotten $10 from any of us on him to win. But what happened over the next three days was something we were all in awe of. This was the start of a new era in golf. He was hitting clubs into the par 4s and par 5s no one had,” Price conceded.

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The records Tiger Woods set during the 1997 Masters

We can all look back on Tiger’s epic 1997 win at Augusta as one of the best four days of golf we’ve ever seen.

We’ve seen some remarkable golf since, with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler producing massive performances but ultimately, nothing has shocked the world like this.

Woods broke or equalled a number of records that week. He set the lowest 72 hole score at the time with 270 (since matched by Jordan Spieth), became the youngest Masters winner, and the youngest to hit a number of other milestones such as 36 and 54 hole leader.

The 12 shots he won by remains the largest margin of victory by some distance.

Remarkably, Woods also shot the worst first nine holes of any future champion after going out in 40 on day one.

Looking back, it really was a week of tremendous golf and one that we’re never likely to see replicated again.