Tiger Woods might not be in the winner’s circle much these days but when you talk about the greatest golfers ever, his name is often brought up.
Woods is a 15-time major winner and during a period in the late 90s to mid 2000s, was much the dominant force on the PGA Tour.
As we know, injuries have taken a big toll on Woods and despite winning another Masters title in 2019, the American has looked well short of being in contention in more recent years.#
Still, Woods will keep battling away to compete and even if he doesn’t win again, he’ll still have some memorable moments to look back on.
But while so many of his big moments will be from Augusta and other major championships, perhaps one of Woods’ biggest accomplishments came in a round which was never actually seen by the masses.
Tiger Woods made Mark O’Meara walk off the golf course after stunning round of 59
“So I was playing with Mark O’Meara, this was in 1997,” he said. “And so it’s a week prior to the Masters and we teed off on the back nine at Isleworth.
“And I par 10, birdie 11 and 12, I eagle 13, I birdied 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and one. And I have a three iron into number three, the par five – I made par. I have a five iron into number seven, the par five – and I made par. And I still shoot 59. So I had the opportunity to shoot something even really lower.”
Asked if that gave him confidence ahead of the Masters – which he would subsequently win – Woods admitted it was the next day that really made him chuckle.
“Well that and the next day too,” Woods carries on. “Well we teed off on 10 again and I birdie 10 and then make a hole-in-one on 11. And then Mark left.”
The 48-year-old then revealed in the interview: “So it was a hell of a two days and I’ve never shot 60 in my life. I’ve shot 61 a bunch of times, but I’ve never shot 60. And I’ve only shot 59 once.”
Tiger Woods is renowned for moments of magic
Tiger Woods might just be the best golfer of all time but that is subjective and all about opinion.
However, what isn’t subjective is praise from some of the best to ever do it. Jack Nicklaus lauded Woods’ short-game when he first saw him play, while Nicklaus has also said Woods is one of the best drivers of the ball ever.
Phil Mickelson has also lauded Woods for his ability to get his iron shots so high in the air and Ernie Els’ caddie has also spoken of Woods and his ability.
It’s safe to say, then, that Tiger has impressed pretty much everyone at some point in his career.
As for Mark O’Meara. Well, he was probably just like the rest of us that day and wondered what the point in trying to keep up wit Woods was!
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