Tiger Woods was only just getting started at The Masters in 2002, although he was already a six-time major champion by then.
Woods has a huge 15 major championship wins to his name overall, five of which have arrived at The Masters.
The iconic tournament at Augusta National represents his most successful major, with only Jack Nicklaus (six) having won more.
But Woods was very much the man of the moment in Georgia back in 2002, when he was aiming to successfully defend his title.
What is your favourite moment from Tiger Woods’ career?
Tiger Woods named his greatest golfer ever at The Masters in 2002
Woods spoke to the media before the event got underway, where it was put to him: “A lot has been made about your chart of Jack Nicklaus’s accomplishments when you were younger.
“How aware were you of Bobby Jones and his accomplishments when you were growing up, and have you read much in subsequent years about Bobby Jones?”
Woods replied: “Yeah, I have read quite a bit about Bobby Jones after I started participating in the game, started understanding the game of golf.
“Jack, at the time, was just on his… outside of his prime year is when I started playing the game. At the time it was him and [Tom] Watson and [Lee] Trevino. Those guys were the big names in golf when I was growing up.
“Obviously, what he had done, everyone kept talking about it, and that’s one of the things I looked up to and looked up to him and looked up to other players, but he was the best player that I knew of then, and now that I’m starting to appreciate the game a little bit more, he’s the greatest player of all time.”
Shortly after issuing that verdict, Woods produced another superb display at Augusta to win a second consecutive title at The Masters, and third overall.
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There is, of course, a never-ending debate about the greatest golfer of all time, but the options can at least be narrowed down to a select few.
World number one Scottie Scheffler and his rival Rory McIlroy will be desperate to join the conversation, but they certainly still have a very long way to go.
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Major championship wins don’t define the best golfers, but they definitely help, with Nicklaus among the greatest ever debate thanks to his 18 titles.
That is more than any other player, with Woods second in the all-time list with 15, followed by Walter Hagen on 11.
Gary Player and Ben Hogan both won nine, while Watson’s eight are closely followed by the seven of Jones, Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen and Harry Vardon.
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