In 1997, the first year he won the Masters, Tiger became the first player to win over $2 million in a season. His total official money for the year was $2,066,833.
Today, he won $2,070,000 for one tournament. He should be very grateful to somebody for the increase in purses.
Jeeziz. (We’re up to, what, 8 now? 15? 63? I honestly don’t even remember when I lost count.)
There are unassailable megastars who shoot the moon from day one and continue until they’ve passed Alpha Centauri. Wayne Grezky, Alexander Karelin, Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, Hakuho. They are living gods, treasured by all who have the privilege of seeing them in their prime. But it is all to rare for them to retain that form, and most often one of two things happen: a gradual reversion to really-good-but-not-best-of-the-best status, like what happened to Mike Tyson, or a precipitous fall that cuts down the living god forever, something Jeremy Lin could tell you about.
What does not happen is the fallen king returning to full invincible destroyer form, and certainly not as many freaking times as Tiger Woods has.
Seriously, how many times have we heard that he’s finished? That he’s peaked, lost his edge, lost his drive, hurt himself too badly to win again, lost the magic, been figured out, been surpassed? And the thing is, that absolutely SHOULD have been the case. No human being casually springs back from all the hells he’s been through. We’ve seen a million jocks who’ve gone through those kind of injuries, bad decisions, suffocating drama, loss of confidence, loss of direction etc. etc. be utterly destroyed (the name Ryan Leaf ring a bell?). At best he works very hard to get back in it but can never quite reach the peak again. Bo Jackson was a famous case, and Terunofuji seems to be headed down that same path. Not Tiger. Incredibly bitter and costly divorce that throws his entire identity into a tailspin? Eh, sleep in a couple days, play some video games, cut out a few coupons, and I’ll be fine. Disabling back injury? Eh, I’ll just walk it off. Extremely messy split with a coach? Eh, plenty of fish, I’ll put an ad in the pap…oh, that’s right, nobody reads newspapers anymore. Okay, a want ad in the local laundromat should do. Routinely gets clobbered in team events? Eh, whatever, it’s not like anyone watches those things anyway, I’ll be back. And he does, and he does, and he does, no matter what, no matter anything.
Aside: How would you like to be Jordan Speith or Dustin Johnson or Bubba Watson or Rory McIlroy (poor guy…) right now? This was supposed to be your time in the sun, your era. We were supposed to be done with Tiger. Oh, sure, he’d be up there, he’d get his top 10’s and make a little noise, but he was done as the #1 alpha male megastar who got everything all the time. You were having tremendous success, not only winning, but winning the ones that counted, while his best days were gradually slipping further and further behind. The tide was turning, the winds of change were in the air, and the time would soon come when you took your rightful place as The Man. And then he wins The Masters. And just like that, everything you’ve accomplished in your career gets flushed down the toilet and you’re just Bag of Tiger Chow #8,963. Sorry boys, back to square one! Don’t be too sad, though; imagine what the next crop of doomed hopefuls are going to feel when he’s wiping the floor with them at age 45. And the one after that at age 47. And 50, and 54, and 58, and 63, and…
How do I feel about this? Honestly, I don’t have the slightest idea what I should be feeling. It’s like I’m eating Thai-British-Nigerian fusion. During an acid trip. On the surface of Mars. While watching Republican senators dance the Macarena to a cover of Number of the Beast done by the Powerpuff Girls. This is completely new territory for me…hell, for golf, hell, for sports, hell, for the history of the world. Will there be #19? How much does he have left? When does the ride end? What even is the ride? If you think you have any answers, you’re either a fool or a liar.
So my advice: Enjoy it. We’re seeing something truly unique in this universe, a rarest of rarities which never happened before and can never happen again…not unlike, say, Mick Foley. (Seriously, when a human body gets injured that much, the long-term consequence is either “chronic pain” or “death”. Not “shake it off and write a #1 bestseller”). There’s not going to be another Tiger or anything in the same galaxy. The next black star to go the PGA Tour…assuming it ever happens…is going to suffer endless unfavorable comparisons from beginning to end, struggle to even keep his card, then crash and burn after three seasons tops, get completely disgusted with the game and the hype, and eventually sign up with the Dallas Cowboys like he should have in the first place. Once Tiger finally steps down, sports is going to lose something grand and precious forever, and in time all future generations will remembers is the hype, the drama, the noise. They’ll never know why he was the best of the best…because he refused to have it any other way.
Well, that’s my piece. I’m going back to the NHL and NBA playoffs now. 
Assuming this isn’t a woosh, anyone who’s won the Masters has, effectively, a lifetime eligibility for future Masters. However, in recent years, Augusta has begun to discourage former champions who are no longer able to play a competitive game (such as due to advanced age) from entering.
I’ve noticed that a lot of people who hated Tiger when he was younger are big fans of him now. That was the case with Nicklaus as well. Both men, when younger were challenging the older greats of their time and were looked at as snooty, snobby little pricks and hated.
I never really cared for Tiger, but I love a comeback story and as he is a few months older that me, it is inspiring to see that even though I have put on a few pounds and feel like I’ll never be able to do physical shit like I used to, I can look at Tiger and see that I am just being a lazy bastard.
Good for him.
Congrats to Tiger!
Woods has been a schmuck at times, but I think he’s paid his debt to society. I’m glad he’s back. Too bad his career got sidetracked for so long.
Scary moment when security guard gets all Chris Farley on Tiger* on the 14th (who goes on to birdie that hole anyway).
A slight chuckle imagining him getting sidelined like that, from a Masters he would have ended up winning.
*second video down.
Definitely ranks in the top three (I spose) greatest pro athlete career comebacks.
Kudos, dude.
Agreed. I’m glad he managed to pull this one out. I hope he can continue winning; golf is just better with a competitive Tiger.
Who’re the other two in your list of comebacks? I’d put Hogan coming back after his car wreck, and if I can go to skiing, Hermann Maier coming back after his motorcycle accident—where doctors had to be persuaded not to amputate his leg—to win the overall World Cup title 2.5 years later.
EDIT: I’d say the security guard’s move looked more like a failed slidetackle than anything else. Don’t run near your principals, people.
Definitely Hogan would be the first one to come to mind.
Maybe Mario Lemieux, in a somewhat distant second (heh - maybe letting Tiger bump ahead of him? Close!).
This blurb from The Loop tries to concisely sum up ML:
(Not really a comeback issue, but always wondered what Ted Williams’s career would’ve been like, military-free)
Maybe he was a friend of the Usain Bolt segway guy.
This seems premature. Or over the top. Or both?? Is this a woosh?? He is not the oldest to win the masters and he does not have the most majors. Let’s see how history unfolds, not write it in crayons.
George Foreman
What it all comes down to is Who got the big W?
Way to go, Tiger. Even people who don’t follow golf are cheering for you.
Just two years ago, this guy was virtually crippled and unable to swing a golf club. Even he thought he was through. Now, he has won a major. I can’t think of any individual athletic comeback that is greater than this one. Just amazing!
Geeze, golf alone has one that’s even better (Ben Hogan). :smack:
Ben Hogan would have never even been able to imagine the overall tour strength and skill level that exists today. Woods had to defeat a hoard of young, strong, fabulous golfers to win that tournament. At one point on the back nine yesterday, there were no less than 7 golfers at or within one stroke of the lead, and that included Brooks Koepka, the number one player in the world who won two majors and the C.J. Cup this past year, and is the new Darth Vadar of the tour.
(With apologies to Tim Rice)
Oh, what a Master’s, oh, what a show
All the sports world has gone to town
Over the win of a golfer they call Tiger Woofs
He got the title
Stroking all day and stroking all night
Falling over himself to get all
Of his golf strokes just right.
Oh, what a comeback, a great way to go
When you’re getting your fifth Masters win
And its taking you fourteen years to get to the top
It’s quite the comeback, and good for the golf world
In a roundabout way
You made the front page of all the US papers today.
But who is this man they call the Tiger?
Why all this howling, hysterical cheering?
What kind of golfer has lived amongst us
And will we ever see another?
He has the movements, he has the style.
The best show in town for the crowds
In side the sports world shouting “Go, Tiger Woods.”
But now it’s over, and he showed the World he could really hack it.
And all it amounted to was another Masters green jacket.
You surprised the world, go Tiger
Golf was supposed to be a white man’s game.
But you’re a black dude and an Asian.
And in the end you could really deliver.
I wonder if this one off farewell performance (local sports radio says he should retire as hes on top ) or a comeback …but it’s enough that we’ll hear about it for the next 5 years even if he’s in 67th place at the world putt-putt garage tour invitational
After all of the work and pain and surgeries he has endured to make it back, do you really think he will quit now that he has?
Sports commentators are guilty of numerous stupid cliches but, “quit when you’re on top”, has to be one of the stupidest.
He’s going to keep going as long as possible to try for the record number of majors won.
Last July, he finished tied for 6th at the British Open, 3 shots back.
Last August, he finished second at the PGA championship, 2 shots back.
I think that he is back.