25 YEARS OF WOODS

A quarter of a century ago, Eldrick Tont ‘Tiger’ Woods made his professional debut on the PGA Tour. In the 25 years that have followed he changed the game like no man before him. To celebrate those 25 years, we look back now over 25 defining Tiger moments…

1 HELLO WORLD

How a new superstar was born, and the game changed forever

With the exception of Nick Faldo’s dismantling of Greg Norman at the Masters, 1996 will not be remembered as a vintage year for the Major championships. If ever a sport could be accused of living up to its staid image of a game for middle-aged white men, this was it. Golf was crying out for something or, more pertinently, someone new.

Faldo’s crushing of Norman is the stuff of legend. In almost every sense, it was glory’s last shot. Faldo grabbed his chance, landing his sixth and final Major. Norman, with two Opens to his name and more than five years in total at the top of the world rankings, crumbled. Neither player reached such heights again. It was a watershed moment.

But what of the other Majors that year? Were the golfing gods so preoccupied with the project that was Tiger Woods that they handed them out almost at random? The US Open went to Steve Jones, 38; the Open Championship to Tom Lehman, 37; the US PGA Championship to Mark Brooks, 35. The Great Triumvirate? No.

It had been a full decade since Jack Nicklaus landed the last of his 18 Majors, the 1986 Masters. He was 46 at the time and had not been a serious contender for a number of years. What the Golden Bear had, though, was star quality. As had Arnold Palmer before him, all film star looks and John Wayne swagger.

Into the void left by Nicklaus came a sparkling European contingent, led by Severiano Ballesteros. Cavalier and charismatic, Seve single-handedly revived the fortunes of golf in Europe. Where the Spaniard led, Sandy Lyle, Woosie, Langer and Faldo followed. All five invaded the citadel that is Augusta National and all five came away as Masters champions.