The Class Of 97

How Tiger’s 12-stroke Win 20 Years Ago Changed The Masters + Golf

- Tom Callahan

EVERYBODY REMEMBERS HOW IT ENDED, but nobody can say exactly when it began. Some start the clock the week before the 1997 Masters,when, playing a practice round with Mark O’Meara,Tiger Woods shot 59 at Isleworth while neglecting to birdie two of the par 5s. On the plane ride to Augusta from Orlando, the friends got to talking:

“Do you think it’s possible to win the Grand Slam?” 21-year-old Woods asked 40-year-old O’Meara, then 0 for 54 in major championships. Mark looked at Tiger and thought, You’re the first guy since Nicklaus even to ask the question, but didn’t say that out loud.

“Unrealistic,” O’Meara replied after a long moment. “I think it’s possible,” Woods said.

The tournament itself – 72 holes as impactful as any ever played – commenced April 10 and climaxed April 13, 20 years ago, kicking off on a blowy Thursday when flying pine needles punctured the air and the first 30 players were immediately whooshed over par. Three victories into his pro career, but still the holder of the US Amateur title, Woods was paired, per tradition, with the defending champion, Nick Faldo. Tiger went out in 40. So, the story might open with his comeback, the birdie at 10, or perhaps with something that happened the day before, Seve Ballesteros’ 40th birthday, when Woods played half a practice round alongside Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal. Breaking off from the Spaniards to try “a few little things” Seve had showed him, Tiger said that evening, “He’s amazing around the greens. There are some things you can learn only from another player.”