Redrawing the course

Twenty years ago, a young man named Tiger Woods blitzed his way around Augusta National Golf Club in America, taking down the other players, the racial prejudice that has long attended golf, and the very expectations of what was possible in the sport. The shock of his performance wasn’t merely in seeing a twenty-one-year-old phenom defeat the rest of the field by twelve shots, beating the previous record of nine shots that Jack Nicklaus had set in 1965. It was the preternaturally calm demeanour that Woods displayed, and the manner in which he dismantled a course that had long been regarded as one of the world’s most difficult. Woods won another sixty-six tournaments on the P.G.A. Tour, including thirteen more major championships. The members at Augusta, seeing what he had done to their beloved course, lengthened it considerably, laying down new rough, and planted trees in areas where previously there had been none. This effort to “Tiger-proof” Augusta didn’t prevent Woods from winning the Masters three more times. But, as other venues copied Augusta’s example, Woods’s 1997 victory changed the very game, creating the conditions for the rise of a generation of “bombers” who also hit the ball a mile—players like Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, and Jason Day.

Woods was an inspiration to today’s stars, and, by drawing countless casual viewers into golf, he also made them sacks of money. Over the course of his career, the sport’s prize money and television contracts have grown exponentially. But Woods was bigger than golf. He became an international celebrity, a pitchman for corporate America, and a role model—although not an entirely uncontroversial one—for many minority communities.

Unprecedented

the masters and me

Tiger Woods With Lorne Rubenstein

Sphere

Price : `699         

Pages : 244

Leading up to the 1997 Masters Tournament, 21 year old Tiger Woodswas already one of the world’s most scrutinised and talked about professional athletes, yet his electrifying win and historic margin of victory stunned the golf world and instantly catapulted him to superstardom. To mark the twentieth anniversary of this now iconic moment in sports history, Tiger Woods reflects for the first time on his record-setting win and how it changed his life and the game of golf forever in the book Unprecedented: The Masters and Me.

This book chronicles Tiger’s lifelong physical and mental preparation for the tournament, his transition from amateur to professional status and the gripping shot-by-shot details of how he turned a tough first round into a Masters win for the ages. Woods contemplates the invaluable guidance he has received over the years from his parents, as well as the advice offered by fellow golf pros and legends. He also opens up about his relationship with the media and also examines the sweeping changes that have been made to the game and what they mean for the future of golf.

Filled with incredible, never-before-seen photos, the book is both a meticulous reconstruction of one of golf’s greatest ever performances and a rare look behind the curtain of fame at the hard work and dedication that positioned Tiger Woods to make sports history.

By Nilabh Krishna