Golf Digest SIP 2021 - Tiger Woods

A prediction: Tiger Woods will receive the $8 million first-place award of the inaugural Player Impact Program. At year end, the disbursements for the nine other players will be finalized, all part of the PGA Tour’s response to the still speculative golden lures of a world “super league.” It shall be neither ironic nor surprising when the runaway winner is the guy who didn’t strike a competitive shot in 2021, owing of course, to back surgery in January followed by the car crash in February. As much as Phil thrilled, Rahm rammed, and Bryson and Brooksy bickered, Tiger still contributes more to golf’s global awareness. Video of his putt from 2008 got more airtime than any other shot from Torrey Pines this year. Google search and Q-rating? That’s a lot of…

Golf Digest started covering him in 1981, when Tiger was 5 years old and weighed the equivalent of a tour golf bag. Our next encounter was when he entered the magazine’s Armchair Architect Contest at age 11 (see page 84). In 1990, we ranked Tiger as America’s third-best junior amateur, and Jaime Diaz profiled him at 14. It was then we got to know his father, Earl, as a delegate to the National Minority Golf Symposium, sponsored by Golf Digest and the USGA, and on the basis of that friendship we built an alliance that has now lasted three decades. Tiger made his first cover appearance in November 1994 as a model for an instruction story on power, and he got his second two years later when he turned pro: “Is…

“Assuming Tiger continues on his current track, the money will be monumental. He’ll be wealthy as soon as he turns pro. The guaranteed endorsements and appearance money will make him the equivalent of a No. 1 pick in an NBA or NFL draft. But is he also going to be a great player? Truly, there is no way of knowing. The best teenage golfers do not automatically dominate the sport as adults. Golf is not tennis.”—FRANK HANNIGAN, 1993“Tiger probably has the talent to reach his longterm goal of being the best ever, if his health and motivation hold up: two monumental ifs.”—NICKS EITZ, 1996“He’s not going to burn out because Tiger plays for his own joy and passion.”—JAY BRUNZA, 1996 “Tiger is going to be the leading golfer not only in…

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article appeared in Golf World immediately after the 1997 Masters. Author John Hawkins completed it in a rental home two miles from Augusta National just hours after the final putt. The piece won that year’s Golf Writers Association of America firstplace award for Best News Story. THERE WAS NO DEFINING MOMENT. There was no miracle comeback, no Incident at Amen Corner, no particular golf shot of historical resonance. There weren’t even any azaleas. Spring arrived too early this year at Augusta National, tiptoeing around the 61st Masters as if to force this sacred tournament to produce its own colorful backdrop. Mother Nature’s ultimatum. Father Time’s ultimate accomplishment. That’s what made it so unforgettable. Color. The dark complexion of a young man’s skin against his sport’s lily-white landscape, a major champion…

EDITOR’S NOTE: Although there is no world ranking of sports writers, a considerable chunk of Jaime Diaz’s time at the top coincided with Tiger Woods’ respective reign. Once a year for Golf Digest, Diaz—who was awarded the 2012 PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism—applied his historical perspective and precise style to assessing “The State of Tiger.” These large features were typically informed by one-on-one interviews with the man himself, in addition to a wide range of reputable sources throughout the game. What follows are selected passages. To read them is to relive the suspense of Tiger’s accelerating achievements without the spoil of hindsight. ROB TRINGALI/SPORT CHROME/GETTY IMAGES • PEBBLE BEACH: JAMIE SQUIRE/ALLSPORT/GETTY IMAGES…