It could be the dawn of a new era in Tiger supremacy

YOU have to feel sorry for Chris DiMarco but pay due tribute to Tiger Woods for the manner in which he got it done.

The 69th Masters was marred by the weather but that was far from the minds of the 40,000 fans trooping out of Augusta on Sunday night.

As the classic drew to a close, a surreal air hung over Augusta National. It mustn’t be forgotten that DiMarco outscored Woods on the day by 68 to 71 to force a play-off. And it is also to Woods’ credit that he came up with a spectacular birdie to close out the job.

Tiger has now equalled Arnold Palmer’s record of four Masters, he is two behind Jack Nicklaus’s six and halfway towards his goal of emulating the Golden Bear’s majors record haul of 18. At 29 years of age and his game almost back to the heights it reached in 2000, few would bet against him.

He recalled Nicklaus in 1995 predicting Woods would “surpass his record of majors.”

“I had the length, but I had no understanding of my golf swing or distance control or shot making. So it was kind of mind boggling that he should make a comment like that.”

Those who chided him for parting with leaving his long time coach Butch Harmon to fend for himself before teaming team up with Hank Haney have been emphatically silenced. And yet, it could have been such a different outcome had Tiger not holed that 40 yard pitch from the back of the 16th green.

“Under the circumstances, it’s one of the best I’ve ever hit because it was a turning point”, said Woods.

Woods took particular pleasure in talking about how his new swing stood up to the task of recovering from an opening 74. He has been claiming for a long time that he was “very close” but people felt he might be covering up the truth.

“I don’t think you’re ever there, you never arrive, but if you do, you might as well quit. I’ll never be there. More than anything else, this is the validation of all the hard work Hank and I have put into this.”

While he insisted that his first Masters was the best of all, this one was also very special to him given that he hadn’t won a major since 2002.

“I’ve battled over the past couple of years and made some changes and I wasn’t winning major championships.

“I contended a couple of times and didn’t win and for the most part, I wasn’t in contention on the back nine on Sunday. It was nice to get back there and in contention with a chance to win coming up the back nine on Sunday. It’s a thrill.”

It was also a thrill for Woods that he should win at a time when his father isn’t at all well. He became quite emotional when discussing the subject and explained: “He’s struggling. He wasn’t able to come out here all week. His health has been pretty bad all year and it’s one of the reasons why Doral was so big when I shot 63, just to give him a birthday present, a birthday wish. He’s stubborn and he’s going to fight through it.”

And what of Chris DiMarco who fought like a terrier, shot 68 and still missed out. Woods echoed everybody’s view when he labelled him “a fighter.”