Letter from Augusta: Tiger Woods didn’t have his Sunday killer focus in his Sun Day Red garb
Tiger Woods waves after his final round at the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Pic credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
A Sunday tee time at 9:35 am is not what any player in the Masters wants, much less a five-time champion allergic to the concept of being a ceremonial golfer.
Tiger Woods has always preferred late afternoon with a green jacket on the line to a morning stroll with nothing at stake.
But there was Woods on Sunday, walking through a massive sea of parting patrons who packed the first tee to see the 48-year-old who remains the needle in golf start his 100th career round in the Masters.
On the practice range early to warm up, Woods listened to swing thoughts from his 15-year-old son, Charlie. Fittingly, it was an American amateur – Neal Shipley – who would accompany Woods this pristine Sunday at Augusta National.
Twenty-nine years ago, it was Woods who was the 19-year-old amateur collegian when he played his first Masters round with the defending Masters champion José María Olazábal. The reining Spaniard taught the young Tiger a lesson, shooting a sterling 66 to share the lead. Woods shot even-par 72 en route to a T41 finish.
But it was his first official Masters putt after hitting the green in regulation that Woods remembers most.
“I putted off the green right into the gallery playing with Ollie,” Woods said. “Chipped back up there and made the putt for bogey, and that was one of the most embarrassing moments that I can ever remember.”
This Sunday included a stubbed pitch on No. 3 that rolled back down the steep slope further away than where he started and a triple bogey on 5 that included the cart ride back to the tee when his drive was deemed unplayable. Yet the patrons cheered Woods on every painful step of the way the way they once did Arnold Palmer.
“Just the attention he gets and the roars,” Shipley said in awe. “It’s awesome to see the patrons really appreciative of him and really enjoy having him out here.”
Like Woods in 1995, Shipley was the only amateur to make the cut, securing the low amateur silver medal and an invitation to the Butler Cabin on Sunday night before he ever struck a shot this weekend. His frustration with an 80 on Saturday quickly dissipated when the final round pairings came out.
“My caddie came up to me and said, ‘Hey, guess who we are going to be paired with tomorrow?’” Shipley said. “I was just like, ‘No way it’s Tiger. And he said, ‘Yeah.’ I got pretty excited, and that’s when the emotions turned around.”
Woods didn’t have his Sunday killer focus in his Sun Day Red garb, walking and talking with Shipley about things such as how Tiger preferred Oakmont – where the 23-year-old Shipley caddied as a kid – before they culled all the trees. “I’m not old enough to remember that Oakmont,” Shipley said.
“I definitely think it’s one of my more relaxed rounds of the week,” added Shipley, who shot 73 and beat Woods by four.
“I think Tiger made me feel really welcomed. I mean, he was cool, chatting it up. Just kind of a cool, like, casual round with Tiger, you know, other than you’re here at the Masters.”
Woods had spoken at the start of the week about “passing on the knowledge to the next generation,” and on Sunday he got to do just that.
“I think the Masters does an incredible job of bringing together the past and the future of the game of golf,” Woods said.
After making the cut a record 24th consecutive time with a gritty 1-over performance in the high winds that buffeted the first two days, Woods looked old and broken on the weekend. His 82 on Saturday was the highest major championship score of his career, and his 77 on Sunday dropped him to the bottom of the board.
“Unfortunately, I got out of position a lot yesterday and a couple times today,” Woods said.
After the 16th hole, Woods shook hands with CBS broadcaster Verne Lunquist, who is calling his 40th and final Masters in a career that included the famous “In your life!” call on Tiger’s parabolic chip-in that fell over the lip on 16 en route to his 2005 victory.
Woods didn’t have the week he wanted, but finishing 60th of 60 after a 15-over weekend didn’t diminish his achievement this week.
“It was a good week all around,” he said. “I think that coming in here, not having played a full tournament in a very long time, it was a good fight on Thursday and Friday.
"Unfortunately, yesterday it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to. Today … the way that Tom (Kim, 66) is playing I thought I had in my system. Unfortunately, I didn’t produce it.”
He says he’s not done. He continues pointing ahead toward upcoming majors at Valhalla and Pinehurst and Royal Troon, working to do better than only two rounds of inspiring golf.
“Well, just keep lifting, keep the motor going, keep the body moving, keep getting stronger, keep progressing,” he said. “Hopefully the practice sessions will keep getting longer.”
Woods fielded only five questions – an arbitrary but hard cutoff instituted by the green jackets – and then he was gone more than a hour before the final pairing teed off.
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