There is a long list of Tiger Woods accomplishments that are more impressive from a pure golf perspective than the one he set Friday at the Masters.
You know the records. Bursting onto the scene in the 1997 Masters to win by 12 strokes. Clobbering everyone at the 2000 U.S. Open by 15 strokes. Having 82 PGA Tour victories to tie Sam Snead. Spending 683 weeks at No. 1 in the world, including 281 weeks consecutively. Making 142 cuts in a row between 1998 and 2005.
This article would be 10,000 words long if I named them all. Jack Nicklaus may have had the better career in totality but nobody has ever played golf at the level Tiger did.
He’s in a different stage of his golf life now. Tiger, who will be 49 years old at the end of this year, still has the requisite talent to compete against the world’s best—but he is short on health and reps.
Coming into this week in Augusta, Woods had played just 24 holes of PGA Tour golf in the past year. The last official event he completed was 14 months ago.
It was this time last year when Tiger could barely walk in cold, rainy conditions at the 2023 Masters. He was forced to withdraw from that event and underwent ankle surgery two weeks later.
But despite his body barely letting him compete at all over the past two years, Woods showed up to this year’s Masters and gutted out a 1-over 145 in some of the windiest conditions we’ve ever seen at Augusta National, putting him five strokes clear of the 6-over cut line.
It was his 24th consecutive made cut at the Masters, breaking a record set by Fred Couples and Gary Player. Somehow, it is just one of 35 Masters records that belong to Woods, and this one is a career achievement record based on longevity.
For me, it’s the most admirable record he’s ever set.
That is 24 years’ worth of coming to the Masters and never having a bad 36 holes.
Think about all the players who missed the cut this year. Wyndham Clark, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Brian Harman, Viktor Hovland and Sergio Garcia saw their tournaments cut short. All of them are major champions or among the game’s best.
Woods isn’t among the game’s best anymore because his body won’t let him. Yet, he has manufactured another path to make the weekend at Augusta.
Whether during his prime of 1997-2009, the awkward post-scandal years of 2010-2013 or the injury-riddled 2014-2024—Tiger has always figured out a way to be a factor in the Masters.
Several years, like in 2024, he arrived at the Masters with little to no preparation and had to rely on his extensive course knowledge to get by.
This time around, it was all about resilience, patience and experience. He utilized a controlled fade off the tee and kept the ball in play. His short game ranked among the best in the field. He avoided dramatic mistakes and answered bogeys with birdies on multiple occasions.
The man with a fused back, repaired ankle and virtually no competitive preparation finished his second round in a tie for 21st just seven strokes back of the lead.
How is that possible?
It is sheer will and determination. Woods owes the golf world nothing. He has nothing left to prove, even though he stated this week that a 16th major victory could still be within his grasp. Through everything that has happened to him—including his own missteps—Tiger has found a way to regather himself as a Masters competitor 24 tournaments in a row.
In total Tiger fashion, he wasn’t thinking much about that record moments after setting it.
“It means I have a chance going into the weekend. I’m here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament. I don’t know if they’re all going to finish today, but I’m done. I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I’ll be good to go.”
Of course he wasn’t taking a moment to process the absurdity of his accomplishment.
His ability to focus on winning is why he did this in the first place.
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