The beauty, grandeur, magnificence, and brilliance of the Master’s Golf Tournament, contested the first full week of April each year in Augusta, Georgia, has become a rite of passage for adoring sports fans worldwide.
This annual celebration of spring which heralds the beginning of the golf season worldwide offers up a juxtaposition of the visionary, competitive virtuosity of Bobby Jones, the business acumen of Master’s co-founder Clifford Roberts, the architectural genius of Augusta National’s golf course designer Alister McKenzie, and the athletic forte and skill of the greatest players in the world when taken as the whole, has created scintillating theater unmatched in contemporary sports history.
This year’s iteration contested April 7-11, 2022, after a two-year hiatus with limited spectator and media participation due to COVID-19 restrictions, exceeded expectations, and delivered a Master’s performance worthy of the ages to take its place in the pantheon of Master’s folklore and tradition.
The week began with social media reports of the return of the King,
The early and prominent storylines were all about Tiger Woods. Could he play? Could he play?
As tournament week unfolded, those inquiries grew in prominence and echoed throughout the towering pines and rolling hills, building clamor and volume, expanding across the course and practice area.
Patrons nursed the question. Players, officials, and media alike begged for answers, praying it might be true.
All were wondering, could the stress and toll on Tiger’s reconstructed forty-six-year-old body after a lifetime of professional golf, multiple and significant surgeries, coupled with the grueling rehabilitation from his near-fatal car wreck less than two years before, allow his broken and aging body the strength and mobility to navigate the severe undulations and steep hills of the Augusta National?
That question would not be answered until just a little before 11:00 AM Thursday when Tiger finally emerged from the stately and iconic antebellum clubhouse that predates the Civil War and approached the first tee to a packed and adoring fairway lined with appreciative fans.
Yes, the hopes and prayers of golf fans worldwide would be answered.
The five-time Master’s Champion did not disappoint his legion of vocal and cheering supporters, opening with a 1-under 71, tying for ninth place.
On Friday, he gutted out a 74, falling from 10th place to 19th while making his 22nd consecutive cut at the Master’s, the third-longest streak in tournament history.
His storybook comeback could falter on the weekend as his aching body would struggle in the wet and chilly conditions, shooting 78-78 to finish 47th. Still, he would leave no doubt about his courage, fortitude, and character while giving his worshiping fans a glimpse of his incredible talent and his enduring gift to the sport of golf.
Tiger could not win this Master’s, and it is doubtful at this stage of his career he’ll ever contend in another and win his sixteenth Professional Major, leaving Jack Nicklaus the undisputed leader in Major Championships and arguably the greatest Professional Golfer of all time. However, Tiger has 82 professional wins tying him with Sam Sead in that category, leaving his legacy and record as the second greatest of all-time indisputable.
Nevertheless, records are made to be broken, the old is always replaced by the new, and aging athletes always fade away. It is the nature of sports. And this delayed Master’s confirms and reinforces this absolute truism.
There is a new contender to the throne of Best in the World.
This week, a longtime record of Tiger’s was shattered with newcomer Scottie Scheffler’s assault on number one in the world golf rankings, attaining that rank at 25 years old, just 42 days after his first PGA Tour win. It took Tiger 252 days to obtain that ranking.
With Schettler’s win at the Masters, that reign, and record, might stand for a while.
Scottie Scheffler is the hottest golfer on the planet, has been groomed, trained, prepared, coached, and now checks all the boxes for continued superstardom and longevity on the Professional Tours.
A golf prodigy and blueblood product of the Texas golf factories that have produced countless Junior golfers, Amateur Champions, Collegiate All-Americans, USGA team members, and PGA Tour Winners, he is now the newest Masters Champion, becoming the tenth Texan to win the Green Jacket. He is just the fifth player to win this tournament as the #1 player in the world, including Tiger Woods twice. This victory is his fourth of the 2022 season, making him the first golfer since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to win that many events, including the Masters.
It is his fourth win in his last four starts on the PGA Tour. Does anyone believe that will end anytime soon?
Scottie Scheffler is the real deal and the next Megastar in the world of Professional Golf, and he is not going away anytime soon.
I attended his final press conference on Sunday evening after the closing ceremonies at the Augusta National media center.
Please listen here to that interview.
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