This is a story about race, but it is also about a race that wasn’t.
Tiger Woods won the 61st Masters on Sunday by 12 shots, the greatest margin of victory in any major golf tournament this century.
We know of a “Caucasian Clause” in the sport’s constitution as late as 1943, even as minorities fought for the American flag in World War II. We know it was 1975 before a black man played in this tournament, and 1991 before a black man became a member of Augusta National.
We know that Calvin Peete, the second black Masters invitee after Lee Elder, was asked his feelings in 1980, and he replied, “Asking me if I enjoy being here is like asking if we enjoyed slavery.” We know about Jackie Robinson 50 years ago, and about what Hank Aaron did to Babe Ruth’s record in 1974.
But Tiger Woods won the 61st Masters on Sunday by 12 shots, and we have not known or seen golf like this. Ever. Others opened doors, such as Ted Rhodes and Charlie Sifford and Elder and Peete, and Tiger thanked them Sunday, after breaking a few barriers of his own.
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By 12 shots, he lapped the field. At last year’s Masters, 12 shots off the lead meant finishing tied for 15th. At the U.S. Open, it tied for 50th. Such was Tiger’s dominance. When Jack Nicklaus volunteered that Tiger might wind up with 10 green jackets, it sounded outrageous. Not now. Not after this display.
And not since Nicklaus’ magnificent victory in 1986 at age 46 have Masters galleries gravitated toward a single Sunday golfer. The significant difference then was that the Golden Bear needed help; Woods needed only to stay awake.
There was no pretense of drama whatsoever when the last twosome let fly. Some athletes play within themselves; Woods was in effect playing himself. The only questions were how thoroughly would he destroy par, and by how many strokes would he emulate Secretariat, romping in the Belmont Stakes.
Only one soul could possibly invent a reason to be nervous about Tiger, and that was his swing coach, Butch Harmon, who noted, “A year ago I was working with Greg Norman.” Enough said.
But hefty winds precluded any of the earlier golfers from applying pressure with an unholy number, and Costantino Rocca, Woods’ walking mate, seemed content to have the best of all views. Actor Jack Nicholson ran a close second, riding shotgun on a CBS cart weaving through crowds.
Woods bogeyed No. 5 when he scalded a wedge approach, but his bad swing thoughts have the shelf life of gum wrappers at Augusta National, where the litter patrol is everywhere. Tiger rarely appeared shaky or troubled. As fellow players have warned, this kid doesn’t act 21 inside the ropes.
“I guarantee you, he’s not thinking one major . . . he’s thinking all four, and this year, Grand Slam,” said Paul Azinger, who played with Woods Friday when Tiger decided to take over. “The bigger the event, the higher he’ll raise the bar. He’s Michael Jordan in long pants.”
Last Sunday, the Bulls visited Orlando, where Woods resides. He went to the game and chatted with Jordan.
“First time I’ve met him,” Tiger said. “It was great.”
They are destined to play golf together, no?
“Probably, but Michael will be pretty busy from now until June,” Woods said, “and so will I.”
Woods will take about a month off, then resume his PGA Tour schedule. Woods is a lock for America’s Ryder Cup team in September. Captain Tom Kite might take some squad members on a scouting trip of the Valderrama Golf Club venue in Spain en route to the British Open starting on July 17.
That’s cutting it close with the Motorola Western Open July 3, but according to Hughes Norton, Woods’ manager, Tiger’s plans still include Chicago. Norton also said Tiger can count on bonus clauses in his Nike and Titleist endorsement contracts to kick in “significantly” more than his $486,000 take from the Masters.
“But this is about golf,” Tom Watson said. “It’s about Tiger Woods and a chapter of history.”
And the kid has many miles to walk before he puts that book to sleep.