Tiger Woods’s victory at the Masters last year is the stuff of legend, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. There were all sorts of signs that Woods was capable of claiming his 15th major and first in more than a decade. In the preceding months I’ve asked various players, commentators and industry observers what was the sign that Tiger was back to a level of play that not just winning but winning majors was plausible again?
There were several thoughtful answers, but one stood out and it is so great in every way that it simply makes the others forgettable. So, let’s skip to the good stuff, which is supplied by the one, the only Paul Goydos.
The scene is the practice putting green on Tuesday at Bay Hill during the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods had finished second at Innisbrook (at the 2018 Valspar Championship), the week before re-stoking the flames that Tiger was back. Goydos, 53 at the time and a PGA Tour Champions regular, was in the API field as a past champion and hitting putts when two Bridgestone balls rolled by the hole.
“I look up and here comes Tiger,” Goydos recalls. “I said hello and told him great playing last week. Tiger’s not a chit-chatter; he’s working. He doesn’t need to chit chat with Paul Goydos. That’s the last thing he wants to do. I’m more or less on vacation. This is like spring break for me at Bay Hill. Plus, Tiger is the King. He rules the roost. He’s walking away and I say, ‘Tiger, you know what’s great about playing this Tour?’ Tiger stops and looks at me and I say, ‘Where I drive the ball there are no divots.’
“Now, it’s a reasonably funny self-deprecating joke. Tiger smirked, but then he said, ‘How many woods do you carry now?’ So, I make a joke about myself and Tiger has to immediately annihilate me with a joke about me and my game. Tiger’s needle is long, sharp and he uses it a lot. He just needled a Champions Tour player on Tuesday at Bay Hill. I’m so far down the threat level to Tiger’s game. I’m non-existent in his world.
“I thought, ‘Holy crap, this guy is back. He’s a killer. That’s a killer attitude. He doesn’t care who you are.’ If you’re one of the 144-man field he is going to stomp you if he has to. I walked away and went over to my caddie and said, ‘Oh, Jesus, these guys have no idea what’s coming. They’re not ready for this.’ These guys that say, they’d love to compete against Tiger? They have no idea. Tiger is back to being a killer. When I told him that joke, that’s when I knew.”
