Tiger Woods left the master without any form of physical hardware.
His departure was much the same as his arrival: with family members and beloved friends trekking through Augusta’s long and winding terrain in one of his vintage Nike polo shirts.
The notable difference: Woods smiled as he trotted uphill to make his last curtain call of the day and greet viewers, who showered him with adoration and praise.
In Woods’ own summary, he hasn’t reached his best standard. He finished the tournament in 47th place with 14 over par after making the cut after the second round of action.
Still, the five-time Green Jacket recipient had no reason to get his head in his book, and after nearly losing his leg — and perhaps his life — in a car accident just over a year ago, he looked like Woods in any Form operated game capacity was a treat for his fans to watch.
And although Scottie Scheffler was ultimately crowned champion of this year’s classic, for Skip Bayless Woods really was the big winner. According to Bayless, it’s a position that Woods — and only Woods — can hold.
“Tiger Woods won this Masters,” Bayless told Undisputed on Monday.
“Yesterday was the most disappointing Masters finish in the history of this tournament that I know of. Tiger Woods finished the 18 with his promotion at about the same time the leaders teed off. So we had Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Smith exiting No. 1 as [Woods] is about to turn 18. He took over the golf tournament.
“Scottie Scheffler did something I haven’t seen since Tiger before the scandal. He has won four of the last six tournaments. He has won four tournaments since Super Bowl Sunday. He’s on a tiger reel. And yet beautiful as it is, it’s reminiscent of the pre-Tiger days when golf was just golf, not personalities. Here he is, the No. 1 player in the world, and he’s basically just running away with the Masters.”
“[But] nobody groomed. Everyone worried about Tiger’s return. My favorite tease in life is that we so often see that notable figures in our world must die before they receive the recognition and honor and praise they deserve. Tiger was praised yesterday. It was like coming back from the dead.”
“Tiger Woods won this Masters” – Skip Bayless
Although Tiger Woods didn’t actually compete at the Masters, the bigger story after the Masters was that Tiger Woods made the cut and played all 72 holes. Skip Bayless shares his thoughts on Tiger’s performance.
“It was an incredible feeling, just the patrons and the support out there,” said Woods after his last lap. “I haven’t exactly done my best out there, but just to have the support out there and the appreciation … I don’t think words can really describe it given where I was and what just over a year ago my prospects were then.
“To land here and be able to play all four rounds, a month ago I didn’t know if I could do it. But I think it was positive and I still have work to do and I’m looking forward to it.”
Bayless, along with a significant part of the golfing world, and look forward to it too.
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Golf – PGA – Masters Tournament – 4/7/2022
