AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | The smile still explodes with an electric familiarity even if the hairline has made a hasty retreat. At times, as Tiger Woods searched for the answers in the Masters interview room to questions both obvious and obscure, his eyes showed the world-weary wisdom of age, answers now much more measured.
This was the 22nd time Tiger has made the drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National Golf Club to compete in this tournament and, as Sam says to Ilsa before singing As Time Goes By in Casablanca, “Lot of water under the bridge.”
Woods, in many ways, personifies the magical ability of Augusta National and the Masters to have one foot firmly planted in the past while the other steps forward into the future. Some of golf’s greatest traditions come wrapped in a green jacket. So do many of its most impactful innovations.
As Woods spoke, it was obvious how much had changed since a tremendously talented 21-year-old won the 1997 Masters by 12 strokes in golf’s greatest palindrome – 12 at 21. His age, his margin of vict...
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