Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters: The Greatest Sports Comeback Ever
On April 14, 2019, Tiger Woods won the Masters Tournament for the fifth time. He was 43 years old. He had undergone four back surgeries. He had been arrested for DUI. He had spent years in physical therapy that most people his age would have abandoned. He had not won a major championship in eleven years.
When his putt dropped on the 18th green, he embraced his children on the course — a mirror of the famous photograph from 1997, where a young Tiger embraced his father Earl after winning his first Masters. The image of Tiger hugging his son Charlie in the same place, 22 years later, is one of the most powerful photographs in sports history.
The Road Back
Understanding what the 2019 Masters meant requires understanding what preceded it. Tiger's last major win before Augusta 2019 was the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines — played on a broken leg with a torn ACL, an act of competitive will that stands as one of the most remarkable athletic performances of all time. Then came the knee surgery, the personal scandals, the back problems, the surgeries.
In 2017, Tiger had spinal fusion surgery. Most doctors were skeptical he would ever play competitive golf again. The surgery was experimental for athletes. The recovery was brutal. Tiger has said there were days he could not get out of bed.
He returned to competitive golf in 2018. He was not the same player physically — he could not generate the same clubhead speed, could not stand over the ball the same way, could not practice for the same number of hours. But he was smarter, more patient, and more experienced than any version of himself that had existed before.
The Final Round
Tiger entered the final round of the 2019 Masters two strokes off the lead. Francesco Molinari, the reigning Open Champion, held the 54-hole lead and was playing the most consistent golf of his life. The back nine would decide it.
Molinari made back-to-back bogeys on the 12th and 15th holes — the two most dangerous holes at Augusta. Tiger birdied 15 and 16. He walked onto the 18th green with a two-shot lead. When the putt dropped, the reaction from the gallery was the loudest Augusta had ever heard.
What It Meant
The 2019 Masters was not just Tiger's 15th major championship. It was proof of something that sports occasionally allows us to witness: that the human capacity for comeback is not diminished by time or circumstance. Tiger at 43 beat the best players in the world on the hardest course in golf, eleven years after his last major, after surgeries that would have ended most careers.
Augusta National will always be associated with Tiger Woods. The 2019 version of that story — the kids on the 18th, the roar of the crowd, the green jacket fitting in the Butler Cabin — is the one that will last longest.
→ Tiger Woods 2019 Masters Champion — Wall Art Poster
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times has Tiger Woods won the Masters?
Tiger Woods has won the Masters Tournament five times: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2019.
How old was Tiger Woods when he won the 2019 Masters?
Tiger Woods was 43 years old when he won the 2019 Masters. It was his first major championship in eleven years, since the 2008 US Open.
How many major championships has Tiger Woods won?
Tiger Woods has won 15 major championships: five Masters, three US Opens, three Open Championships, and four PGA Championships.
What surgeries did Tiger Woods have before the 2019 Masters?
Tiger had four back surgeries, including spinal fusion surgery in 2017, before winning the 2019 Masters. He also had reconstructive knee surgery in 2008 following his final round at Torrey Pines.
