Tiger Woods and the Masters, forever linked: 'It has meant a lot to my family'

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The dramatic elevation changes of Augusta National are not always evident in Masters broadcasts. It's a common observation by first-timers to the storied golf course that it's far hillier than it looks on TV.

The ups and downs of Tiger Woods? Plainly evident for the world to see.

It all played out on the public stage. The historic success, the personal downfall, the epic comeback, the car accident that nearly claimed his life.

Five years have passed since the legendary Woods won his fifth and latest green jacket. Now, for the 29th time, he's preparing to make another run.

"It's been a part of my life to have won here as my first major [championship] as a pro," said Woods, 48, addressing the media as he has every Tuesday of Masters week. "Hugging my dad, as you saw [at his victorious 1997 Masters], then a full circle in 2019 to hug my son.

"It has meant a lot to my family. It's meant a lot to me. I always want to keep playing in this."

Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, considers that against-all-odds victory in 2019 to be the one of the remarkable moments in sports history.

"I can make the case scientifically and medically, psychologically, that that's the greatest comeback in the history of sports," McManus told The Los Angeles Times in February. "To win in 1997 and then have a period in his life for almost 11 years since winning a major championship in the Masters, and then winning that knowing what he went through legally and physically and emotionally. The fact that he was able to win in 2019, so many years after his first victory I think is amazing.

"It's a little bit like a pitcher throwing a perfect game in the World Series, which is not dissimilar to what Tiger did in '97, and then have that pitcher, after devastating injuries to his knee, his ankle and his leg and his back, come back and throw another perfect game 22 years later."

More history awaits. Woods is attempting to make the Masters cut a 24th consecutive time, which would be a Masters record. He tied Gary Player and Fred Couples by making his 23rd cut in a row last year, but he had to withdraw seven holes into his Saturday round because of foot pain.

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