Golf · 1997 · Augusta, USA
Tiger's Twelve-Stroke Masters
A 21-year-old in his first Masters as a professional opens with a 40 on the front nine, then dismantles Augusta National for three and a half rounds to win by twelve strokes.
270 (18-under, tournament record)
Winning score
12 strokes (record)
Margin of victory
21 (youngest Masters champion)
Age
Tiger Woods, playing his first Masters as a professional, shot a shaky 40 on the front nine of round one before closing with a 30 on the back, a warning sign the rest of the field mostly missed. He never let up again, following it with rounds of 66, 65 and 69 to finish at 18-under-par 270, a new tournament scoring record.
His margin of victory, twelve strokes over runner-up Tom Kite, was the largest in Masters history, and his aggregate stood as the lowest in the tournament's history at the time. He was 21 years old and became the youngest Masters champion ever, as well as the first golfer of Black or Asian heritage to win the tournament.
The win reshaped professional golf's commercial landscape almost overnight, drawing television audiences and galleries far beyond the sport's usual reach, and set a new standard for what dominance at a major championship could look like. Woods' green jacket ceremony, fitted by the previous year's champion, is remembered as the moment the sport entered a new era.
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