AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Masters patrons filled in every nook and cranny around the 18th green, awaiting the appearance of the man in red.
It’s a scene that’s been so familiar to Tiger Woods on so many Sundays at Augusta National, but this one was different.
It wasn’t even 3 o’clock on a warm, sunny afternoon in east Georgia. Over on the adjacent first hole, leader Scottie Scheffler and closest pursuer Cameron Smith had just teed off in the final group. Hunched over and limping noticeably, Woods climbed the deceptively steep hill leading up to the green as the fans slowly rose to their feet, the roar building as they saluted a remarkable comeback if not a fairy tale of a weekend.
“Way to hang in there, Tiger!” a man standing back in the crowd belted out.
From a strictly golfing viewpoint, this was hardly the Woods so many remembered. The guy who has won five green jackets, the last of them just three years ago. The guy who Will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, even if he never strikes another shot.