1. Twenty years on from Tiger's first Masters
We remember the massive drives, the destruction of a storied course, rebounding from an opening-nine 40 and waxing the field by 12 strokes. Tiger Woods made it look easy when he won the 1997 Masters, the first of his 14 major titles.
Woods has now written a book on the subject, and looking back, it is fair to wonder why all these years later it seemed so inevitable.
Because it should not have been so clear cut.
Heading into the 1997 Masters, Woods had played only 16 tournaments as a pro and won three of them.
In his previous two starts before Augusta, he was 31st at the Players Championship and ninth at Bay Hill.
He was ranked 13th in the world, one spot behind Fred Couples, one ahead of Davis Love III. Greg Norman was No. 1. Nick Faldo, who had overtaken Norman the previous year to win his third green jacket, was ninth.
Woods had missed the cut the previous year at Augusta as an amateur and he had never contended in any professional event before turning pro, let alone any of the majors. And yet he shared favorite status at 8-1 along with Norman and Faldo in his first major as a pro.
As easy as that victory looked, it is also easy to forget that going into the tournament it was far from a slam dunk.
"As an amateur, I wasn't quite ready to win professionally, but I always thought I had the game for Augusta because of my length," Woods wrote in an email. "If I kept the ball below the hole, and putted well, I could compete.
"I think the expectations were high because I had played well in '96 to start my pro career [winning twice] and had gotten off to a good start in '97. The 59 I shot the week before Isleworth also had a lot of people thinking I would do well."
2. The book
Woods was in New York on Monday to promote "The 1997 Masters: My Story." While there might not be a ton of juicy tidbits or big revelations, there is still plenty of interesting fodder. And it is instructive that Woods decided to do an entire book on just one major.
"The 1997 Masters was a very important time in my life, both professionally and personally," he wrote in an email. "It was my first major, and probably the one that means the most to me. I'll also never forget standing at [the] No. 18 green at Augusta and seeing my mom and hugging Pop. Even now, I think about that. I have a lot of memories [from] that week, and I thought the fans would enjoy some of the stories."
To that end, Woods dives deep into each round at the Masters with writer Lorne Rubenstein. The 59 he shot at his then-home course Isleworth in Orlando, Florida, the week before the Masters was cited as what he seized on following his front-nine 40 in the first round. He tried to get the feelings back from that day, then went on to shoot a back-nine 30 that set the stage for his victory.
The round-by-round look back is golf-y, but it is also a fascinating look at what was going on as the tournament unfolded. He touches on his relationship with his father, dining at Arby's after every round and the various ways he thought his way around a tricky Augusta National course where experience always ruled the day.
"It was interesting to relive how the course played and how long I was then," Woods said. "It was pretty short for me and recalling the irons I hit into the par-4s and -5s showed me how much the game has changed."
3. The aftermath
Some of the more interesting takes from Woods come from the time after the tournament. He addressed the Fuzzy Zoeller controversy (Zoeller had used racially insensitive comments while Woods was on his way to victory), he admits he made a mistake in not attending a ceremony a few days later for Jackie Robinson -- one that President Bill Clinton had invited him to attend when calling Woods on the night of the victory.
He described the time when he and instructor Butch Harmon made the decision to change a swing that had won a major by 12 strokes. And in a postscript, he admits to a betrayal of his ex-wife, Elin, whom he was divorced from in 2010 following a very public scandal. "My dishonesty and selfishness caused her intense pain," Woods wrote in the book. "My regret will last a lifetime."
As for the numerous injuries that have dotted his career, Woods admitted, "I probably came back too early from some of the surgeries, but I was single-minded in my desire to compete and my need for competition. I pushed hard, maybe too hard sometimes."
4. The course
Of course, no book on a victory at the Masters can go without considerable mention of the venue. And Woods does not disappoint here. He devotes an entire chapter to the changes on the golf course following his 1997 victory -- sometimes referred to as "Tiger-proofing" -- and makes clear without criticizing that he is not a fan.
"The Augusta National I played in 1997 doesn't play at all like the course now," he wrote.
Woods also notes that the golf governing bodies did Masters officials no favors by failing to address the increasing distance the golf ball now travels. And he also said that course founders Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts designed Augusta National to be like an inland links, with plenty of room off the tee and numerous ways to recover.
The course was changed dramatically in 2002 -- and more than 600 yards have been added since 1997, putting the layout in excess of 7,500 yards today. "It wasn't as much fun to play the course anymore," Woods wrote.
5. This year's Masters field
Marc Leishman's victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earned him a Masters invite and brought the field for the year's first major championship to 90 players. That includes past champions Woods and Ian Woosnam, who are unconfirmed to start. It does not include England's Tommy Fleetwood, ranked 33rd in the world, and South Korea's Jeunghun Wang, 45th, who are set to join the field Monday when the final invitation category -- top 50 in the world rankings on March 28 -- is invoked.
Winners of this week's WGC-Dell Match Play Championship and the Shell Houston Open also would get spots if they are not in the field. Wang and Ross Fisher (53rd) are the only players from 45 to 55 who are not in the Masters field as of yet.
6. Rory's big drives
His approach to the 18th green with a wedge left something to be desired, but you have to like the way Rory McIlroy is driving the ball. He has played only two tournaments since his return from a rib injury but contended in both. And he was crushing the ball off the tee at Bay Hill, where he hit three drives more than 360 yards on Sunday. He played the weekend in 10 under par after squeezing in under the cut.
McIlroy would undoubtedly love to win the Match Play this week, but he'll also probably be quite pleased with his game progressing. For a guy who figured to be cramming for the Masters, he appears to be doing just fine.
7. Tiger's long message to Arnie
Alastair Johnston, the chairman of Arnold Palmer Enterprises, was at the news conference kicking off the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week and used a story about Woods to make his point that he was not bothered by anyone who chose to skip the tournament.
A year ago, when Woods could not play in the tournament because of injury, he left a lengthy voicemail for Palmer expressing his regrets.
"It was one of the most meaningful monologues I've ever heard from anybody," Johnston said. "It represented Tiger's view on Arnold Palmer and what he has done for him, for the game of golf, and for a universe at large. That was something that I can tell you that Arnold listened to and listened to again and again. And, by the way, it was a long message.
"And I can tell you this," Johnston said, "that what Tiger said to Arnold at that point in time in paying tribute to him was probably more meaningful to Arnold than the eight victories he won here."
8. Hard to figure
In consecutive weeks in June 2014, Martin Kaymer won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst and Michelle Wie won the U.S. Women's Open on the same course.
Neither has won a worldwide tournament since.
9. Gator talk
Has an alligator ever received as much attention at the one on the sixth hole at Bay Hill last week?
Cody Gribble's bold play at Bay Hill was shooing a gator https://t.co/bJmLLHOfiv
— ESPN Golf (@ESPNGolf) March 17, 2017