When Interest Turned Into Obsession

I was born less than three weeks before Tiger Woods slipped on the Green Jacket for the first time. That day—April 13, 1997—changed everything. But I don’t remember it.

When you ask anyone over the age of 25 what got them into the game, 99 percent of them will give credit to the man in red and black. A youngster who burst onto the scene in the late 90s and dominated in a nearly inconceivable way. I, too, would point to the man named Eldrick, but the moment when an interest became a full-blown obsession came more than a decade after his first of five Masters wins.

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It was March 16, 2008, nine days before my 11th birthday, and I watched the then-63-time PGA TOUR winner walk onto Bay Hill Club and Lodge’s 18th green under the watchful eye of Arnold Palmer. Tied with Bart Bryant at 9-under, Tiger stalked a 24-foot birdie putt on a green he knew like the back of his hand. He had already won four times at The King’s Place—2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003—and he was one stroke away from a handful.

The downhill, left-to-right slider was destined for the bottom of the cup as soon as Tiger put it in motion with his mythical Scotty Cameron blade. The ball’s Nike logo rolled end-over-end as it dove into the hole, and Tiger’s celebration that followed not only became one of the most iconic in golf history, but served as the catalyst for my, at times, unhealthy obsession with this game.

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It was Tiger’s 64th TOUR win, tying him with the great Ben Hogan. It was his fifth of eight wins at Arnie’s track. And it was just the appetizer for what he had in store three months later.

Today, on Tiger’s 50th birthday, take a moment to think about the first time you watched him, the first time you saw his textbook swing and buttery putting stroke. That spring day in March 2008 wasn’t my first glimpse at his greatness, but it was when I realized how incredible this game could be.

So I think I speak for all of us when I say: thanks, Tiger (and happy birthday).

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