AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods had dragged himself up and down and all around Augusta National again on Sunday, 72 holes in total over four days, and the pain etched across his face showed it.
The man was done. Spent. Finished. He had gone to the scorer’s room, answered a few questions from the media and was now trying to climb a small hill toward where his family was waiting for him.
His right leg, which he nearly lost in a car accident 14 months ago, was no doubt stiffening by the moment. Tiger could barely swing it around to walk. He slowly, simply limped up the hill, where his mother, Kultilda, and Nike founder Phil Knight waited with hugs.
Just behind them were his children and girlfriend, waiting their turn. Meanwhile, fans on the other side of the ropes cheered their appreciation that Woods even tried this, that he’d come to entertain them again.
Woods would finish +13 for the tournament, yet call it one of his greatest triumphs — broken down and beaten up, but a triumph nonetheless.
“It’s been a tough road,” Tiger said. “And one that I’m very thankful to have the opportunity to be able to grind through it. A lot of different things could have happened, but 14 months [after the accident], I’m able to tee it up and play in the Masters.”
How much pain were you in today, he was asked.
“Uh-huh,” he said with a smile.
He didn’t need to say much more than that.
“He told me inside, this was the worst pain he ever had,” said Rob Johnston, an Augusta National member who handles media relations for the Masters and has known Tiger for the over 25 years he’s been playing here.
Johnston had held out his arm to offer balance for Woods as he stepped down from a small interview stage, but Tiger wouldn’t accept the help even if he probably needed it. He’d come this far. He’d finish it, even if he bore little resemblance to the athlete who redefined this event and this sport.
Woods is committed to play in the British Open in July when it returns to St. Andrews. He isn’t sure about the PGA Championship next month at Southern Hills in Oklahoma. He no doubt needs to get home and reevaluate everything about the physical challenge he undertook playing here.
Each day he looked worse for wear, which was reflected in his ballooning scores 71-74-78-78. It wasn’t just the hurt that hurt, either. He could still hit the ball fairly well, but his average putts per hole went from 1.53 the first two rounds to 1.95 the final. That’s a sign of both fatigue and a lack of intra-tournament practice.
Early this week, Woods joked about being Humpty Dumpty and all glued together. Yet the post-round work to maintain that — treatment, rest and endless ice baths, “just basically freezing myself to death,” he joked — cut into time Tiger used to spend sharpening his game.
Presumably he will continue to get stronger as he gets further and further away from the car accident that changed him forever. It’s a process, though, and right now Woods may not have the ability to do the kind of competitive grind that always fueled his greatness.
Then again, winning — even if Woods will never say it — shouldn’t be the goal.
“Thankful,” Woods said. “I keep saying it, but I am. I really am. I truly am. Just to get to this point, just to be able to play, and not only just to play, but I put up a good first round. I got myself there. I don’t quite have the endurance that I would like to have had, but as of a few weeks ago, didn’t even know if I was going to play in this event.
“To go from that to here, we’re excited about the prospects of the future, about training, about getting into that gym and doing some other stuff to get my leg stronger, which we haven’t been able to do because it needed more time to heal,” he continued.
From his early week practice rounds through completion of his final round, Tiger was greeted with roars, cheers and thank yous. Despite being hopelessly out of contention Sunday, a huge throng followed him around the course, taking in every shot, just hoping to catch a glimpse of past glory.
What Woods learned from this experience will determine his golfing future. At 46, he still wants to win and presumably could one day. While just getting around Augusta National was an accomplishment this time, knowing Woods’ intense competitiveness, it won’t be enough for long.
“I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this, but we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it,” he said.
That’s a battle for the future, maybe in Oklahoma, certainly, it appears, at St. Andrews. Tiger Woods is back.
For now, though, he was hobbling up a hill toward the clubhouse, arms linked with his family. Each step brought a grimace of pain across his face.
He could barely make it. Yet he did.
And that was more than enough.