Tiger Woods re-lived his latest Masters triumph on Sunday.
As the memorable comeback victory from a year ago replayed on CBS on Sunday, Jim Nantz interviewed the five-time Masters winner throughout the round for a deeper look into one of the most notable moments of Woods’ career.
It prompted an emotional moment for Woods as he recalled the celebratory scene behind the 18th green that he had with kids, Charlie and Samantha, his mother, Tida, and his girlfriend, Erica Herman.
“Surreal,” Woods said. “To see my son, Charlie, there, open arms, come rushing at me and jump in my arms. … And that’s when the emotions just came flooding out. And I started crying. And Charlie was squeezing me and kept getting tighter and tighter and tighter. And then I looked at him, squeezed him again. Then my mom’s there, and she’s patting me on my back and kept saying she’s so proud of me, my dad would be so proud if he were here.
“She said, ‘I love you,’ and I said, ‘I love you, too, Mom.’ And then there’s Sam — Sam is — she doesn’t like the spotlight. She can’t stand it. So when we hugged, I turned her away from everybody and made sure that she was sheltered. And we just had a little moment together. … And she just squeezed harder and didn’t have to say.”
The 44-year-old expressed his frustrations with holding on to the green jacket longer than he’s supposed to because of the global coronavirus pandemic, which has suspended all sporting events from happening.
Woods also mentioned that he would’ve been ready if the tournament was to be played as scheduled.
“Yes, I would have been good to go,” Woods said. “Mind and body were coming together. … I was not my normal self [earlier in the week], and all of my normal pre-major championship self, I’m used to having this four times a year. I kind of get in that mode. And it started happening again.
“But this year, I was out practicing and subconsciously getting ready. I didn’t realize I was getting ready. I just wanted to go out there, have some fun, hit some balls and get out of the house. But it’s amazing. I’ve been doing it for so long that things were starting to come together. I was starting to peak. We try to peak four times a year, and I know that the tournament’s been postponed — not until November — but for some reason, I was still peaking anyway.”