I was there: Tiger's win at the 1997 Masters
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
What's it like to be there in person when Tiger Woods win a PGA TOUR event? As part of our Tiger Woods Victory Room, we asked several members of our PGATOUR.COM team to give us their thoughts on a Tiger win they attended in person. Have you seen a Tiger victory up close? Just click here to e-mail us and we'll post the best ones.
The moments flash through your mind, freezing time and bringing with them the faces and emotions of that Sunday afternoon back in 1997 at Augusta.
And we're not just talking about that iconic father-son tear-stained hug at the 18th green.
This was so much more than Tiger Woods' coronation or his first major title.
It was a day that changed the face of golf.
This wasn't about the length of a putt or even the Thursday turnaround from his opening 40. It was about a kid who stunned the world by blowing away the best golfers in the world by a dozen shots and making history in becoming the first man of color to wear a Green Jacket.
It was about the African-American waiters who stopped what they were doing that day and stood underneath the tree -- yes, that big old sprawling oak tree by the clubhouse -- to watch Tiger tee off. They gathered again when he walked up the 18th. And, yes, there were a few tears.
It was about Lee Elder, the first African American to play in the event, who stood on the lawn and tried to put the day into perspective. It was about hearing Charlie Sifford's voice shake on the other end of phone as he watched his adopted grandson's finest moment on TV.
It was about that morning when Tiger walked across the lawn to hit a few practice putts and he was the only one in motion. It happened again when the walked to the range. And again when he walked back to the green before he teed off.
You could hear a pollen kernel drop.
We studied his eyes, his body language. We didn't see a smile. Just incredible focus.
That afternoon we watched a kid play against a number in a record book. We shook our heads and wondered what the next decade or two would bring. We talked about Jack's magic 18 and Tiger's one; about racial barriers crashing down.
We knew we were watching someone special. We knew were watching history.
But most of all we knew at the end of the day that everything had changed.
And there was so much more to come.
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