The Dawn of Dominance

Woods opened with nines of 40-30 with Faldo.

Jose Maria Olazabal: Tiger said we helped him? That's nice of him to say. I don't think he needed too much help. [Laughs.]

Nick Faldo (Masters champion in 1989, '90 and '96): We had played a practice round, or part of one, I think two years before. Of course all of us were all eyes for the young genius; we wanted to see what it was all about and if it was all true. He really could belt the ball, but the way he twisted and contorted and went after it so hard made you wonder about his back. I thought, If he keeps that up, he won't make 30.

Tiger Woods: I filed everything away. I'd played practice rounds with Nicklaus, Palmer, Floyd, Couples and Norman, guys who have had a lot of success there. I was lucky enough to pick their brains.

Carl Jackson (Masters caddie for 1984 and '95 winner Ben Crenshaw): Tiger did something I really respect. At the '96 Masters, his last year as an amateur, Tiger played a practice round with Ben. He followed Ben and me around as we talked about likely pin positions, and it was obvious he was paying attention. He missed the cut that year [after rounds of 75-75], but on Friday, before he left, he looked me up and said, "Mr. Jackson, those pin positions were exactly where you said they would be. Thank you so much." And I remember thinking, That young man was raised right.

Charlie Sifford: I wired him early in the week, wishing him all the luck in the world. He was determined; he wasn't going to let nothin' get in his way.

Kultida Woods: Tiger didn't sleep real good that week. One night [before the first round] he asked Dad to help him with his putting.

Tiger Woods: All of a sudden I lost my putting. I just completely lost my feel and said, "What's going on here?" He was asleep on the couch, and I woke him up and said, "Daddy, I've been trying here for three days, and I can't find my putting stroke." He said, "Let me take a look at it." He gave me a couple tidbits [Tiger's right hand was breaking down on the takeaway] and said, "Go try it." I tried it in the room before I went to sleep. Got up in the morning and putted in the house for a little bit. Went out to the golf course in the morning, and I was putting better. Then I got to the first tee, and my swing left me.

ROUND 1: TALE OF TWO NINES
As the defending U.S. Amateur champion, Woods was paired with Faldo, the defending Masters champion. Woods started poorly, bogeying the first hole and playing the front nine in 40. On a windy day the 18-hole stroke average for the field was 76.10, the highest since 1988.

Fred Couples (Masters champion in 1992): Tiger was four over after nine holes. I was watching on TV and thinking, Wow, playing with Faldo, but Faldo wasn't doing very good, either. [Faldo shot 75-81 to miss the cut.]

Nick Faldo: We both made a right mess of the front nine. It was tough to tell if he was tight or nervous. There wasn't a lot said between us that I recall. But crumbs, he was hitting it all over on the front side, in the trees. I'm sure most people were probably thinking, Right, he's still in a little over his head.

Tiger Woods: I hit it absolutely horrible on the front, but at least I was putting better. I found my swing on the 10th tee, and I said, Just stick with this for nine holes and see if we can get back to even par. Just get to even par somehow.

Butch Harmon (Woods' swing coach for his first eight pro major victories): He said, "You know, I just felt a little out of sync." And who knows why that is. But he didn't feel out of sync very long.

Mark O'Meara: He was playing in the group in front of me. I saw where he had shot 40 on the front side. We were waiting on the 15th tee because there was a delay. He was sitting on the little wooden bench, so I went over and sat next to him. I said, "Dude, I don't get it. You just shot 59 last week. You know what you need to do: You need to pretend you're playing against me. Things seem to happen when you play against me." Sure enough, he makes eagle on 15, shoots 30 [with birdies on 10, 12, 13 and 17] and finishes with 70.

Fred Couples: I don't know if many people remember the second, third or fourth rounds, but 40-30 is a big deal.

David Feherty (CBS analyst): He walked underneath my tower on 15. I'm thinking, My God, he just looks like a creature from another planet. He was physically incapable of doing anything other than focusing on the job at hand. The guys were talking about his disastrous start--not that he was aware of it. You probably could have walked up to him with a baseball bat and whacked him over the head with it, and it would have bounced off. He wouldn't even have felt it.

John Cook: The way he hung in there was a wake-up call for everybody. I had some buddies with me, and they're going, "Aw, this kid is just a kid." I said, "Just watch."

Tiger Woods: I was able somehow to turn it into a 30 [finishing three strokes behind leader John Huston, who eagled the 18th]. And then I was off to the races.