Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan talk about Tiger Woods’ first win at the Masters – Golf News
Tiger Woods’ 12-stroke victory at the Masters Tournament 15 years ago was not just a record-setting performance. In fact, it was an inspiration for many young golfers to enter the world of golf.
Hunter Mahan, one of the golfing sensations these days, is one of those who admired Woods as his ideal when he used to enter the fields, with an aim to conquer them.
According to Mahan, it was a heroic day 15 years ago, at the Augusta National Golf Club. The most incredible was his performance coming at such an early age, inspiring the generations to come.
"Tiger comes out, and I think he opened up a new world for us that we realized there’s nothing stopping you from winning eight tournaments in a year," Mahan said.
“There’s nothing stopping you from doing that. We are stopping ourselves because we are saying ‘Top 10 is good, that's a good week.’ And he was saying, ‘Well, no, it's not good, I’m better than that’”.
Rory McIlroy is another player to be inspired by the legendary performance of Woods in the Masters.
According to McIlroy, Woods' performance always remained a motivational tool for him to move forward in the game of golf.
McIlroy became the second youngest player after Woods to earn a place on top of the Official World Golf Rankings this year.
Moreover, his victory in the US Open last year also earned the similar status in the major championships.
He told that he watched Woods playing in the Masters while sitting with his father at home. He said that it was a time when BBC was the only channel that gave coverage to the tournament.
“Yeah, I remember he went out in 40 on Thursday, went back in 30, shot a couple of rounds of 65 and 66 on Friday and Saturday,” he said. “Remember I had the tape of it, the video, the Masters tape of 1997”.
He went on to say that it left a huge impact on him and Woods became a role model for him who helped him become what he is now.
Tags: