
It has been the twentieth anniversary of one of the great golfing feats, the one performed by the most dazzling golfer of all time (with the permission of Jack Nicklaus), Tiger Woods. The setting was Augusta National during the 2001 Masters, and the feat, the achievement of the fourth major in the space of a year. However, the Californian winner of fifteen majors was unable to score what would have been the second Grand Slam in the history of the sport, since the four majors in a row were not scored in the same season, but corresponded to two seasons, although in a period of 365 days. That is why what the player from Jupiter (Florida) achieved could not be categorized as a Grand Slam. But that was not a problem: a new name was created for Woods’ achievement: the Tiger Slam.
In any case, in total the dazzling American golfer would have enough majors in his career for three Grand Slams: five Masters (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 and 2019), three US Opens (2000, 2002 and 2008), three British Opens (2000, 2005 and 2006) and four PGA Championships (1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007).
The particular feat in which Tiger chained the four majors consecutively, but not in the same calendar year, but between June 2000, when he won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and April 2001, when the Masters at Augusta closed his eleven dream months, which included the British Open at St. Andrews and the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Twenty years ago Woods once again submitted himself to the demands of competing under exorbitant pressure, given the depth of the success he cherished at the start of the Masters. “Very special things have happened to me, but I don’t think I’ve ever achieved anything as big as winning four majors in a row. It’s hard to believe,” summed up Woods, who at the age of 25 was touching the golfing sky with his fingers.
“You have to achieve your peak game at the right time. You have to do everything right, and to have it happen four times in a row is beautiful. Some of the golf gods looked down on me,” Woods recalled of that achievement straddling the years 2000 and 2001.
That April at Augusta National, Woods was emotional on the 18th green as he sealed the victory. And, in an unusual image for him, he pulled his cap over his face to hide his feelings. “It was a strange feeling,” Woods explained in 2001. “When there were no more shots left to play, that’s when I started to realize what I had done.”
Only five players in their careers, in different years, won the four titles of the modern Grand Slam of golf: Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen. The original version, the only true Grand Slam, was achieved in 1930 by Bobby Jones, the creator of the Masters, by winning both the US Open and the British Open in their professional and amateur versions in the same season. Until then there was no term to describe such a feat because no one had thought it possible.
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