1997 Masters: Tiger Woods Wins His First Major

Tiger Woods tees off during the final round of the 1997 Masters.
Tiger Woods tees off during the final round of the 1997 Masters. Steve Munday/Getty Images
By
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley
Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism.
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Updated on 11/04/19

It was already clear by the time of the 1997 Masters that Tiger Woods would be a special player in the golf world, but the dominance Woods displayed in winning his first major truly showed the dawn of the Tiger Era in golf.

Quick Bits

  • Winner: Tiger Woods, 270
  • Dates: April 10-13, 1997
  • Location: Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
  • Tournament number: This was the 61st time the Masters was played.

Woods Scorches Augusta, Field at 1997 Masters

The 1997 Masters was the place where the legend of Tiger Woods truly blossomed. Woods had enjoyed one of the best amateur careers ever; he turned pro late in the 1996 PGA Tour season and quickly won. At the 1997 Masters, Woods blitzed Augusta National and destroyed the field, winning his first major championship, and signalling that everyone better believe the hype.

Woods set multiple Masters records this week, including:

  • Youngest-ever Masters champion (age 21)
  • Lowest 72-hole score at The Masters (270)
  • Largest margin of victory at The Masters (12 strokes)

It didn't start out that way for Woods, however. Playing his first Masters as a professional (and third overall), Woods carded a 40 on the front nine of his first round. But he followed that with a 30 on the back nine for a first-round 70. It was his highest score of the week. And that 70 still left him in fourth place, three behind the early leader.

A second-round 66 put Woods in front by three strokes over Colin Montgomerie. Playing with Woods in the third round, Monty shot 74 to Woods' 65. Woods held a 9-stroke lead over second place. "Can he be caught in the final round?" Monty was asked in the press conference. No chance, Monty replied.

And Montgomerie was correct. Woods closed with a 69 to finish at 18-under. The second-place finisher, Tom Kite, was all the way back at 6-under.

The 18-under score in relation to par tied the record for all men's majors at that time, a record Woods later bettered at the 2000 British Open.

It set a new record in The Masters. Woods' 270 total lowered by one the previous 72-hole tournament record that had been shared by Jack Nicklaus (1965) and Raymond Floyd (1976). The mark was matched by Jordan Spieth in 2015.

1997 Masters Scores

Results from the 1997 Masters golf tournament played at the par-72 Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. (a-amateur):

Tiger Woods, $486,000 70-66-65-69--270
Tom Kite, $291,600 77-69-66-70--282
Tommy Tolles, $183,600 72-72-72-67--283
Tom Watson, $129,600 75-68-69-72--284
Paul Stankowski, $102,600 68-74-69-74--285
Costantino Rocca, $102,600 71-69-70-75--285
Bernhard Langer, $78,570 72-72-74-68--286
Justin Leonard, $78,570 76-69-71-70--286
Fred Couples, $78,570 72-69-73-72--286
Davis Love III, $78,570 72-71-72-71--286
Jeff Sluman, $78,570 74-67-72-73--286
Steve Elkington, $52,920 76-72-72-67--287
Willie Wood, $52,920 72-76-71-68--287
Per-Ulrik Johansson, $52,920 72-73-73-69--287
Tom Lehman, $52,920 73-76-69-69--287
Jose Maria Olazabal, $52,920 71-70-74-72--287
Mark Calcavecchia, $39,150 74-73-72-69--288
Vijay Singh, $39,150 75-74-69-70--288
Fred Funk, $39,150 73-74-69-72--288
Ernie Els, $39,150 73-70-71-74--288
John Huston, $30,240 67-77-75-70--289
Stuart Appleby, $30,240 72-76-70-71--289
Jesper Parnevik, $30,240 73-72-71-73--289
Lee Westwood, $24,820 77-71-73-70--291
Nick Price, $24,820 71-71-75-74--291
Craig Stadler, $21,195 77-72-71-72--292
Lee Janzen, $21,195 72-73-74-73--292
Jim Furyk, $19,575 74-75-72-72--293
Paul Azinger, $19,575 69-73-77-74--293
Larry Mize, $17,145 79-69-74-72--294
Scott McCarron, $17,145 77-71-72-74--294
Mark O'Meara, $17,145 75-74-70-75--294
Colin Montgomerie, $17,145 72-67-74-81--294
Sandy Lyle, $14,918 73-73-74-75--295
Fuzzy Zoeller, $14,918 75-73-69-78--295
Duffy Waldorf, $13,905 74-75-72-75--296
David Frost, $13,230 74-71-73-79--297
Scott Hoch, $12,690 79-68-73-78--298
Jack Nicklaus, $11,610 77-70-74-78--299
Sam Torrance, $11,610 75-73-73-78--299
Ian Woosnam, $11,610 77-68-75-79--299
Jumbo Ozaki, $10,530 74-74-74-78--300
Corey Pavin, $9,720 75-74-78-74--301
Clarence Rose, $9,720 73-75-79-74--301
Ben Crenshaw, $8,910 75-73-74-80--302
Frank Nobilo, $8,370 76-72-74-81--303