Those who have followed Tiger Woods’ career and life over the years know that he is very good friends with fellow golfer Mark O’Meara.
Woods recently talked about his best round of golf where he shot a score of 59 at Isleworth Country Club in Windemere, Florida, just a week before the 1997 Masters.
Woods, who was only 21 at the time, had O’Meara as his partner that day, and when he saw Woods play his almost perfect round of golf, he wanted to give up.
“He gets up to the [11th] tee, he’s hitting like an 8-iron,” O’Meara recalled. “I haven’t even gotten out of my cart, but he hits it and it’s going right at it. It one-hops and goes into the hole for [an ace]. So I go over and take $100 or whatever it was, I can’t remember, and I put it on his cart seat. I didn’t even hit my shot. I said, ‘That was a really nice shot. I quit. I’ll see you later on the driving range when you get done.”
“That was awesome. I hate that guy,” said O’Meara.
After witnessing that performance, O’Meara walked off the course.
The following week, Woods would win the Masters by 12 strokes, and a star was born. But O’Meara got to see up close and personal what the world would eventually see: greatness in the making.
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.