As The Masters returns to Augusta, so does the conversation around Tiger Woods — and the moments that defined him.
This week, longtime CBS voice Jim Nantz didn’t just revisit those memories — he explained why one in particular still stands above the rest.
Nantz Points to 1997 as a Defining Shift
GettyJim Nantz speaks with Travis Kelce following the AFC Championship Game, highlighting his long-standing presence in major sports moments.
For Nantz, everything begins with Woods’ historic breakthrough.
Appearing on the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast, he pointed to Woods’ dominant 1997 Masters victory as a turning point — not just for the player, but for the sport itself.
“I will go, Tiger, ’97. He had a six-shot lead going into Sunday, and he was running away from the field, and I knew that clip was going to have the narrative played with it, forever. There’s a permanence to it. A couple of hundred years from now, when they come on the air with The Masters, and they do the montage, that clip of Tiger winning in ’97 will be on there. Dragged into history with its little narrative, ‘There it is, a win for the ages,’” Nantz said.
It was more than dominance. It was a moment that reshaped expectations — a 21-year-old Woods dismantling Augusta and redefining what was possible on golf’s biggest stage.
The Call That Became Part of Masters History
Nantz’s words that Sunday — “a win for the ages” — have since become inseparable from that moment.
He later admitted the line wasn’t spontaneous.
“It was dominance, but more importantly, it was history unfolding in real time, and Nantz knew it before the final putt even dropped.”
That foresight helped turn the moment into something bigger than a highlight — it became part of the tournament’s identity.
Nearly three decades later, it still stands as one of the defining images of The Masters.
Then Came 2019 — A Full-Circle Moment
If 1997 was the arrival, 2019 was the return.
After years of injuries and setbacks, Woods completed one of the most emotional comebacks in sports history with his fifth green jacket — a moment that carried a different kind of weight.
“After that, would be Tiger again in 2019, when he was given up for not being competitive again, and it came full circle, and now he’s hugging his kids on the 18th green, basically in the same spot where his dad had embraced him 22 years earlier,” he added. “I called that one ‘The return to glory’ because his kids had never seen him be the champion golfer that he was, like we knew him.”
That image — Woods embracing his children where his father once hugged him — gave the moment a deeper emotional layer that extended beyond the sport itself.
Why These Moments Still Matter Today
GettyJim Nantz interviews Rory McIlroy following a victory at Pebble Beach, underscoring his deep connection to golf’s biggest moments.
As another Masters begins, Woods remains a central figure despite not participating at the tournament this year. And not just because of his presence, but because of the history he’s already written.
Nantz’s reflections serve as a reminder of how rare those moments are.
“I just thought, ‘What a gift to have them see their father have this encore performance.’ And I just kept thinking of the word glory as this was all playing out. And when he knocked in the last putt, I just said, ‘Return to glory.’ It felt like it matched that moment.”
From a dominant breakthrough in 1997 to a deeply personal comeback in 2019, Woods’ legacy at Augusta continues to define the tournament — and shape how it’s remembered.
And as Nantz made clear, those moments aren’t fading anytime soon.
They’re part of the story now — and likely always will be.
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