Even Tiger Woods can’t believe he won The Masters.
A week and a half after the final putt dropped on the 18th green at Augusta National Golf Club, Woods headed to GOLFTV headquarters in West Palm Beach to celebrate his fifth green jacket and 15th major championship victory with his exclusive content partners.
Woods came in to a standing ovation and a personalized cake, which he took a slice of, before sitting down with Henni Zuel to have a wide-ranging interview in which Woods talked about the reality of winning still not having set in, what it meant to have his kids there for the win and if he still thinks Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships is still within reach.
The champ is here… pic.twitter.com/72k3Y6aUSV
— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) April 25, 2019
“The people I wanted to celebrate with I did,” Woods said. “That’s about it. I really haven’t done much. I know that sounds boring, but I really haven’t. I’ve just been home and letting everything thaw out and just trying to understand what I accomplished. But I haven’t – I don’t think – come to grips with it yet.
“It’s very similar to what it was in 1997, and that took me years to understand what I had accomplished, and I don’t think this one will settle in for quite some time.”
Tiger reflects on No. 15 pic.twitter.com/TDxBxISe3H
— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) April 25, 2019
Being his fifth green jacket, Woods made reference to his previous four before explaining why the fifth was so different and so special.
“This one feels special in its own way,” he said. “This year, to go 14 years between jackets is a long time. And on top of that to actually have won my first major championship coming from behind. It’s so ironic, given my last few years of what I’ve kind of had to battle through, that now is finally the time I finally come from behind when I’ve had more game throughout the years, and I’ve had more runs, and I’ve been in situations where I’ve been in better spots. For some reason I got it done.”
At the end, Zuel asked Tiger the question that has been reignited in the days since he raised his 15th major trophy: is Nicklaus’ record still within reach. In typical Tiger fashion, he said that it definitely was assuming he gets the right breaks.
“Well, I always thought it was possible if I had everything go my way,” Woods said. “It took him an entire career to get to 18. Now that I’ve had another extension to my career, one I didn’t think I had a couple years ago, if I do things correctly, and everything falls my way, yeah, it’s a possibility.
“I’m never going to say it’s not – except for a couple years ago when I couldn’t walk.”
You can view the entire 30-minute interview below.
