Davis Love III was successful contention, arsenic if anyone cared. He played earlier a fistful of mostly soundless fans who couldn't assistance but announcement the ruckus unfolding a fewer holes up arsenic Tiger Woods made his mode done the backmost 9 connected what would go an historical Sunday successful sports.
"Bring it connected location Mr. Woods," the good lubricated shouted from the hillsides arsenic Woods surged into contention successful the Las Vegas Invitational, a tourney that was abruptly the hottest summons successful town.
"Tiger, Tiger, Tiger," they chanted arsenic they strained, jostling 1 different to get a glimpse of the greatness to come.
It was 25 years agone this week, and play was astir to alteration forever.
At the property of 20, Woods was already a phenom. Earlier successful the twelvemonth helium had won his 3rd consecutive U.S. Amateur, past turned pro to a "Hello, world" run by Nike that made him a millionaire earlier helium ever deed a changeable for pay.
Tigermania was brewing but Woods hadn't truly had his authoritative coming retired enactment yet. That would necessitate a win, thing helium hadn't been capable to bash successful 4 tournaments since making his pro debut successful Milwaukee.
Still, 4 shots backmost going into Sunday was adjacent capable to bring an other 10,000 fans who would ne'er person considered going to a play tourney immoderate different clip to the foothills connected the borderline of Las Vegas. They believed, adjacent if immoderate of Woods' chap pros were a small miffed astatine the attraction fixed a subordinate not adjacent capable to gamble legally successful the city's casinos.
"Everything has been Tiger, Tiger," an exasperated Fred Funk said earlier successful the week aft an opening 62 enactment him atop the leaderboard but hardly got a notation successful the greeting newspaper. "They benignant of hide astir everyone other retired here."
On this time nary 1 other truly mattered. Not Fred Funk. Certainly not Ronnie Black, who held the last circular pb and volition everlastingly clasp a humanities footnote successful golf.
I was pursuing Woods arsenic helium moved into contention, covering the tourney for The Associated Press. He would sprout 63 successful the 2nd round, contempt a 2nd changeable from good close of the 16th fairway that went into the h2o connected the par-5 hole.
He yelled a profanity to nary 1 successful peculiar arsenic helium watched the shot disappear.
In a motion of things to come, Woods simply overpowered the TPC Summerlin people connected the weekend. He eagled the 3rd spread successful his last round, and connected the ninth deed a 6-iron into greenish of the par-5 spread portion playing spouse Keith Fergus deed 2 drivers and was inactive short.
Fans had ne'er seen thing similar it before. Woods was crushing drives into places his chap competitors didn't adjacent person connected their yardage books.
A caller epoch successful play had abruptly arrived. The fans didn't request immoderate encouragement to hop aboard.
As Woods surged into the pb connected the backmost 9 Sunday, I walked conscionable down him, taking successful scenes dissimilar immoderate I had ever seen successful golf. Polite applause had been replaced by raucous yelling and fans ran aft each changeable toward the next, trying to get successful presumption for a glimpse of the young phenom.
A 12-foot birdie putt tied Woods for the pb connected the par-3 14th hole, and arsenic we walked to the 15th tee, the ropes could hardly incorporate radical who reached retired to interaction Woods oregon plead for him to flip a play ball.
"Can't you spot we got a small thing going here?" caddie Mike 'Fluff' Cowan admonished 1 overly anxious instrumentality who demanded Woods' shot arsenic the scrum moved to the 15th tee.
Woods and Love would request other holes to settee things connected this day, but the coronation of Woods would not hold immoderate longer. After hitting an robust safely connected the greenish connected the archetypal playoff hole, helium watched arsenic Love airmailed his abbreviated robust into the backmost bunker. When Love couldn't get it up and down, Woods had the archetypal of what would go 82 PGA Tour wins.
The triumph paid $408,000, and came with a Masters invitation for 1997. Woods posed connected the 18th greenish with 2 scantily clad showgirls and the oversized check, with nary hint of the scandalous things that would everlastingly nexus him to Las Vegas aboriginal successful his career.
"It's been an unbelievable experience," Woods said. "It's conscionable similar winning the Amateur, though. I truly can't accidental what it means until I deliberation astir it more."
Six months later, Woods won his archetypal greenish overgarment successful a runaway, his archetypal of what would beryllium 15 large title wins. He would spell connected to go the top subordinate of his time, and arguably the top of immoderate time.
It each started erstwhile helium deed the jackpot successful Las Vegas.
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