Woods Does Jolly Well Tiger Captures Fancy Of The World With Record-Breaking Masters Win

There was Tiger Woods splashing out of a bunker. Tiger Woods punching the air after his final putt. Tiger Woods holding the trophy. Tiger Woods wearing the famous green jacket.

Pictures of the record-breaking winner of the Masters were on front pages around the world Monday. He even made the front of the Financial Times.

By winning the Masters by 12 strokes at Augusta at age 21, Woods rewrote the record books and caught the imagination of young and old, male and female, black and white.

The BBC’s Peter Alliss said Woods’ feat transcended sport and could be compared only to the precocious talents of Mozart and Chopin.

Several papers described his mastery of the tough Augusta course as reducing it to pitch and putt. By outplaying a field that included the likes of Nick Faldo and Greg Norman and such luminaries as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, Woods appeared to change the whole concept of the game.

“It seemed clear that he was staking his claim to the kind of greatness that rewrites the rulebook and redefines the dimensions of a sport,” the Guardian said.

“It is not the money or the flashing smile which dazzles,” said the Daily Mail. “It is the sheer breathtaking talent of a youngster who, in one weekend, changed the face of his chosen sport.”

The Independent noted the greats of golf had all heaped praise on the young star in the same way a 25-year-old Nicklaus received similar adulation from Bobby Jones in 1965. It suggested renaming Augusta.

“The extent to which he has overpowered one of the most strategic courses in golf suggests it should be renamed Woods World,” The Independent said.

Woods was being compared to other superstars of sport, such as Muhammad Ali and Pele, while in Italy he was dubbed the Michael Jordan of golf.

“Woods really seems to be from another planet,” said the daily Gazzetta della Sport.

Praise for the new superstar was tempered by criticism of his commercial deals.

Noting the bulk of his earnings come from Nike, the London Evening Standard reported that critics “claim he is cynically cashing in on his status as the first black man to win a major golf title.”

One sports agent said Woods, with Nike’s influence, could make $128 million a year, but would still lag behind the top basketball players in terms of earnings because golf doesn’t have the same profile in the U.S.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WOODS PROFILE Name: Eldrick “Tiger” Woods Born: Dec. 30, 1975 Birthplace: Cypress, Calif. Residence: Orlando, Fla.