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19th Hole

‘He’s a one dimensional player’ – What the top analysts said before Tiger’s dominant 1997 Masters win

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We’ve all done it. Golf pundits, especially those that like to bet on the sport are always trying to be ‘on’ the next big name before he or she gets too well regarded.

Equally, for no other reason than that’s what human beings do, we’ll usually try to find the negative against the supposed next ‘big thing’.

In golf, there has never been a bigger name than Tiger Woods but, if you go back far enough, you’ll find some interesting thoughts on which direction folk thought his career would take.

Last Friday, Lou Stagner, stats guru for Arccos golf, tweeted a reminder of the comments made by Golf Magazine’s top pundits and coaches way back in 1997, just after Tiger had made his first few starts on tour.

David Leadbetter, coach to many of the star players at that time, said that: ”Right now, Tiger is a one dimensional player who swings full on practically every shot…”

Whilst golf instructor Johnny Myers agreed, commenting that ‘he is too aggressive, which is probably why he’s better at match play than medal play. He swings too fast…So I think he’ll finish out of the top 10 and go winless in the majors.”

Of course, they may have been simply playing down their expectations and, of course, didn’t have the delights of Twitter to wind up the fans.

Nevertheless, probably the most surprising of the comments was from Dick Harmon, brother of Butch, Tiger’s coach for over ten years: “Tiger will win one tour event and do well to finish in the top 30. He’s not ready to handle the pressure of a major.”

Two months after these statements, Tiger won the Masters in 1997 by 12 shots at Augusta, and now sits on 15 Majors and 93 worldwide tour victories.

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19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

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Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

  • 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
  • 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
  • T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
  • T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
  • T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
  • T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
  • T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
  • T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
  • T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
  • T9: Max Homa, $630,00
  • 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
  • T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
  • T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
  • T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
  • T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
  • T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
  • T12: Jason Day, $427,500
  • T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
  • T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
  • T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
  • T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
  • T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
  • T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
  • T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
  • T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
  • T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
  • T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
  • T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
  • T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
  • T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
  • T30: Harris English, $146,250
  • T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
  • T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
  • T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
  • T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
  • T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
  • T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
  • T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
  • T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
  • T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
  • T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
  • T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
  • T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
  • T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
  • T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
  • 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
  • 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
  • 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
  • T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
  • T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
  • 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
  • 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
  • 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
  • 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

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19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

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While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

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19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

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Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

Tommy Fleetwood WITB 2026

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