The Masters: A Decade of Dominance

1997 -- The new kid on the block did not just win his first Master's; he owned it, winning by 12 strokes. It was such an utterly dominating performance, it left no question that the world had changed. He won The Masters and his first major in his first try. He set a tournament record of 18-under par and became the youngest winner ever. There was little question that a legend had begun, less than 25 years since Augusta first allowed a black player, Lee Elder, to compete in the Masters in 1975. Elder was in one of the galleries rooting Tiger on, helping him re-make the image of golf the world over. Earl Woods was watching his dream come true. Tiger is ranked No. 1 in the world.

1998 -- Tiger finished 10th at the second Masters six strokes behind the winner and his good friend, Mark O'Meara, and two strokes behind the legendary Jack Nicklaus, who would soon become his only point of comparison.

1999 -- The Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal won the Masters, but Tiger went on a roll , winning seven out of the next 11 majors in which he played, beginning with the 1999 PGA Championship at Medinah and ending with another mind-boggling win at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black in 2002.