HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The comparisons have been predictably bold in the days following Tiger Woods’ victory at the Masters.
Was this triumph better than his 1997 Masters victory? Better than his 2008 U.S. Open victory on one leg at Torrey Pines? And could it have even been better than Jack Nicklaus’ historic breakthrough at the 1986 Masters?
“I heard him asked where does this major stack up with all of them. And you certainly think of his first one there, and you think of '08, Torrey. But I think this was the biggest in the sense that kind of the unknown,” Webb Simpson said on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Most agreed that Woods’ 15th major was the most difficult and perhaps the most rewarding of his career, but Sunday’s triumph has now stretched that debate to include the game’s greatest moments.
“I do think you could compare it to maybe the biggest, if not one of the biggest moments in the history of golf,” said Simpson, who finished tied for fifth at the Masters. “It has long been compared to Jack; who is better? And I think the debate continues. But from where he was, not knowing if he would ever play again competitively to winning [the Tour Championship], almost winning the FedExCup and then he wins the Masters.”