For years, the “Tiger Effect” was as noticeable on Sundays as the iconic red and black ensemble adorned by its namesake. The effect prophesied the implosion of countless mortal golfers whenever Tiger Woods was lurking near the top of the leaderboard.

The Tiger Effect is so deeply ingrained in golf lore, it has its own Wikipedia page. In 2011, the Journal of Political Economy published a 30-page study that found that on average, PGA Tour players perform .8 strokes worse per tournament when Tiger is playing than when he is not. Even superstars like Rory McIlroy admit they can feel when he’s in the hunt.

“Just sorta having that little glimpse of red in your eye,” McIlroy said. “A hundred percent. I mean, he knows that he intimidates people and it’s like, ‘I’m going to make you feel my presence.’”

Evidently, the Tiger Effect hasn’t faded over time, or at least, that’s the lesson Tiger’s historic Masters victory last year taught SportsCenter anchor Scott Van Pelt.

“In golf, the only thing you get to do is tee your ball up and shoot your score — you’ve got nothing to do with me,” Van Pelt said in a recent interview with David Feherty. “Yet, he totally messed with [his opponent’s] airspace, and through his force of will beat people down.”

Woods, of course, came back from being down two strokes after 54 holes to win his fifth Masters last April. His victory was largely aided by the Sunday collapses of those near him on the leaderboard, including Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau. The trio all hit their tee shots into the water at Amen Corner, giving Woods a window of opportunity he leapt through.

“Augusta felt more like one of those where he ground them down,” Van Pelt said. “Like, what are the odds that Molinari and Finau and Koepka are all going to get wet on twelve? What are the odds?”

Woods shot just two under on the day, but it was enough to claim a one-stroke victory. In Van Pelt’s eyes, it wasn’t shotmaking or Sunday magic, but mental strength that carried Tiger to his 15th major win.

“Through sheer force of will, and I think this one more than any other, because I know still to this day, he doesn’t know how he did it, and that’s the amazing thing,” Van Pelt said.

You can watch the clip of Feherty and Van Pelt breaking down Tiger’s win below and tonight on Golf Central, and you can watch the entire interview at 9 p.m. ET on Feherty on Monday.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

Manhattan is full of surprises — the scenery, the people, the food. It’s also home to some of the best sports fans you’ll find anywhere, and they’re lurking around every corner.

As it turns out, they’re also behind the wheels of the taxis.

On a recent commute, GOLF.com’s senior video producer Sam Goldberg hopped into a cab and struck up a conversation. Once he mentioned his job, the driver perked up. She quickly revealed that she was glued to this year’s Masters and was still buzzing about what she’d witnessed. She’s a die-hard Tiger Woods fan — that might be understating it — and when Woods ended his 11-year major drought with a seismic, one-shot win, well, we’ll let the driver tell you about what her mood was like. Check out the video here:

View this post on Instagram

Our NYC cab driver is the biggest Tiger fan around ?

A post shared by GOLF.com // GOLF Magazine (@golf_com) on May 16, 2019 at 8:05am PDT

“Man, I prayed. I’m telling you, I actually prayed for every tee shot, for every stroke. Please let him get in the fairway,” she said. Given all of Woods’s near-misses in the majors over the past decade, her nerves were understandable.

“I was like, God, come on, let Molinari mess up. I know he has the Pope on his side, but this is just too much. The minute he put that ball in the water (on the par-3 12th hole) I’m like, ‘game over.’” When Molinari rinsed that tee shot on 12, it certainly felt like the momentum had swung Woods’s direction. But there were still a handful of guys in contention who could’ve swiped the green jacket. So, how did she react when Woods tapped in on 18 to seal it?

“I don’t think actually I came down for 20 minutes flat. I was stunned,” she said.

Here at GOLF.com, we admire passion, and this driver possesses it in spades. Before paying his fare, Goldberg asked her about Tiger’s chances of one day breaking Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles. She went big.

“I keep telling everybody, this year I expect three majors,” she said.

Say this: The cabbie loves Tiger, and she also knows golf. Maybe even better than she knows Manhattan.

Growing up, watching the Masters was a tradition in our home. It was the starting point of our race through spring and summer. My father fondly remembers watching the 1986 Masters and Jack’s epic win with one-year-old me at his side. Fast-forward to 2017, and I remember watching my son, Austin, exclaim with pure joy as Sergio hit the flagstick on 15 on Sunday. He really couldn’t contextualize what that win meant for Sergio and so many golf fans around the world. But he did understand that it was special and that “the Masters was cool.” Just as my love affair with golf started with watching the Masters, so too did Austin’s. I’m sure this parallel story could be told from a million homes.

So when GOLF.com asked me to cover the 2019 Masters Tournament, I honestly did not believe it. I checked my email weekly (okay, daily), waiting for the retraction of the invite. The “Oops, we made a mistake” message. That never came and as the weeks ticked down my anticipation fueled my preparation for the event.

As a photographer, I have always been more attracted to the work of Dave Heath, Joel Meyerowitz, Henri Cartier Bresson rather than the great sports photographers. Neil Leifer and Walter Iooss are big two exceptions there, but when I started my planning for the Masters I found myself poring over images that had nothing to do with golf or sports. I studied street photography and referenced portrait books from this era that, for me, the Masters seems to reside in. As I dove into the archival images of the tournament from 2018 all the way back to the 1960s, I seemed to gravitate to the older images. In my mind, I saw Augusta through this vintage “bygone era” perspective.

Having only heard about the restrictions and tales of caution around Augusta National, I went into the tournament as fully prepared as I possibly could’ve been. I watched hours of YouTube videos and looked for the photographers in the crowds to see where they were and how they got around. I looked at every flyover, overhead map and routing I could find to pick out spots that would make for clean images. I had all the Nikon lenses I would ever need to cover any potential shot. I ordered loads of film. I was set.

With my cameras and film in tow, I arrived at Augusta National Golf Club on Monday. The press building is without a doubt the best media facility in sports. We photographers our accustomed to being tucked back in the belly of an area or a tent someplace adjacent to the actual site. Not so at ANGC, where the stations are clean, well equipped and designed for the typical gear covering this event requires. Simple features like a drawer tall enough to store a super telephoto lens when you come in to edit or run and grab lunch are things you just do not see. Upstairs, the writers sit in a large auditorium overlooking the tournament practice range. I hadn’t yet seen the course and already I was in awe.

I dropped my gear and waited for the quick rundown on the dos and don’ts of the place. I then grabbed a camera and headed for the course. The first time you turn the corner and see that classic Masters leaderboard with the flags waving is surreal. As my eyes bounced off the board, I immediately saw the 9th green, then the 18th behind it, and the first tee to the right. Then I spotted the fabled “Big Oak” in front of Augusta’s iconic clubhouse. My first few minutes on the course were a bit of a daze trying to take in these visuals I’ve grown up watching my entire life.

For much of the week we dodged wind or rain. This meant crossings all over the course were closed; jumping from the 2nd tee box down to the 11th would have been a nightmare if I hadn’t known where to cross. As Thursday play started, thousands of patrons began flowing through the gates, and I found my rhythm with them. By the end of the day I was in a strange dance with the crowds and course, leaping from one spot to the other, checking tee sheets and my watch and chatting with the patrons around me. The first round was my chance to really understand how the golfers would attack the course. My focus for the week wasn’t just the action, and when it was, I needed to be creative. I found a few new angles or spots where other photographers’ assignments wouldn’t take them. I experimented, failed and learned on these early days: which shots worked, where the players tended to miss and how the crowds navigated each hole.

Each day started by 7 a.m. and ended near midnight. A few breaks in between and fast meals kept my energy up enough to hoof it around the steep slopes of Augusta. By the weekend, my body was a wreck from the pounding of covering a tournament like this one. By the time my head hit the pillow I’d be asleep.

I loved every minute of it. I realized how lucky I was to be here and how many people would kill for the chance I had. My mission was to shoot as thoughtfully as I could every day and walk through any wall in my way. I learned how to sweet talk the patrons into letting me get up in front of them so I could get “the shot.” I learned which staff was maybe a little more serious than others and which ones would let me stand here or there. The most important lesson was being able to squeeze my way to the front of lines at crossing gates. With so many closed walkways and hordes of people trying to shuffle through, getting stuck at the back of bottlenecks could mean missing two or more holes of play. Pro tip: have a photo badge and be really polite and ask people if you can get past. Nine out of 10 times, they are happy to oblige.

These lessons paid off on Sunday. As Tiger Woods marched from the 10th green to the 11th tee, I hustled down to Amen Corner and camped out at the tiny, treacherous par-3 12th, which was already claiming contenders. On Friday I had found an angle and a shot that I loved behind the 12th tee. With patrons lounging in their chairs in the foreground, the players and the green filled the rest of the frame. It gave the tee shot a sense of place and scale. The difference on Sunday was how deep the crowd was between me and that spot. I wove in and out the masses, dropping “pleases” and “thank yous.” A group of guys behind me took playful jabs but after a few seconds you could tell they almost wanted me there. They even helped suggest to another patron that he move a little to let me through.

I watched as Brooks Koepka’s group put two balls into the water. The crowd was in disbelief and I was a mess internally. It was happening again. Whatever it is that happens in this little corner of the world that can cause equal amounts of joy and anguish for professional golfers — it was happening again. As Tiger’s group walked to the tee, the crowd was restless. The storms lurking overhead and the two water balls on the previous three swings electrified the place. Next came Molinari: another water ball. Then Finau: yet another!

As Tiger stepped up, I shuffled a little closer and pointed my camera at him. As he took the club back, I started shooting, holding the shutter through his finish. I peeled my eye back from the viewfinder to see the ball land just as patrons leaped up to their feet. The roars was so loud, they seemed to scare off the looming storm. In a sliver of time, I captured the shot that I think changed the tournament. It’s one of my favorite images I have ever taken. What I love most is the scene it paints with Tiger in Sunday red, with his caddie and loyal fans looking on as the greatest comeback in sports was coming to fruition.

When people asked “How was it?” I couldn’t really explain it in a few words. The week seems to build into itself each day, and by Sunday afternoon the crowds, anticipation and ultimately drama of the tournament erupt. Especially Sunday this year. I was there to impress my wife and kids and leave some images for them to be proud of. I was there to witness history and luckily snap a few images that will stand up over time as reference points for that improbable week.

I’ll look back on this week fondly for the rest of my life. I lost five pounds, plenty of memory cards and ruined two pairs of shoes in the mud but I walked away with the most intimate experience of the most viewed tournament in all of golf.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

On multiple occasions in recent years I’ve drifted off to sleep and dreamed of every golfer’s worst nightmare: missing a bucket-list tee time.

The causes of the calamities vary. Sometimes my alarm fails me. I toss my clubs in the car and race to the course, hoping I’ll make it there in time. But no matter how fast I drive, I never make up any ground.

On other occasions, I’ve been unable to locate the course on my GPS, as if Google Maps vanquished San Francisco Golf Club on the day I was supposed to tee it up there. Perhaps the most torturous of my dreams are the ones in which I actually make it to the course on time only to be informed by the starter that my group already has teed off and I won’t be able to join them.

Thankfully, I’d never experienced this sort of horror in real life. That is, until last week, when I came dangerously close to missing out on playing the mother of all bucket-list courses: Augusta National.

I wasn’t supposed to be at the Masters. As an equipment writer, my livelihood revolves around getting access to players, tour reps and peeking inside bags to pick up on potential gear changes, and the Masters is a difficult event at which to do this kind of reporting. It’s a week where I usually kick back and do my job from home. I was expecting to do the same thing this year until I received a call from my editor on the Saturday before Masters week: one of our staffers had to pull the plug on his Masters plans, would I like to go in his place? Um…yes, please.

I sweet-talked my wife into allowing me to book a Monday flight to Augusta and 24 hours later found myself in the five-star workspace better know as Augusta National’s media center. With many of my colleagues on site, my plan was to stay until Friday and then head home for the weekend. I had music programs and events with my kids to attend. Priorities, friends!

Masters press credentials come with the greatest perk in golf journalism: The chance to enter a lottery to play Augusta National on the Monday after the tournament. The lucky winners are announced on Saturday morning, so you have two days to dream about what it’d be like to walk the hallowed grounds inside the ropes.

Considering I wouldn’t be in town for the weekend, I briefly considered passing on the lottery. But what if I won? It was that shred of hope that led me to sign up anyway. I’d figure out a way back if the unlikely scenario presented itself.

By Saturday morning, I was back home in Dallas at an Easter brunch with my kids when the FaceTime calls started coming in. I ignored a couple of them before finally picking up. It was GOLF.com’s dynamic duo of Sean Zak and Dylan Dethier on my screen, with PGA Tour’s Sean Martin and CBS Sports’ Kyle Porter waving in the background. “You won the lottery,” they said, trying to hold back laughter because I’m certain they understood my crazy predicament. “See you tomorrow.”

I was floored. Twenty years after I first stepped foot on the grounds at Augusta National for the 1999 Masters as a freshman in high school — my dad took me for a Wednesday practice round just months after I shattered my left elbow in basketball practice — I was going to play one of the most famous courses on the planet.

Now here’s where the story gets really interesting.

Getting your number called in the media lottery comes with some ground rules. For starters, you must attend a mandatory meeting with the other jackpot winners at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. I was told by a few of my fellow scribes who’d played in previous years that you do not, under any circumstances, want to miss the meeting. This meant I had less than 24 hours to get back to ANGC.

Getting a last-minute flight to Augusta was doable, but there was no guarantee I’d get out on Saturday evening. Spring storm season had commenced in Texas, bringing with it a deluge of rain that grounded flights leaving Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport. When the storms subsided, literally every available seat on an evening flight was scooped up.

I initially found a seat online, but before I could click purchase, the last remaining seat was taken. After going through the same process a few more times, I finally scored a seat on a flight to Augusta that connected through Charlotte and would allow me, after a two-and-a-half drive, to arrive at our rental house around midnight.

Running on adrenaline, I threw my clubs in a travel bag and headed for the airport. With the rain softly falling on the windshield, I figured the worst of the bad weather was behind us. But I hadn’t taken into account the effect a morning and afternoon of canceled and delayed flights would have on my trip to Charlotte.

Within minutes of sitting down at the gate, I was notified my flight had been delayed 30 minutes. No biggie. Then came another delay. And another. And another. Six delays later, each of which felt like a punch to the gut, a canceled flight seemed imminent.

It was 8:25 p.m., and I was living out my nightmare.

I considered how the conversation would go when I arrived home to inform my wife I was driving more than 13 hours from Dallas to Augusta — yes, I Googled the trip time — to make it there by Sunday morning. Driving wasn’t really a feasible option, though, and now I’d certainly missed my connecting flight from Charlotte to Augusta. Still holding out hope that we’d take off, I called the National rental-car counter in Charlotte.

“We don’t have any cars, hon,” said a woman with a sweet Southern accent. “You’re out of luck.” I wondered how my bosses would respond to a Charlotte-to-Augusta Uber charge on my next expense report.

With my window closing fast, I resorted to begging. After some finagling and calling around to other rental-car agencies on my behalf — shout-out to Caroline at National — she was able to somehow secure me a car when I arrived.

Suddenly, my luck was turning. The last flight attendant we needed to start the boarding process (!!!) arrived to a standing ovation from the other passengers at the gate. Two hours later, I was on the ground in Charlotte, without a worry in the world.

Until I arrived at the baggage carousel.

Yep, no clubs.

I proceeded to stand in line for almost an hour to learn the fate of my bag, only to be told that, sure, the airline could try to track down my clubs, but because they had been tagged for Augusta, my best bet would probably be to pick them up there. So at 1:30 a.m., just nine hours before my mandatory meeting, I made the executive decision to drive to Augusta without my sticks. With Taurine coursing through my veins, I found my rental car and punched the pedal to the floor.

The rest of the night is a complete blur. I remember arriving at the rental house after 4 a.m. and getting roughly three hours of sleep before I awoke and headed to the course for the early Sunday start. But, hey, I made the meeting!

The only remaining issue was tracking down my clubs, which — surprise, surprise — proved to be an arduous task. They’d never been rescanned when they arrived in Charlotte, so no one could tell me where they were. As a backup plan, I started calling around to golf courses in the area to find a set, but left-handed clubs aren’t exactly plentiful.

I spent most of Sunday morning refreshing the bag-tracking website while keeping an eye on Tiger Woods, who was making a run on the back nine. There was also a massive storm scheduled to hit the course around 3 p.m. that threatened to push the finish to Monday and cancel my round. My head was spinning as I tried to keep up with all of the possible outcomes.

Finally, my bag showed up in Augusta. The storm cell pounded the area just 10 miles to north of us but inexplicably avoided the course. And Tiger won the Masters.

In the span of less than 24 hours, I had gone from utter despair to bearing witness to one of the greatest — if not the greatest — comebacks in sports history, on a course that I myself would play the next day. Even the forecast looked perfect.

As I headed for bed that evening, nothing could doom me — well, almost nothing. I set six different alarms.

Four relatives of a Texas family were charged with federal crimes for taking part in a Masters tickets resale scheme and now could be facing some serious prison time. Prosecutors claim that the four relatives used stolen identities to get tickets to the first major of the golf season, then resold those tickets for a profit.

Stephen Michael Freeman was charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft. Freeman’s parents and sister were also charged with conspiracy.

According to court documents, the relatives bought bulk mailing lists in order to obtain names and addresses of people that were used to make fake accounts for the online ticket lottery at Augusta National Golf Club. Those fake accounts were entered into the lottery with email addresses used by Freeman, his parents, and sister.

The court documents also reveal that the family would ask Augusta National to change the addresses associated with the fake accounts by using fraudulent driver licenses, utility bills, and false credit card statements sent by mail. Therefore, if one of the stolen names was selected for the lottery, the tickets would be sent to an address where Freeman, his parents, or his sister were located at.

While it’s unclear how many tickets the four of them obtained or how much money the family made from reselling the tickets, court records do reveal that the scheme of stealing identities to circumvent Augusta National’s rule preventing people from entering the Masters tickets lottery more than once began in 2013 and ran through 2017.

The penalty for such a crime could result in substantial fines and as many as 20 years in prison.

It just goes to show the desperate measures that people will take to get inside the gates at Augusta National during the Masters.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

The afterglow of Tiger Woods’ historic fifth Masters title and 15th major win continues into the second week following the incredible feat, and it seems that anything currently associated with the Big Cat is seeing significant gains.

Bridgestone Golf, one of Woods’s primary sponsors, told GOLF.com last week that they were expecting to see their investment pay off in a big way in the coming weeks.

“We’re calculating the effect on sales and though it’s speculative at the moment I think a 30 percent increase in sales of the Tour B XS model he plays between now and Father’s Day is a reasonable estimate,” Bridgestone Golf president and CEO Dan Murphy said. “There are a lot of people who will say, ‘I want to play Tiger’s ball.’”

If pre-sales are any indication, Murphy is spot-on. Sports business reporter Darren Rovell tweeted on Monday that every single Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball — the model Tiger plays — has been spoken for, and sold into stores.

How is this for the Tiger Effect?

Bridgestone says that every single Tour B XS golf ball, the ball that Tiger uses, has been spoken for and has been sold into stores. pic.twitter.com/SM1JnYiB3E

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 22, 2019

And for the diehard Tiger fans, the brand has another surprise: a special limited-edition box of a dozen Tour B XS balls featuring a commemorative cover photo of Tiger’s winning moment on the 18th green at Augusta National is set to hit retail stores on Friday. The price? No different than the usual amount: $44.99.

Special limited edition Tiger wrap of @bridgestonegolf Tour B XS Golf Balls (same dozen price of $44.99) hits retail this Friday. Advance sale last Friday offered by Bridgestone sold out in 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/XdnWnZ1D6O

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 22, 2019

According to the tweet from Rovell above, an advance sale for the balls sold out in less than 24 hours last week, so if you want to get your hands on them, set your alarm on Friday and act fast.

To receive GOLF’s all-new newsletters, subscribe for free here.

Check in every Sunday night for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us @golf_com. This week we discuss the aftermath of Tiger Woods’ Masters victory and the role of his caddie, Joe LaCava, plus Zurich Classic tweaks and more.

1. Now that we’ve had time to adjust after the craziness of Tiger Woods winning his 15th major title, let’s take one final look back at Masters week to cover some things we might have missed. TV ratings were off the charts, and Woods’ sponsors like TaylorMade and Bridgestone had plenty to smile about, too, but who most stands to benefit from Woods’ win?

Michael Bamberger, senior writer: Sam and Charlie, because they’re in good shape for show-and tell, plus some other things. I’m not pretending to understand the family dynamics, but in some sense Tiger’s work since April/May 2017 (the win was a byproduct) had to be at least in part for them.

Josh Sens, contributor (@JoshSens): Anyone watching the majors. The most historic hunt in golf is back on.

Sean Zak, associate editor (@sean_zak): I’m with Bamberger. It was fun watching Charlie Woods watch his Superman a week ago.

Dylan Dethier, associate editor (@Dylan_Dethier): Nike had a killer week of ad campaigns, starting with the Frank the Headcover mayhem at the start and finishing with that hair-raising commercial post-win. Make that five major champions in a row who have won wearing the swoosh on their shirt.

2. With a week to reflect on Woods’ victory, what’s one nugget that stands out to you that you initially missed (or didn’t fully appreciate) at the time?

Bamberger: That the winner, with no experience at winning majors while coming from behind, could go bogey-bogey on 4 and 5 and never look for a minute like he was out of it.

Sens: Tiger’s seemingly ordinary 9-iron to the 12th on Sunday, which, of course, was anything but.

Zak: It happens every year, but I continue to be amazed by how Augusta National requires such a phenomenal FOUR rounds from the Masters champion. Bryson DeChambeau made it look simple on Thursday. Ha! Cantlay made the course look easy on Saturday, but down the stretch under pressure? Ha! It’s an incredible championship.

Dethier: Tiger Woods’ very favorite club, per our Jonathan Wall, is his 8-iron. On Masters Sunday, he hit nine (9!) 8-irons. That’s wild. He seems to hit the 7 and the 9 quite well, too, but maybe that friendly 8 popped up at just the right times.

3. “We did it!” Woods screamed to his caddie, Joe LaCava, on the 18th green. How much credit should LaCava get for Woods’ win? Could Woods have won his fifth green jacket with a different looper?

Bamberger: What Joe does goes beyond carrying the bag for those four rounds. When everything was dark, he stayed at Tiger’s side. Tiger takes many of his life cues from his father’s military career, and Joe was with Tiger like they were in battle together. There’s no way to quantify Joe’s role, of course, but Tiger needs people who are 100 percent committed to his ambitions. That sounds easier to fulfill than it is. Joe was always there.

Sens: Tiger could win with a lot of guys on his bag. But Michael’s right about everything above. What also stands out is the “We.” The old Tiger was more of a “I/me” guy.

Zak: Do I think Tiger could win some Masters with someone else? Yes. Does he win in 2019 with, say, Brandt Snedeker’s caddie? (I don’t even know who that is.) I’m gonna go with no.

Dethier: I’ve cited this quote like, four times since his win, but I keep coming back to it, from last year: “If I could live another 100 years, I’d wait another 100 years,” LaCava said at the time. “I was never not going to work for Tiger as long as he was going to have me. I just wanted to work for him and no one else. And I think that helped a little bit, knowing that he had a friend that thought that much of him, as a person and with his game.” Being someone as famous as Tiger Woods means it would be hard to tell who was truly loyal, who was truly your friend. LaCava always made it clear: he was there for Woods. That counts for a lot.

4. What was the biggest non-Tiger development that came out of the week at Augusta National?

Bamberger: Broadly, the mystery of golf. Specifically, how did the moment and the promise it represented becoming get bigger than Frankie Molinari’s big, beautiful brain? The tee shot on 12. The first three shots on 15. If someone who has all the best words can enlighten me, I would be most grateful. Yes, his golf was shaky-ish from the start. But he was getting it done. The Masters was his, until it wasn’t.

Sens: We’ve poked some cheeky fun here at the chip on Brooks Koepka’s shoulder. Augusta was further evidence that it might be justified. In this space, and in many other places where predictions were made, Koepka was all but overlooked. Despite his three major wins, there was still the unspoken assumption, I think, that his brute power game lacked the subtly for a place like Augusta. Once again, doubter proved wrong.

Zak: I’m with Bamberger again! Smart guy. It felt like Molinari of all people knew how to fend off the aura of Tiger. His results don’t serve as guaranteed evidence that he crumbled because of the guy in his group, but it sure makes you think.

Dethier: The list of contenders who just seem to keep winding up atop major leaderboards, at least the last four: Tiger Woods. Francesco Molinari. Dustin Johnson. Brooks Koepka. And Xander Schauffele. That’s your big-game crew right now, with apologies to plenty others.

5. The Zurich Classic two-man team event begins on Thursday in New Orleans. It’s four-balls in Rounds 1 and 3 and foursomes in Rounds 2 and 4. What’s a change you would suggest to make it even better?

Bamberger: I like it as is, but I’d expand it. Two more team events. I’d love to see a mixed-team event return, and an event where a Tour player picks a partner who must be 60 or over. Also, these events could be played anywhere. Myopia Hunt, Cypress Point, the West Palm Beach muni (when it is renovated and reopened), Bandon, on it goes, would all be good venues.

Sens: Mixed teams, for sure. And yes, give us a glimpse of more courses we so rarely see. Chicago Golf Club. Pine Valley. Seminole. And on. Or go the opposite route and stick purely with the best munis coast to coast.

Zak: Make it match play.

Dethier: It should all be foursomes, aka alternate shot. (Did the USGA not address this naming horror?) The highs and lows of alternate shot make for better drama, period.

6. Tiger rocked his green jacket — complete with a casual pair of gym shorts, T-shirt and hat — at his restaurant in Jupiter, Fla., on Friday night. Congratulations, you just won your first Masters green jacket. Where and how are you making your first public appearance with it?

Bamberger: Waffle House, 2951 Washington Road, Augusta, on the Sunday night, in my course clothes. Also, I’m picking up the tab for the whole house.

Sens: Putterham Golf Course, the Boston-area muni where I learned to play. Though nowadays they call it Robert T. Lynch. Two dollar greens fees back in the day.

Zak: Courtside at Madison Squ- … JK! I’m still very moved by this, so I’d be tempted to take it to Ikeja Golf Club in Nigeria. Those folks seem like they love some golf.

Dethier: I’d take it over to the GOLF Mag Masters house, where we’d play late-night H-O-R-S-E for jacket rights. Some things should never change. Then it’s back to my Williamstown, Massachusetts, roots, like Sens, where we’d swing by Stamford Valley, Waubeeka and Taconic, my middle, high school and college stomping grounds. But I’d eventually work a trip to The Woods into the rounds.

This past week at Augusta National Golf Club produced one of the most memorable Masters of all time. It also generated a lengthy blooper reel of mis-hits, missteps and miscellaneous other oddball moments. In honor of the good, the bad, the ugly and the unexpected, we give you the 11 most indelible memories from a tournament none of us will soon forget.

1. Mick the Shtick

Saturday is moving day at Augusta, and what got moving early was Phil Mickelson’s mouth. In a video he tweeted of his drive down Magnolia Lane, Lefty didn’t just talk strategy. He also talked smack about his third-round playing partner, Matt Kuchar. “Obviously, we’re not going to have any side action today because I’d probably see like, .06 percent today even if I did win,” Mickelson said, in a playful reference to a notoriously stingy tip that earned Kuchar a reputation as a tightwad. Game on. By week’s end, the video had gotten more than 4.2 million views.

2. Da Doo Rahm, Rahm, Da Doo Rahm Shank

These guys are good. They are also human. A reminder came during the second round on Friday, when Jon Rahm, playing his approach on the par-5 8th hole, launched a hosel-rocket into the trees that would have made Tin Cup proud.

A Jon Rahm hosel shank, a tradition unlike any other. 😳😳pic.twitter.com/hkCXfbHek0

— National Club Golfer (@NCG_com) April 12, 2019

3. Sticking the Approach, Nailing the Landing

All these years, you’ve been taught to finish high, with your tummy to the target. Nuh-uh. As Kiradech Aphibarnrat showed you, the real secret to crisp ball-striking is to drop to your knees just after impact, then tumble awkwardly onto your back. Take that Hogan. Aphibarnrat’s shot settled on the 17th green, even with the stick.

4. These Guys Are Human, Part II

“I mean, y’all can laugh. That’s embarrassing,” Zach Johnson said, after accidentally cue-balling a shot with his practice swing on the 13th hole on Friday. Don’t worry, Zach. We did.

5. Woods in the Woods

There are no pictures on the scorecard. But if there were, they’d show Tiger in the trees to the left of the 14th fairway on both Thursday and Friday, threading the pines with his approach shots and converting birdie each time through.

6. Water, Water, Everywhere

Hell hath no fury like the 12th hole at Augusta, the itty-bitty beauty also known as Golden Bell. What it did to Jordan Spieth in 2016, the 12th did this year to four players in the hunt on Sunday. Ian Poulter. Brooks Koepka. Tony Finau. Francesco Molinari. One by one, they took their shots. And one by one, they walked off with watery double bogeys, their chances all but drowned in Rae’s Creek.

7. An Iron to the Heart

Stripped of context, a conservative 9-iron to the left-center of the green would not have qualified as an assertive statement. But this was the 12th hole on Sunday at the Masters, where four others in the hunt had already found the drink, so Tiger’s safe approach landed with a message: the coldest of cold-blooded closers had returned.

8. The Keystone Cop

If it hadn’t looked so serious, the Benny Hill soundtrack might have sufficed. It happened on the 14th hole on Friday, when a security guard, hustling to get between the Man and the masses, went slip-sliding in the mud, clipping Woods as he walked after his approach shot. Looking gimpy at first, Tiger wasn’t hurt and went on to make birdie. But the incident went viral, with loads of online chatter about one guy’s brush with infamy.

Block or charge? pic.twitter.com/XpjgkFWcpQ

— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) April 12, 2019

9. Pocket Aces

What do Baskin-Robbins and Augusta National have in common? Absolutely nothing. Except that the Masters has now seen 31 aces, one for every flavor at the ice cream shop. The two most recent came on Sunday. The first in the early morning from Bryson DeChambeau on the 16th hole (remarkably, it was his first career hole-in-one). A few hours later, on the same par-3, Justin Thomas put the cherry on top.

10. An Unprecedented Start

Is this the Masters, or the Rocket Mortgage Classic? At first glance, Augusta took on a less-than-august look for the final round, when fast-approaching storms forced a first-ever change in the traditional Sunday format, with tee times pushed up, twosomes turned to threesomes, and players starting on both the 1st and 10th holes. Once the action heated up, though, all that was forgotten. This was the Masters. There was lightning in the forecast, and electricity in the air.

11. The Celebration

The Sunday outfit looked familiar. So did the fist-pumps from the man in bullfight red. But there were no illusions. This time was different. You could see it in his face, and hear it from the patrons. “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!” they chanted. They might as well have been shouting “Rocky,” so cinematic was the moment. The greatest sporting comeback ever was complete.

https://twitter.com/TheMasters/status/1117496728981245952