The Right Time with Bomani Jones - Michael Collins on The Tiger Slam, 25 Years Later | 04.07

Episode Date: April 7, 2026

Bomani Jones is joined by ESPN’s Michael Collins to look back at the Tiger Slam and explain why Tiger Woods’ 2000-2001 run felt different from anything golf had ever seen. They break down Tiger’s historic 15-shot win at Pebble Beach, his domination at St. Andrews, the pressure of the 2001 Masters, and why that stretch made the GOAT case for Tiger in a way stats alone can’t capture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wave. Hey, this week's episode is about the Tiger Slam of 2000 and 2001 with Tiger Woods, one of all those majors in a row. We recorded this weeks before you are going to see it, which is to say before he was arrested for DUI. So we didn't know about that at the time. Thought you should know that first. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the right time, a wave original.

My name is Beaumani Jones. Thanks for listening wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for watching us on YouTube. Subscribe, like, rate us, review us, give us five stars. You only give us four stars. I'm inclined to believe you are a hater. It is Time Machine Tuesday. And today we are going to talk about the legendary Tiger Slam of 2000 and 2001. And joining us is our old friend. Check him out at ESPN, America's Caddy himself, Michael Collins. What's going on? Man, it's been way too long, my friend. Way, way too long. Dude, it's been too long,

and I still look back on the first time my buddy Shannon booked you for the right time when it was a radio show. And he was like, we got a Michael Collins on. I was like, okay. And he's like, he works at ESPN golf. I was like, okay. He's like, he is a former caddy.

I'm like, okay. He goes, Andy is black. And I say, oh, what? Kay. It was like, it was so funny. because he built the action up and I am sure he did it on purpose but he did it in a non-cometic way

and then it was like okay cool and then next thing I know you tell the stories about it wasn't Shambly that you asked if you wanted to fight it was somebody else that you at no well I think you told me about somebody you wanted to fight and I thought it was Shambly because I had seen the story and you told me it was actually somebody else

that you had invited to fight yeah well that was Daniel Choper the guy when I was caddying for Daniel Choper that's what that's what you're remember in there too. Yeah, it was crazy times, man. Crazy time. You want to go? That was, yeah, it was, I mean, it was just one of those, it was one of those crazy moments where it's like, I didn't know what was wrong. And he thought something that was happening that actually wasn't happening and it like was just setting him off really bad. And so we look back and laugh

about it now. You know, we're still, we're still friends. Like, I love him, his wife, kids, and all that. But, like, in the moment, it was one of those like, man, what is going on? And, you know, it's like, and as a caddy, too, it's like, okay, this is, it's not okay during the tournament for, like, the contention to be like this. So it's like, I got to do something to change, to change up this attitude and if I put the bag down, it was like, you want to go. Like this, I mean, and I, it's not like I hadn't done anything crazy like that before. I was catting for a guy named Jumbo Elliott, John Elliott. Yeah, football player.

Well, yeah, but no, not the Giants football player. This was the golfer John Elliott. Hold on, man, he got to get, how, he got to, you can't do that. I'm saying him. Like, you got to, was he jumbo enough to be Jumbo in the face of the other Jumbo? Two reasons they called him Jumbo. My guy, the golfer named Jumbo because he has a huge head.

Yeah. So Jumbo was for, and because at the time, he was one of the longest hitters out there. It was like him and John Daly could just send it. So they called him Jumbo as well. And in the golf space, you know, back then, you know, this was before any kind of fantasy football

or anything like that. So it was like golfers weren't really into football all that much back then. So they didn't realize that there was a Jumbo Elliott on the Giants. Eagles fan, I knew there was a Jumbo Elliot on the Giant who, ironically enough, married a golfer. Oh. Yeah, married a golfer from the LPGA tour.

Crazy enough, yeah. But my Jumbo Elliott, this was what I was getting at, was that after all that fighting stuff, when I was cadding in for Jumbo, he was having a tough time. And I slammed the bag down at one point and told him he sucked in the middle of the tournament during a round on a par five. and I slammed it down and I was like, yeah, you suck. Maybe you should try darts or bowling or something after this. And I gave him a smart-ass look.

And then he proceeded to go, birdie, birdie, hole in one after that. And then some other golfers that were in the group at the end of the round gave me their phone number. It was like, hey, call me when you got a week off from comedy because every now and then I need to kick the ass like that too. So it's all about for caddy. And sometimes it's all about knowing the right thing to say at the right time to get your man motivated, you know, or sometimes when not to say anything at all. Just let your dude be mad. And like, you know, and sometimes that works too. That's why I loved caddian so much because that, the psychology of what goes into being on a guy's bag and like trying to bring the best out of them. It's easy when the guy's at his best. You know, caddian for Tiger. in 2000. I could have done that. Anybody could have done that.

You just put the bag down, give the number, and watch what club he picked up. Like, okay? Like, you just see back watching. So we're going to talk about the Tiger Slam, right? I want to lead people into it

both a little bit of the history of what was going on in golf and I always like to tell people my personal history of observing golf. I had never sat and watched a round of golf in my life until the 96 masters. The final round, and I don't know why I watched.

I don't have an answer for what it was, but I turned it on. It really wasn't supposed to be compelling. Greg Norman was up. Six shots, I believe it was, going into the final round and was losing by the turn. It was the most shocking, immediate collapse

that I had ever seen. He didn't even wait until it got close. He immediately gave up to booty. He walked out there, on T number one, dropped his draws, and the booty was on display for everybody. It is the, I don't think there is any comparable choke that anybody could have because that's all it was.

And golf is a sport where people choke. You don't really hold it against people in golf the same way because everybody's got one on the ledger where they gave it up. Everybody sees it. There's nowhere for you to hide, all of these things. But it was the first time I'd watch the Masters. It was an SD, which is an important note, because the Masters took a big jump in HD.

But I could watch it. And it was the first time that I was like, oh, I get what's going on here. That fall is when the Tiger Woods thing gets started, right? He has declared as a pro. He started to win a few tournaments in the fall. And then we come around to the Masters in 97, where he famously shot a 40 on the front nine in the first round

and a 30 on the back nine before he proceeded to curb stop the rest of the field. the whole way, right? Like it was like, oh, okay, he's here. I don't know if it's possible for there to be anything comparable because in team sports, nobody really wins that young. And if you do it, because you're part of an ensemble. He beat everybody's ass so bad in there.

And then didn't win another major until the 99 PGA. Yes. Right? Like, there were, there were, well, you can talk about that part. He didn't win that major. And I guess I say that because it's kind of like when a young guy does something, you're like, oh, he's going to be kicking ass forever, but it didn't happen right

away. No, because he was making swing changes. And that was... By the way, which is crazy, because he just beat everybody down. The way that you, the way that he won in 97, everyone was like, yeah, okay, it's over. Like this dude. And you heard people say it,

his kid's going to win, he's going to win everything for this is the history, like Jim Nance said, historic. It was a historic win at the Masters and it kind of made everyone in golf go, oh, snap. Like, how many times, even in the 90s, did we hear child prodigies,

not just in golf, but in all sports, like, this is the next one. And are they ever the next one? Right. Brough. They ain't never the next one. They'd be like, hey, man, weren't you supposed to be the next one? Yes, welcome to Walmart.

Would you like a car? Right. But Tiger, like, was, Holy crap, this kid is going to do it. And so, but he decided, nah, my swing is not what I needed to be. And so he goes through this period where, if you remember, way back in the day,

my boy Curtis Strange did an interview with him at Milwaukee and Tiger, that's the second place sucks. Like, I just, I only want to win. And that's the Curtis Strange. Oh, you'll learn, kid, you'll learn. And that was, so he wins the Masters, but then has that stretch where it's like, maybe, maybe Curtis Strange.

was right. Like winning, maybe he not. But then when he comes back and wins that PGA in 99, you're like, oh, okay, like he figured something out. Just like the front 940 in 97 and then something clicks and on the back line, you're like, oh, that guy. Yeah, that guy. Right. After winning in 99 at that PGA championship, you're thinking to yourself, oh, if he figured something out, like, that dude might be that. And so. And keep this in mind, let me jump here right quick. It is slowed down enough between April of 97 and August of 99 that the game decided to try to throw the David Duvall thing out there.

Right. Like it's like, you know, maybe there's a rival at play here. David DuBall, who by the way, my favorite factoid of David Duvall for people who don't really follow golf, they already know this. David Duval, people so rich that when they say Duval in Jacksonville, Are they talking about them? He's one of them. Like every city you go to, that street is named after somebody

and you don't know who it is, but they're crazy rich. All right, what about the whole county, bro? That's what I'm trying to say. Like, some people have streets named after. Some people might even have a town named after, but the county, the whole county, bro. I mean, they still say, your family name at football games in the NFL today.

Yes. Yeah. And people, that's the thing I will say about David, too. At that time, he was, you know, he was the dude that were to Oakley's, and he was stone cold. But people don't know, even to this day, he's one of the funniest guys that was out on the PGA tour. Like, he was on the DL, super funny, a great personality, but also very shy in front of cameras and out around strangers, people he didn't. didn't know. So he, you put them Oakley's on and he was like, you know, that dude just looks like he thinks he's better than everybody else. And it's like, no, that's kind of how super

duper shy people, they come off too. But you don't, if all you see on TV is the dude in the glasses who don't look like he's smiling or like he don't do the fist pump or nothing like that, then you're like, man, look at this dude. Who do you think he thinks he is? But that's not honestly who he was. But yeah, that was in that moment where it was like, uh-oh, Tiger got a dude who's going to threaten him for the crown. Like, this dude is coming. It seemed possible. We get to the year 2000, though,

Tiger, after dominating the course in 97, and by that time, had they begun tweaking the course yet? I believe they had begun tweaking the course. Oh, yeah, the Tiger proofing after 97 Masters, everybody was like, you know what we need to do? We need to back them teeth up. Yo, yeah, yeah, let's talk about this.

Like, it would have been one thing if everybody went out there and destroyed the course and thereby, you know what I mean? Like you'd be just like, yo, the course, the game has outrun the course. We need to change the course because everybody's out here shooting 20 under and that's not what it's supposed to be.

That's not what happened. One dude did it. And they decided, you know, that's actually kind of not fair to the rest of the kids, don't you think? This is also where they tell you that like sometimes marketing is a lot. It's just say the opposite of what you're doing

because it's going to sound amazing. You know what I mean? You know, it's going to sound all. People are like, yeah, that's a good idea. What did they call it? We're tiger-proofing. And what did they actually do? That's field-proof.

You made the golf course so that pretty much only Tiger Woods had a chance because nobody was hitting it as far as him and hitting the shots he was hitting during tournaments. And so what you do for the dudes that couldn't hit it as far as him, we should make the course longer. I don't think that's, I don't, okay,

if you're gonna roll with that. But when they did it, everybody was like, we're tiger-proofing the course. Okay. They were at Wits' end. That's what that was. They were like, I don't know what to do.

Now, the one thing they did, correct me if I'm wrong, it was a lot of right to left shots. It's almost like they went and found the weaknesses that they thought existed in Tiger's game, and they tried to create holes that played right into that?

Well, Tiger's miss at the time was the snap hook to the right. Yeah. So if you make a lot of holes where it feeds a little bit from right to left, you're like, yeah. So if he tries to hit it too hard, it's going to go hard to the right. The problem was Tiger's go-to-shot was right to left. Right. So when he was feeling it or under pressure, what's the shot he could always count on?

oh, the hold goes the way I needed to, thank you very much. Where it actually might have helped if they did it the opposite way. Yeah, but he did not win a master's after 97. Like going into 2000, VJ sang won the 2000 Masters, and it is important to note that he won the 2000 Masters because after that, wasn't nobody else winning nothing for a very, very, very long time, at least not as a major.

Now, I want to stop and pause just for a second because we've talked about Tiger and we mentioned David Duval, but it's not like this was happening and it was like some week time in the history of professional golf. Like it was a deep field of players. There's a lot of guys out there. He was going against a lot of golf Hall of Famers. Like this is this is the time you were talking about it.

Greg Norman was still out there. Yeah. Nick Faldo, who won that 96 Masters, he's still out there. Bernhard Langer in his prime too. I mean, VJ Singh. Phil Mickelson was coming on at the time as well. He was the young gun. You said David Duvall was also out there.

You had a guy like Hal Sutton, you know, who famously later on, like beat the right club today. So there were the competition that Tiger was going up against. Like that was a still, we got spoiled by Tiger, so we think it was Tiger and nobody. But he was beating. And Ernie Ells was out there too. So he was beating big-name dudes.

And if you remember, if you, the start of that 2000 season, Tiger didn't win the first five events and actually finished tie for 13th twice. So like he finished tie for 13th at AT&T at Pebble Beach, which was the pro M at the time. I think there was terrible weather there. But then at L.A. where he's never played great there either at, the time that was called the Nissan Open. Today it's his tournament called the Genesis Invitational. He only finished tie for 13th there. Everything else was inside the top 10. But it wasn't like he came out those first five events. It was gangbusters, right? So anybody was

like, oh, okay. This is all right. Not, you know, it's okay. By the way, Mickelson, the great beneficiary of the Tiger Proofing, because the thing that people do not realize is a left-handed player never won the masters in the 20th century, not one. Now, you can say it was a technology issue and all these other things, but Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, all those lefties won after they started fucking with the course. Well, and two, Phil and Bubba are both, and I misspoke on, it wasn't 2000, it was 2001. Yeah. 2001, when Tiger didn't start the season and wasn't in those first five tournaments, didn't get any wins or anything like that.

So it was like trending towards that Tiger slam. So 2001, Tiger doesn't do anything like gangbusters coming out. But you were talking about filling Bubba. So both of them left-handed fade the golf ball. And at the Masters for a lefty hitting a fade, which is a very comfortable shot, even though Bubba can do it both ways. But it favors a lefty that can hit it far and hit a fade.

So you got two guys who won the Masters. that loved hitting a high bomb fade on a golf course that favors a high far fade. For a right-handed golfer, that's a draw. And so it's easy to snap it. It's easy to snap it. Yeah. Now, we get to 2000.

The U.S. Open is at Pebble Beach. I will let you get into the description of it because I can't. I just know Tiger 1 is damn thing by 15 shots. Here's a simple thing. Golf is a sport that can't be perfected, right? Except in 2000 at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Tiger did something that's never been done. Tiger, there's plenty of times where dudes beat golfers.

In 2000 at the U.S. Open, it's real easy. Tiger beat the game. Tiger Woods at 2000 at the U.S. Open. he was Bo Jackson and Tecmo Bowl. He was not only the only one under par, he beat the number, second place was plus three.

He was minus 12. So when I, and the USDA prides itself on setting up their golf courses, especially back then. They would let the golf course get out of hand, where it was, it would be unplayable for a regular PGA tour event. They would have to stop play.

But the USGA was like, nah, par is going to be the winning score. Like, sometimes won over, and we're cool with that. And dudes are going to be walking out of here needing back teen and a massage, like, because they're going to be so tour up from the whooping we gave them. Like, but Tiger went out there was like Rick James Effio couch. Yeah. Well, what's wild about it to me is I always wrote, I was wrote about Tiger. The thing about Tiger was that he was the great eraser, right?

Like, this was not a technically perfect game that he played. No. Right, he's not Nick Faldo. He's not Nick Price, who's keeping the ball in the middle of the fairway and keeping it and going. And the U.S. Open is designed to penalize you for straying, right, for going left and right, and now you're in this unthinkable rough. The idea is that these dudes are going to look like you when they play all. on this course, right?

Because they're going to be out there when things go bad. And he's shot 12 under there. Well, here's the, like, think about the most famous shot that he hit on that par five, the sixth hole. There is on the right side before the cliff falls into the Pacific Ocean. At the time, there was probably 15 yards of, I won't even call it rough. It was like, hey, it was wispy, look like a wheat field.

he hit a shot into that wheat field where if anyone else in the field is in there with the equipment and ball that they had at the time, you have to just chip out sideways to the fairway because this is the other thing. If you go for that green and two, even from the fairway off a little bit of a downslope, you're hitting over a five-story building, which for pro golfers like that's in your head. now you put a guy in a wheat field, not in a perfect fair way where you're like, okay, I still got to think about this stuff. And this dude takes iron out of that.

And at the time you heard the broadcaster say, probably laying up on this. And then you're one guy. I don't know if he's laying up here. And he takes this lash at it. And when it comes out, like, I don't know where the term and same, came from, but boy, it held true there.

Silence is deafening. And when that ball came out, there was, like, even the crowd was just like, ugh. And then just watch. Because like, um, is it, is that ball going to the, and then the people at the bottom can't see. And the people at the top were like, well, just wait for his third child. Oh, shit.

And they hops up onto the green and he's got a put for eagle. And you're the wait, that's, it's not, that's not possible. And that, I think that swing in that moment was when the whole world said to themselves, uh, yeah, video game. Like this dude, he went from Tiger Woods the golfer to Tiger Woods the immortal at the, it was like this dude, okay, so how much is second place? Because no one, if you're doing that and you're the only human in the world, at the time that can do that, like maybe you're not human.

And so we're not playing a fair fight. And this is why I say that U.S. Open, Tiger beat the game. Not he didn't beat the field. He beat the game of golf. When's the last time? The most unbeatable game that has ever existed. Against the most beatable organization. You know what I mean?

When's the last time the USGA as an organization had a golfer make them go, like they was ugly crying. Right, right. He had already brought Augusta National to the, oh, no, no, not him, not like this, cannot be. The USGA is just like, yeah, I mean, below, but we still got it like that because he had not won the U.S. Open up until this point. We have to remember.

And I want to run through the progression of the rounds for people so they understand. The first round of that tournament played pretty well for everybody. like Tiger had a wire-to-wire win in this. He shot a 65. But Miguel-on-Hale-Henis, who I think tied for second in the tournament, he shot a five under. John Houston shot a four under. He had guys like Hale Irma, there's three under.

A bunch of guys at two under. Like, people had a pretty good opening round. The course began to play tougher, but understand this. At the end of the second round, Tiger is at eight under. Second place is at two under. At the end of the third round, he's still at eight under. It's a par 71. He's still at eight under.

But now it's two over that's behind him. Yes, that is. Michael, Michael Collins is doing what it looks like. Everybody start here. And there's, oh, hey, hey, man, where are you going? No, no. We're all coming down. Hey, we're all going to the basement.

Why are you going up to the attic? Where are you going? Like if they had played four more rounds, Tiger would have been up all the way up here and everybody else would have been under the ground. So he's up 10 at the end of the third round. and by the end of the final round, he's up 15. It was one of those things on Sunday.

Even the announcer was just like, there's no way to make this dramatic other than all we need to focus on is this guy and what he's doing. Because no one had ever seen this before, especially in a tournament like this, not just with this prestige, but at this place, you know? I mean, you're talking about a place

where Jack Nicholas won a U.S. Open, Tom Watson, one of U.S. Open, but not like this. Like, no one had ever done anything like this where there was, there was no drama with the score. The drama was, how much could this dude win by?

You know what I? At one point, you thought someone from the USDA would just come out with a flag and be like, okay, man, you don't even got a sentence. Just please stop, stop, man. Please,

we just stop, bro. And the rest of these guys are just in it for money. And I'm not saying that as an insult to those people, but I remember in 97, I was on the phone with my brother. And I was like, I don't even know why these other cats are out here. It's like, yeah, because they cut checks for second.

Like, the only thing left to play for for everybody else was the money. There was nothing else here for you. Like, and dudes would say it. That's the other thing. That's what, that's another thing people forget is guys like Ernie Ells would be like, we know when Tiger's playing and he's playing well, we're all playing for second. Can you imagine in any other sport, like going into a game? Listen, if they're, if they got their B plus game, we can't win.

The only thing similar to me is when Yusain Bolt won the hundred. at the 2012 Olympics, the second one. I've never seen people happier for second and third in my life. They were celebrating like they won gold medals. And those are sprinters. But that's also because with probably 25 meters left, you saying looking around smiling at people. Like, when the last time you seen second, third, fourth, and fifth,

they're on the grind. And you got one dude who's like this. Hey, mama. Hey, what's up? Uncle Tim? How you doing? Brother, I just remember, I think in 2012,

I think Tyson Gay finished with like a 9-8-5 or something like that. Yeah. So what? He left with his dick in his hand. Like, there was no medal for him.

Like, I think it was him. I can't remember exactly who it was. But there was nothing. for fourth place was such an unreal score and you weren't even close. It's hard to tell people that

well actually no it might be easier it might be easier to tell somebody you know, yo I ran 9, 8, 6. You'd be like oh snap. How much did you win by? No. No. Man it really wasn't about that.

You know what I'm saying? Like it was about me. When I race, I race against him. You know what I'm saying? I don't even be thinking about these other cats out here. Like that's what you got to say at golf, man. I just played a course, man. Tiger didn't say too back in the day. Like he had to make up games sometimes.

Like that's what him and Stevie would do. They would be like, okay. Now I got, I hit this mark that I set for myself. Now I got to, now what's the next mark? Okay, now get to this number. All right. And then once you get there, oh, I bet you can't get to this number. You know, and that's, that's the game you're playing.

because you're not playing against everybody else. I forgot about old Stevie. Talk about messing up your good thing, boy. I forgot about Stevie. Then Stevie get up there and get a little bit loose with the homies at that little banquet that one time. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

That's one of the, that's one of the, that's one of the, that's one of the, you're at something in New Zealand. You're like, I can just have some fun, drink a little bit, bit, get a little tipsy, say some fun things.

And that's when that was one of those when everybody started realizing, oh, that stuff people record on their phones gets out and it goes worldwide. They always get loose at the crib, man. They always, they always wide them going back. You think you in a safe space. Yes, yes. Or don't let him be talking to a newspaper reporter in the native language. That's like when the boys go back to France.

Like, let me tell you something. This offseason, that boy, Victor, going to go over to France and say something. crazy to Le Keep on one of them other magazines they got over there. Just you watch. Just you watch. He ain't going to be able to help it. It's like it's in the French interviews that when he says stuff like, yeah, Rudy Gagé, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Gobert will never win defensive player the year again.

Yo, man, like, we got Google Translate now, homie. We can find out. You ain't got nobody on your team saying, hold up. But see, here's, for me, I'm a big fan of the flip side of that. is like we don't get to attack people for doing stuff like that. And then on the flip side, be like, I don't understand why all these athletes are so vanilla

with all their answers. It's like, no, you say that, but then you complain and bitch when a dude is honest and says what he thinks. And it's like, how dare you? Pick one, man. Make up your damn mind. Hey, man.

We're going to come back. we got more from the Tiger Slam with Michael Collins coming up on the right time. You can predict the playoff action all the way to the finals with Fanduil predicts. All you have to do is sign up to get you a $25 bonus. Follow all the playoff dishes, swishes, wishes, wishes, and misses. Every move is a potential plot twist. Predict the spread, the total points, and even the game-winning moments that make the playoffs, where one run, one rebound, one shot changes everything.

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Offered by Fandual Prediction Market LLC, a registered future commission merchant, 18 plus one per user, minimum $10 deposit required. Trading derivatives involve significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Manager activity with our consumer protection tools. All right. We are back with Michael Collins. He got his master's gear. I should have wore my master's visor.

You know what I'm saying? I got a couple ballmarks too. You know, when people go down there, they bring a little something back for your boy. Bring a little something. Let me tell you, do you know what the, like, first timers, their average spend is just under $2,000. Are you serious?

Yeah, big time. And I spend, when I've been to the Masters, and I've been there 14 times, 13 times. And I have never left Augusta National without dropping four large. But I know if people, like, I've talked to some of the people that work there and, like, they've told me stories of people walking in spend in 50, 50 jeans. But then they're out selling all the stuff. Like, I would never.

Yeah, I don't feel right. No, man, that's the thing. Like, now the one thing I do like to do is I, it's one of the best things that you can do. Like you said, with the stuff you have. There is nothing that is more meaningful to people that have never been there than a gift from the masters. Hey, man, let me tell you something. I'd be afraid to go sell their stuff. That'd be like using Mickey Mouse of all your shit.

Like, I'd be afraid they're going to come find you. And they ain't even. I'm saying, like, this is nah, man. If you, I, yeah, man, it's just, number one, it would feel slimy doing something like that. So. But they, but brother, even on top of that, they know people. Like, if you think they can't get ice to bust your door down, you crazy. They know.

Right. That's, well, I will say, like, there's Augusta National is more secretive than fight club. Yes. So, like, and the people that they're, like, the members that the names of members you don't know, they're the ones that are like, they're the ones that are like, how they found out. Like, like, if somebody was doing something, then not even, like, you just, you go to the masters and you. you buy $50,000 worth of shirts, and now you put a master's store up there and stuff like that.

And now, like, you and none of your family members or anybody of your friends can never get back to the master's tickets magically again, you never get back there. Like, I wonder how that happened. Oh, there is, come on, man. Yeah, come on. Just try too hard.

Oh, yeah. But some of the best gifts I ever gave out, like, I hooked up one dude with a master's watch one time. and that was like, yeah, the look on people's faces, you know, I had a dude that was playing for my team, the Eagles, and he was into watches. And then so I surprised him one time and was like, I'm going to give you something that you can't get

and you can show off that all these other $300,000 watches and quarter million dollar watches and stuff like that. Anybody can buy them, but you can't get this. And so being able to get it, Give people stuff that they can't buy. Bro, that's the greatest feeling in the world watching people's face light up and stuff like that. So, yeah, I got probably, I got probably 200 hats.

I got a hat issue, my thing. So, like, for the years I've been going, I got so many hats. And, like, now is the gnome. The gnome is the big thing now. Yeah. Brother, you got a hat issue because, like me, you got a head issue, you know what I'm saying?

You know. Like, and you'll be out there playing, like people don't understand. Like I never quite got there into the LL zone. You know what I'm saying? Where it's just like, hey, you know, hats are going to be my thing. But we talk about Tiger Woods. St. Andrews was 2000 for him at the end.

And I believe it's the first time he played St. Andrews in the Open Championship. And you correct me if I'm wrong, but this was another course very much so made for Tiger Woods. In a sense, he took all of the trouble out of play. this was another so you know this is coming off of that u.s open win where he beat the game right now he field by 15 and now he goes to the open championship let's let's put this in perspective he shot minus 12 at the open champ at the u.s open and was like everybody was like holy cow this dude is like that and then he went to the open championship and shot minus 19 almost shot minus 20 and beat the field by eight.

Yes. At the old course. Coming off 15, he is now won by 8. This dude has won two major championships in the same season by 23 strokes combined. Yes, and RDL's Hall of Favor, I believe, was in second place of both of those. And he's the 23 behind guy.

He's 23 and me. Poor dude is 23 of me, where if Tiger's not playing, he's holding the two trophies. Like, we're talking about an Ernie slam, potentially. So, yeah, that was, that's St. Andrews thing. Like, to do not only what he did at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, at a historic place, now you go to literally the home of golf itself. St. Andrews is the home of golf.

And for most people who've never played an open championship at St. Andrews, there is a pretty good-sized learning curve. But Tiger was just one of those guys who was in a place, and this is also what happens. I can tell you this, too, as a guy who's been fortunate enough to, like, one or two times get into those special moments with a player where no matter what you do off the T, the, the, the, the, the, number for the second shot is perfect. Like there's nowhere in between clubs. Like what do you like here? Like it's no, you get there and you go 150. Pitching wedge down.

150. Right. And at the open, you're like, all right, 150 is down pitching wedge downwind. Yep, perfect. Boom. Hit the shot. Or like you would, there were famous times where Stevie would just. be like at that target and Tiger would go, yeah.

And then as the ball came off of the club face, he would be like, that target right there. Right? Like just cockily announcing to everybody, like, you can't do that. Right? And Stevie was the dude was like, yeah, that target. And just boom, beat like it was watching, as a caddy, watching those two work surgically like that was.

it was a dance even at the open that I don't think anyone had ever seen before like that and it's coming off the U.S. Open and I think

for the rest of the field that was the feeling of hold him up. You know what I'm saying? Like the feet, you're already down like this and now Tiger and Stevie

are grabbing him like hold him up. Like we ain't done knocking you. Like, Yeah. What do you do? And those first three majors of the year, at that point, this is when the PGA was on the back end of the schedule, rather than being on the front,

is analogous in tennis to you have a hard court major, a clay major, and a grass major. Like these are three different types of golf that you are playing, right? Like the Litz golf that is required to play at the open is not the same. It's not just like, oh, okay, you've been whooping ass everywhere. Now you're going to come whoop-ass here because that's what you do. No, you have to play a different game. Like, was it at the open that year that Tiger went out there without the driver

and won in the final round? Oh, he had the driver in the bag and didn't have to hit it. Yeah, that's what it was. Yeah, but like it's a, these are different, different games that he has had to play. And he just went and dominated U.S. Open golf and then came behind it and dominated this links golf where you're playing with this crazy wind.

It's probably raining. All your shots need to stay low. That's the key. So you made a great analogy there with tennis, right? When you're playing on the hard court, it's a power game. When you're playing on the grass court, it's a ground game, right? And same with the clay. When you're playing on the clay, it's more of a precision type of thing.

Well, the U.S. Open is all about precision. You need to hit it here, and then you need to hit it here. So you're playing to spots, and you've got to hit it really high and really soft, and no one could do it like Tiger could do it back then, especially with mid to long irons. So now when you go to the Open Championship, instead of playing everything high, now you've got to play everything low.

You're not landing anything on the green because it plays so firm and so fast that if something hits the green, it's gone. Like, she's run away back there. Yeah, greens at that level for people who don't know are like putting in the kitchen. Correct. And the fairways sometimes at Open Championships

can be faster than the Greens. So you're landing a ball 20 to 30 yards short of the putting surface and then hoping that it takes the mounds correctly, misses the bunkers, and gets on the putting surface. And so those two style of games are, it's completely opposite. It's chocolate and vanilla. Like, it's not like, well, my game kind of fits a little bit of both.

No, it don't. You have to play a completely different style of golf. And for him to go over there and Tiger, like dominating like that, winning by eight shots. after playing a completely different style. And you're talking about these things are, that's four weeks apart. It's a month.

So it's not like I got plenty of time to prepare and get ready. Like I'm going to, I'll take two months and I'm going to change up kind of how I flight everything and what I need to do. Nah, you got a month where you're taking time off too to chill and then you're going to just show up there and your game's going to be set and ready. Like, where are you going to practice that in the United States?

Because nowhere in the U.S. can you set up courses at the time to play like that. Nowhere in the U.S. was like that. So him showing up and doing that was another one where everybody was like, oh, this dude is doing this too. And then he comes about howl in the PGA next. And it's interesting that PGA is the one in this run that we talk about the least, but it's the one that went to the playoff. And I remember very clearly when this happened,

something that was very interesting is that he's in the playoff with this dude named Bob May that meant nothing to us, but Bob May was that dude back in the day in California. Like, that was a guy that young Tiger was like trying to keep up, was trying to get to at a point. And good for you, Bob May, you got to the playoff, even better for you that you lost. Because if you hadn't lost,

this would have just kind of been weirdo factoid, right? But now Tiger's back-to-back champion at the PGA. And the irony was like, that was the greatest Cinderella story at the time that we were seeing. And it might have been a great Cinderella story if he won. Like it would have been unheard of if he won. But two things about that. One, if Bob May wins that playoff, then we don't get to have any of the Tiger Slam conversations at all. And maybe the slam never happens, the way that.

that it happened. Like, we, you know, who knows? There's no way to Monday morning quarterback. And fast forward then Y.E. Yang at another PGA championship doesn't become golf's Buster Douglas because Tiger never has then that run where he is undefeated going into Sunday with the lead of a major. There was no such thing as that run. and like then Y. E. Yang doesn't become Y.E. Yang. And like everything that happens after that also

never potentially happens. But at the time, like, Bob May even getting into that playoff, like, who is this short dude who is 50 yards behind Tiger off the T and yet hitting these long irons against nine irons like guys who's hitting it's high and soft against a dude who has to bring it in low because he's using irons that are so much longer and he's further away than these greens than tiger is and yet he's hanging with them so there's

there's that you're torn as a golf fan like I love the fact that Cinderella's got a chance to dance and like it's hanging with Tiger and hit these crazy amazing shots when he's out of position and like giving himself an absolute chance going into this playoff and you're like, holy cow, like, is Tiger really, is this going to happen? And then once we learn that backstory of Bob May was like, oh, not only is this dude this short knocker

like, and you're like this, how is this happening? And you're like, oh, because this is a dude who knows that Tiger used to look up to him. Yeah. So he might not have the same fear, or he's drawing off of something from the past that no one else had to draw off of against King Kong. Yeah, like there's nothing like when you're like, oh, you're talking about insert name here?

Like a great example of this, the 1999 final four when Yukon beat Duke. And Duke had his point guard named William Avery. William Avery was cold. It didn't work out in the NBA form, but he was cold in college. And he was from Augusta, Georgia. Youcon had a dude named Ricky Moore, who was two years ahead of Avery,

and was basically like Will Avery's big brother, and he treated him like that, and the game went like that. Every now and then that happens, where there's some dude on the other side, that's like, you're talking about who? It's like when you went college and when you first get to college and you see the dudes that are in frats, you're like, oh, they must be somebody day into frat. But then you get to be a junior, and then the cats there were nobodies

when you were freshmen are now into frat. And you're like, oh, you're talking about him? Right? That's Bob May. Like, oh, he's talking about him. Like, yeah, no, no, he was good. I mean, it was coming, but I can't see myself being afraid of this cat. And he wasn't. Yes, yes.

And that, you know, for some people, too, you know, you hear that saying, the moment's too big. But as you said, for Bob May at the time, it was like, oh, Tiger, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, if I get into, you know, if we have a battle, I ain't scared. Like, I battled this dude before. It ain't, even though, like, the mystique outside the bubble of Tiger is there in the moment. you're like, huh? But for everybody on the outside, like you said, with Avery from when they're playing Duke and all of that, like, everyone on the outside was like, yo, who is this dude that thinks

he's, and they don't know the backstory? So you're just like, yo, who this dude think he is? Like, showing up and showing out? You're like, this dude's out of nowhere. When it's like, no, he's not. You kind of not out of nowhere. You just didn't know the backstory. Yep, but you know what?

It was cute. Three whole playoff. Tiger wins. It was cute. It was cute. It really was, man. It added flavor to story. You know what I'm saying? Like it's a, it made for a very interesting part of this podcast, right? People didn't see that part coming. Okay. We get to the 2001 Masters. Keeping in mind again, they've been messing with the course and Tiger has not won since the first time he got there. Now we're here and it's this idea of a Tiger slam. And to me, yes, you hold all the trophies at the same time. It's a slam. We got to take time out and back up, though, a little bit too, in 2001. What did he do going into that Masters as well?

You have to remember he won the two tournaments that he played in right before that. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and who he beat there? Phil Mickelson. Yeah. Then he goes to the players championship. Again, a little bit of a different style of golf that you got to play at the players championship. And who's he beat at the players championship?

VJ Singh. So this dude is going in to the Masters, which is his next event. Check in the list. Having Bill Mickelson and Vijay Singh probably at the time his two biggest rivals on the golf course, like two dudes that were definitely

guys that were names, you better know where they are on the leaderboard. And he took both of them down in the two events going into the Masters. and then, oh, yeah, like, who wins three starts in a row, and now you're throwing on top of the fact, the slam is on the line. Like, no one since Bobby Jones has won all four in a row.

So he's going for a threesome, three straight wins, API players, and now he shows up at the Masters, and the pressure, and this is, like, 2001, the media was no joke. This is not 96 to 97 when there's like 50 news report, 50 newspaper people there and 7 TV people. This is a gaggle and the internet is full blown. Yeah. And he had to grind this one out, man.

Like he's down five strokes at the end of the first round. He's down two strokes at the end of the second. And he's up one at the end of the third. It's the same as it never was. or Tiger had Augusta, just need a little tired to get warm, just need a little tired to get it cracking. But Tiger's also that dude, too, like, you think of that first round and you're like, man, he down five. But everybody still, you know, in the back of every golfer's head, too, that they're still doing this.

Yep. You seen him? Have you seen him? Where are you? Hold on. Are you coming? Is he coming? And so you're playing with that on your shoulders against the dude who is like, Now he's looking at you from behind like, uh-huh, it's all right. I just got to do what I got to do. And then when that plod starts,

I mean, this is that Tiger Woods where if your name was at the top of the leaderboard and his name was on a leaderboard you could see, you started to get that sink and feeling in your stomach. And when you were around, especially at Augusta, because there's no electronic scoreboards. So everybody's sitting around, there are two things happen.

First is when you hear a roar at Augusta, and even to this day, as many times as I've been there, when Tiger's not playing, the Tiger roar hits different. Like, there is a difference, even between a Tiger roar and a hole in one roar, which a hole in one roar is crazy.

But when Tigers, making a move and you're on a hole and he makes a birdie and does a fist pump, because Augusta doesn't allow phones and everyone, and this is the one other reason why I love Augusta, everyone who's there at the Masters has to be engaged in the moment where you are. There's no checking, let me see where somebody else is. There is getting, I got an alert and something's going on outside, even the gates, or even inside. There's no, you have to be present in the moment of where you are. So when Tiger does something and you're at that spot, the only thing for you to do is be in that moment in that spot.

So the explosion of emotion for the fans, it still gives me goosebumps talking about. it only happens at Augusta. It only happens at the Masters because of how they are. Yeah, if the presence is in the moment. It's why people at Augusta, you're not called a fan, you're a patron. Right. There's no such thing. Like if you, if even, you don't make that slip up when you're on TV and you're doing,

the people that are there to watch golf, they're patrons. Every other tournament, you got fans. Augusta got patrons. And that's like the historic nature of that place. So when Tiger has a roar, if you're over on a hole on the other side of the golf course, the way that that sound comes through those pine trees. And then, as I said, it's two things. The second thing that happens is all of those scoreboards that are not electronic,

the score has to be changed manually. So what happens is they have, in that scoreboard, there's a, like a long strip and where the named Woods will be up there and the score will be up there. And what happens is then the score itself, let me see if I can like show how it.

The score, so if this is the card that has the score on it, the score will be here, the thing will drop and then the patrons will only see a blank space. So you know something's coming. And then, boom, when it pops up with the new score, whether

it's a birdie or an eagle, the crowd in that space, then you'll hear, oh! And so Tiger was controlling the crowds around the masters not just on the holes he was on, but on all the holes that had those manual scoreboards

because as soon as they flipped and put that new score up and you see his name, now they got to move Woods up. Now they got to put the new score. And it was, oh! And if you're a dude, like, you're getting ready to hit a putt, like, just save bar. And now you're getting ready to stand over it and quack, quack, ha, you just backed off. You got no chance of making that putt.

Yeah. And look, he comes out of that third round. He's up one stroke on Phil Mickelson. So that's the pairing, right? It's Tiger and Phil coming down at the end of this. And you look at the top 10 at the end of the third round of that tournament. and it's a bunch of dudes who won major championships. Mark Al-Coveccia, Athell, Adelao Cabrera,

David Duval, Ernie Ells, Lee Jansen, Jose Maria Oda Thabble, like, it's a bunch of dudes. Rocco Mediate who wound up playing in that U.S. Open. Yeah. Playoff in 2008 with Tiger. Like, it's a bunch of dudes behind him going into this final round. It's names that everybody know. And yet the two Titans, you know what it was on Sunday?

Sunday, everyone went to, church in the morning and just went, I just want to say thank you. I just want to, I know it's a lot of times that I ask for things that you don't deliver on and I still got to be thankful. But today, I might put just a little extra in the collection plate just because I know what's the two dudes that we always dream of seeing in a major championship battle are about to do battle for the green jacket, and we know what's on the line for Tiger. Right?

And so I don't know a time either. Like when other than everyone has different specific moments. For you, it was 1996. You're like, I don't even know why I turned on the Masters in 1996. As you said when you were watching, but I know, like, I was enthralled by, like, you say, you were enthralled by watching the collapse of Greg Norman and how Nick Vado ended up winning. And it was just like, when you turned it on, you were just like, I can't.

It could have been something crazy. You'd be like, oh, man, there's a kitten in the tree. That kitten's in the tree until this is over. Like, you're going to watch. I don't, that 2001 Masters with that final group, I don't remember a time when more people who had no interest in golf whatsoever at the time sat down and watched. it. Like from the moment that that mug came on CBS, everybody was like, we're watching this.

Like, we're not even into golf. I don't, I'm, I need to see this. Like, and they was like, what does Bertie mean? It means you, you, you played the whole one shot better than what you were supposed to. What does bogey mean? Bogey means you played one shot word. Just watch, man, shut up. There were people who were like, holy cow, there are people watching golf. that don't care about golf. And so I think it was an impactful Sunday in a way that is hard to measure because then so many people after the fact stuck around.

And that's where I say it's immeasurable. Because we know, like, people watch golf every now and then for major championships, especially the masters. And then golf, like, then the golf is gone. Maybe all, something crazy is happening. We'll flip it on and watch it for a couple of hours or something like that. But we're not emotionally invested in the game. But I think at that 2000 Masters, after the fact, people stayed and became emotionally invested in golf where they had never been before.

And it's interesting because Tiger had three more years after this where he won multiple majors. There's the 2008 playoff where he's playing. on the broken leg. There is his 2019 Masters, which is his analog to the Jack Nicholas 1986 Masters, right? Like the one more for you go, right? Like you went ahead and got that one. But it was, it, it never felt quite the same as it did. He was still Tiger Woods after that, right? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. The magnitude and I would be inclined to say he became a better golfer after that. Like, I don't think he got worse after 2000. Well, you have to remember too. Like, he also after 2000, then after 2001, he changed his swing again. Remember, like that was, it was after

2001, like this is, that's when he also then, like, him and Butch split. And that's when Hank Haney came in. And so, like, when he went into another dominant phase in 2006 and 2007, that was Haney was his swing coach then. And it was another period whereby I was like, holy cow, this dude completely change the swing again and started dominating. Now, was it the same feel as 2000, 2001? No. No. And here's, and you know this too, man,

because me and you have had this conversation before, and you've seen me have conversations with people like this little, as recently as five years ago, when people were like, hey, man, you think Tiger's coming back? Like, is Tiger going to be back? having to tell people that went through that time in 2000 and 2001, hey man, that dude is not, he gone. Yeah.

It's hard to make people believe that dude he don't exist anymore. It's like what people talk about is the U back. Like, do you know what the U was? Right? Is Florida State back? Top five, 14 years in a row? I don't know. if I can say that.

I don't think so. Yeah. And it is too, like, and I don't, and I'm not saying this as a shot, but like, so Bobby Jones wins all,

he wins the Grand Slam and then walks away from golf. And like, we have a couple of guys who are dominant, like, in flashes and moments and stuff, but then Nicholas comes along.

And Bobby Jones says about Jack Nicholas, he plays a game with which I'm not familiar, right? And now we see Nicholas take the mantle of he's the dude who everybody thinks is like, when he's at his best, I can't beat him. Right? And there'll be never be another Jack Nicholas until Tiger comes along. And Jack then has to say the same thing about Tiger. He plays a game with which I'm not familiar.

And now we see Tiger have that time where every, Everyone in golf says he plays the game with which I'm not familiar. And when he's at his best, no one, I can't beat him. Right. We are now in a period where Tiger is still around. And it's like Jack after 1986, right? He was still around. Like he had that flash in 1986 when he won the Masters, right?

Where it was like, this dude kind of came out of nowhere and had that flash where it was like, and we saw the last time Tiger won the Masters was like, there was that same type of moment. But because we lived through 2000, 2001, 2006, 2007, where like, you think he can still do it again? And it's like, I would love to be the,

give you hope. I would love to give you hope. But the dudes that are out there now are playing a game that Tiger doesn't play. Yeah. And people are, also misunderstood this. The idea that you can play golf forever,

you can play golf forever, but it is still, it's either a young, it's a young man's game and it's a middle age game, but only two guys have truly been great, both young and middle age. Jack Nichols and Gary player, the only two guys to win multiple majors on both sides of 35. Because

remember, the car accident is in 2009. He turns 35 in December of 2010. The odds were always against him on that backside. That's before we even get into all the physical wear and tear that he had endured. But I think, what was it? Tom, Tom Watson won 11 majors by 33. Right. Never won another one. This happens. Like, Sam Sneed, Phil Mickelson, examples of guys who

won all those majors after 35. Like, it's really hard to be excellent at that game for a really long time. It's Jack Nicholas and Gary Player, for people who don't know. He's like, goddamn Jack LaLane, right? Now they're doing all the pushups and sit-ups and all of that stuff. Like he's a physical, like he's an unreal physical specimen in terms of longevity. And if we're being honest, too, when it comes to Gary player, like he's like Jack La Lane, you're like, oh, shit, here come crazy. Yep. There are you. Like, I love to death.

This is going to be off the rails. Here come crazy. Like, oh. Don't answer too many questions about South African politics. You never know what you might get. Don't ask politics, period. Don't ask politics, man. We all getting canceled.

Don't ask no politics. But no, but we had that run with Tiger. we all were like, well, he's going to pass Jack Nicholas, not quite understanding what the arc was and how a golf career actually progresses. But for me, it's one of those where it's like, maybe it's because I wasn't as invested in golf or maybe it doesn't matter to me that he did not get to 19 majors. It doesn't matter to me that he didn't get to 15 majors. I was there for what it was. Yes. And even the people who were there for what it was with Jack Nicholas, it wasn't that.

Like, they're not even saying it was that. Well, the thing, too, is, like, everyone, including Jack Nicholas, way back in the day, like, after this 2000, 2001, Jack Nicholas said, Tiger's going to beat my major record, and he should do it pretty easily as long as. And the as long as, with everyone out there was, he stays healthy. I mean, and Tiger's not the only, you can go wait. if we do a football analogy, like what would Gail Sayers have been? I never saw Gail Sayers. All I seen was highlights,

but it was like the dude who I know growing up who was going to be the great, what would Bo Jackson have done? That's the greatest comparison that you can make because everyone looked and was like, oh, this is a breed of athlete we don't know. We haven't seen. And so for him too,

to be, now you look at Tiger and you're like, if he would have stayed healthy. And so for everyone else, you look at where you like, you know, there are sometimes you look at and be like, we got to, what do the numbers tell you? Sometimes that's a great thing. But there are other times it's like, yeah, the numbers can tell you something, but also the people that were there in the moment with him and then the grates of the past that are still around and saw it as well and went, yeah, that dude better. Yeah. And it's that I hope people understand it.

It's easy for us who aren't athletes at that level or anyone at levels like that, it is not easy to humble yourself. it's not easy to say I was the best and now someone's better than me right like you don't want to it's it's hard to give that title up because you understood what it took to get there and be there and so to be able to look at another athlete and in the same sport and say yeah that dude had some skills that i didn't possess it's not easy to So when, yes, Tiger's not catching Jack's record or breaking that record, but is he the greatest golfer of all time? It's going to be hard to say that dude's not the goat. Like, I don't know someone who says, you know, Jack was better than time.

And it's the comparison too. It's like, well, Jack played against more Hall of Famers. We'll see. We'll see. And I love Jack to death. Like, I love him to death. I love Tiger to death and stuff like that. But if you put me in a room and strap me to a chair and there was some torture to places around,

I'm going to say Tiger is the goat. Like, he's the Billy goat. You know, Jack is close. He's up there too. Like Jack's a goat. You know, is he the goat that got the biggest horns and stands on the top of the bridge? Nah. He stands just back from the bridge.

He's looking at it. Like, you know that used to be my bridge. Remember that. Ladies and gentlemen, that is Michael Collins. Check him out at ESPN covering golf. My man, will have to do it again. Brother, thank you so much. It's been too long, man.

I have so much enjoyment getting to chat with you, brother. And, like, watching you do your thing is, like, it warms my heart and my soul, bro. I love it, man. I know you don't know this, but, like, you inspire me, man. and thank you for that, bro. Dude, I appreciate you, man. Thank you so much.

And ladies and gentlemen, thanks so much for joining us here on The Right Time. We do this four days a week. Ryan Brumley handles thing behind the scenes. Thank you, sir. Hit our voicemail line. 3-2-3-9-6-7-67. Remember, follow the right time.

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