Roaring Back
The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods
-
-
3.3 • 3 Ratings
-
-
- $11.99
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
The incredible true story of Tiger Woods’s dramatic comeback following his humbling and very public personal, physical, and professional setbacks.
One publicly imploded marriage. Two car accidents. Eight surgeries. And now, a miracle of hard work and storied talent: five Masters wins. Once hailed as “the greatest closer in history” before he fell further than any beloved athlete in America’s memory, Tiger swung at the world’s wildest expectations and beat the skeptics with his April 2019 Masters championship. Roaring Back traces his road to Augusta and the improbable, phenomenal comeback of one of the greatest golfers in history.
New York Times–bestselling author Curt Sampson details the highs and lows of Woods’s career in three gripping acts. From his startling loss at the 2009 PGA Championship, detrimental obsession with his swing, and that infamous night involving an ex-wife and a nine-iron…to adoring fans and lucrative sponsors turning their backs, exclusive interviews with past instructors and PGA tour peers, and an arrest complete with a toxicology report . . . finally to Tiger coming from behind for his fifth green jacket as the crowd rumbled in Georgia, and how his comeback rivals those of the most dramatic in his sport.
Sampson also places Woods’s defeats and triumphs in the context of historic comebacks by other notable golfers like Ben Hogan, Skip Alexander, Aaron Silton, and Charlie Beljan, finding the forty-three-year-old alone on the green for his trajectory of victory against all odds. As this enthralling book reveals, Tiger never doubted the perseverance of the winner in the mirror.
“Sampson admirably details all the highs and lows.” —Jim Nantz, CBS Sports
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this stirring assessment of Tiger Woods, Sampson (The Masters) takes readers through the golfer's life. Structured by significant moments in Woods's career the legendary 1997 Masters tournament; the 2009 PGA Championship loss to Y.E. Yang and Woods's car accident months later; his stunning 2019 Masters victory the biography incisively captures the famously inscrutable Woods. Throughout, Sampson weaves snippets of his interviews with Woods along with examples of how the golfer rebuilt his career, such as by hiring golf instructor Sean Foley ("a kettle of fish of a different color... he spoke biomechanics, not Hogan catch-phrases" and listened to rap music), and prepared himself before practice Woods sometimes waking "at a quarter to four" to prepare for early tee times, an especially arduous task for his aching body. Sampson also provides insights into the early years of Woods's career, discussing his reluctance to accept the role of "Ambassador of his Race" while also acknowledging father Earl Woods's determination that his son not face the "racial injustice" he had in his youth. Perhaps most striking, Sampson writes with eloquence about Woods's recent triumph at the Masters, the culmination of his years of recovery, and how the 2019 victory at age 43 "tapped into our intense and undying interest in tales of redemption." This is a must-read for Woods's fans and casual golfers alike. Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly noted Tiger Woods's age when won the 2019 Masters.
