WASHINGTON — He was a fan on Sunday, too.
“I’ve been a fan for I don’t know how long,” Michael Jordan said on the phone Wednesday about his friend Tiger Woods, who came all the way back last Sunday to win the Masters, completing a comeback the likes of which we haven’t seen in sports.This wasn’t someone returning from a torn ACL (although Woods has had one of those) or Tommy John surgery. This was … well, we all know what Woods’ past decade has been like.
Winning the Masters at 43, 11 years after his last major, doesn’t make Woods a hero to everyone. I get that. He hurt a lot of people with his personal behavior, most notably his now ex-wife and his children. But those children were there at Augusta National on Sunday to witness their father’s triumph, and share it with the rest of the world, and are now old enough to understand what it meant to him.
There are very, very few athletes who have been as dominant on their fields and courts as Woods. So, there are very, very few who have any idea what it’s like to be that good and then lose your physical gifts and manage to win at the highest stage nonetheless. I wanted to talk with someone who had an inkling of how the best deal with athletic mortality.
So, Jordan.
Jordan, of the six championships in six NBA Finals and the five league NBA MVPs, six finals MVPs, 14 All-Star games and GOAT status (we’re not arguing about that this morning), is on that plateau. And, of course, he’s a little familiar/obsessed with the dimpled ball. He has the unique perspective of being Woods’ friend, an athletic peer and a golf nut.
But even Jordan didn’t think Woods could come back this far, telling ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson in 2016, “The thing is, I love him so much that I can’t tell him, ‘You’re not gonna be great again.’”
Three years later, Woods is great again.
Tiger Woods celebrates after making a putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters. (Rob Schumacher / USA Today)
“I never thought he’d get back physically,” Jordan said. “He didn’t think he’d get back physically. But he did it. No one expected him to be back the way he is now. He’s probably the only person who believed he could get back. To me, that’s a major accomplishment. To me, it’s unbelievable. Mentally, you always think you can. But you can’t answer to what your body has to deal with.”
Jordan famously suffered a fracture in his left foot during his second season with the Bulls. But other than that, he never had to deal with the significant physical problems Woods has had to deal with, from a torn ACL to a ruptured Achilles, topped by significant back problems before back fusion surgery two years ago allowed him to play without debilitating pain.
“I took two years off to play baseball, but nothing like that,” Jordan said. “I’m pretty sure he questioned himself, whether he could get it back, and he had to put a lot of work in. But he took it head-on. He had to change his game; he had to change his perspective a little bit. To me, it was the greatest comeback I’ve ever seen.”
Jordan watched the final round Sunday with Luke Donald, the former world No. 1 who finished third in the 2005 Masters, at a watch party. (Stars! They’re just like us!) For Jordan, what transpired was familiar: dealing with challengers, some more than a decade later, and having as your best weapon not a club, or a move, but your institutional knowledge.
“You rely so much on the mental toughness,” Jordan said. “Until you know what you’re capable of doing, you’re going to exert your will when you think you need to do so. But the biggest task is always going to be mental. You’re going against guys who are more gifted physically. But your advantage is mental. You have so many things you can draw upon, and the other guys don’t have the same. They don’t have the experience. You think about (Francesco) Molinari hitting it in the water on 12, (Tony) Finau hitting in the water, Brooks (Koepka) hitting in the water on 12. Mentally, (Woods) had to sustain it. From then on it was him trying to figure it out.”
Meanwhile, Woods hit into the middle of the green, instead of at the flag. And that made me wonder about the mentality of a superstar. In that moment, Woods could certainly have gone for it, too, to make a point — I can still hit this stiff. But he didn’t. He played it smart. And I wondered if that was hard for him, to walk away from the macho play.
“Nothing’s hard under those circumstances,” Jordan said. “All you want to do is pick the right club. All your fundamentals are all in play. He yanked it a little bit, but it’s the right yardage. From there, it’s a two-putt. What he wanted to do was play to his strengths, and his strength was being mentally tougher than a lot of the other guys. Those guys had to deal with him.”
Like everyone else, Jordan marveled at Woods’ ability to get back command of his bag so completely.
“He’s actually surprised me, and I’m happily surprised,” Jordan said. “I always thought the biggest advantage for Tiger is his irons. Even if you don’t hit it as long or you don’t putt it as well, his iron game is the best in the game. When you start to lose your skills, you have to concentrate on the mental. These guys are hitting it unbelievably long. Precision is his game. He went through a tough stretch with his chipping. But he’s come back stronger.”
Michael Jordan, with Tiger Woods at a Pro-Am in 2007, says Tiger’s “confidence is only going to build from here.” (Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
Now that Woods has his 15th major, Jordan believes the road ahead for his friend is clear.
“Dealing with his emotions, obviously he believed in himself,” Jordan said. “But until you put that into action, sometimes it’s a struggle. I think he’s gotten over the hump. I think he’s going to win more. It’s tough mentally. It’s absolutely tough mentally. And then you think about the physical. I’m elated.
“They (Woods’ tour opponents) got problems. His confidence is only going to build from here. The unknown is the biggest thing. You don’t know what Tiger’s capable of doing. He’s won a tour event (the Tour Championship last September), he’s won the Masters, he’s won a major.”
Jordan called Woods this week to congratulate him.
“There were so many people that were doubting him,” Jordan said. “You can think about the physical. But he overcame a lot of mental things, too. Not just the physical aspects, but all the scandals, too. I was watching TV and they were congratulating him, but the first thing they bring up is the negative aspect. That’s what he had to deal with. Granted, we all make mistakes. But for him to come back and be able to win again, it’s far tougher than anything I think anybody’s had to deal with.”
Jordan still plays golf, of course. But now he watches his Charlotte Hornets, the team he became majority owner of in 2010. The Hornets, unlike Woods, finished just out of the money this past season, missing the playoffs by two games. There will be no comeback this time.
“It’s tough sitting where I sit,” Jordan said. “I have no control without the ball in my hands. It’s driving me crazy. But it’s fun.”
(Top photo of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan: Warren Little / Getty Images)
Exclusive: Michael Jordan weighs in on Tiger Woods:...
“I’ve been a fan for I don’t know how long,” Michael Jordan said on the phone Wednesday about his friend Tiger Woods, who came all the way back last Sunday to win the Masters, completing a comeback the likes of which we haven’t seen in sports.This wasn’t someone returning from a torn ACL (although Woods has had one of those) or Tommy John surgery. This was … well, we all know what Woods’ past decade has been like.
Winning the Masters at 43, 11 years after his last major, doesn’t make Woods a hero to everyone. I get that. He hurt a lot of people with his personal behavior, most notably his now ex-wife and his children. But those children were there at Augusta National on Sunday to witness their father’s triumph, and share it with the rest of the world, and are now old enough to understand what it meant to him.
There are very, very few athletes who have been as dominant on their fields and courts as Woods. So, there are very, very few who have any idea what it’s like to be that good and then lose your physical gifts and manage to win at the highest stage nonetheless. I wanted to talk with someone who had an inkling of how the best deal with athletic mortality.
So, Jordan.
Jordan, of the six championships in six NBA Finals and the five league NBA MVPs, six finals MVPs, 14 All-Star games and GOAT status (we’re not arguing about that this morning), is on that plateau. And, of course, he’s a little familiar/obsessed with the dimpled ball. He has the unique perspective of being Woods’ friend, an athletic peer and a golf nut.
But even Jordan didn’t think Woods could come back this far, telling ESPN the Magazine’s Wright Thompson in 2016, “The thing is, I love him so much that I can’t tell him, ‘You’re not gonna be great again.’”
Three years later, Woods is great again.
Tiger Woods celebrates after making a putt on the 18th hole to win the Masters. (Rob Schumacher / USA Today)
“I never thought he’d get back physically,” Jordan said. “He didn’t think he’d get back physically. But he did it. No one expected him to be back the way he is now. He’s probably the only person who believed he could get back. To me, that’s a major accomplishment. To me, it’s unbelievable. Mentally, you always think you can. But you can’t answer to what your body has to deal with.”
Jordan famously suffered a fracture in his left foot during his second season with the Bulls. But other than that, he never had to deal with the significant physical problems Woods has had to deal with, from a torn ACL to a ruptured Achilles, topped by significant back problems before back fusion surgery two years ago allowed him to play without debilitating pain.
“I took two years off to play baseball, but nothing like that,” Jordan said. “I’m pretty sure he questioned himself, whether he could get it back, and he had to put a lot of work in. But he took it head-on. He had to change his game; he had to change his perspective a little bit. To me, it was the greatest comeback I’ve ever seen.”
Jordan watched the final round Sunday with Luke Donald, the former world No. 1 who finished third in the 2005 Masters, at a watch party. (Stars! They’re just like us!) For Jordan, what transpired was familiar: dealing with challengers, some more than a decade later, and having as your best weapon not a club, or a move, but your institutional knowledge.
“You rely so much on the mental toughness,” Jordan said. “Until you know what you’re capable of doing, you’re going to exert your will when you think you need to do so. But the biggest task is always going to be mental. You’re going against guys who are more gifted physically. But your advantage is mental. You have so many things you can draw upon, and the other guys don’t have the same. They don’t have the experience. You think about (Francesco) Molinari hitting it in the water on 12, (Tony) Finau hitting in the water, Brooks (Koepka) hitting in the water on 12. Mentally, (Woods) had to sustain it. From then on it was him trying to figure it out.”
Meanwhile, Woods hit into the middle of the green, instead of at the flag. And that made me wonder about the mentality of a superstar. In that moment, Woods could certainly have gone for it, too, to make a point — I can still hit this stiff. But he didn’t. He played it smart. And I wondered if that was hard for him, to walk away from the macho play.
“Nothing’s hard under those circumstances,” Jordan said. “All you want to do is pick the right club. All your fundamentals are all in play. He yanked it a little bit, but it’s the right yardage. From there, it’s a two-putt. What he wanted to do was play to his strengths, and his strength was being mentally tougher than a lot of the other guys. Those guys had to deal with him.”
Like everyone else, Jordan marveled at Woods’ ability to get back command of his bag so completely.
“He’s actually surprised me, and I’m happily surprised,” Jordan said. “I always thought the biggest advantage for Tiger is his irons. Even if you don’t hit it as long or you don’t putt it as well, his iron game is the best in the game. When you start to lose your skills, you have to concentrate on the mental. These guys are hitting it unbelievably long. Precision is his game. He went through a tough stretch with his chipping. But he’s come back stronger.”
Michael Jordan, with Tiger Woods at a Pro-Am in 2007, says Tiger’s “confidence is only going to build from here.” (Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
Now that Woods has his 15th major, Jordan believes the road ahead for his friend is clear.
“Dealing with his emotions, obviously he believed in himself,” Jordan said. “But until you put that into action, sometimes it’s a struggle. I think he’s gotten over the hump. I think he’s going to win more. It’s tough mentally. It’s absolutely tough mentally. And then you think about the physical. I’m elated.
“They (Woods’ tour opponents) got problems. His confidence is only going to build from here. The unknown is the biggest thing. You don’t know what Tiger’s capable of doing. He’s won a tour event (the Tour Championship last September), he’s won the Masters, he’s won a major.”
Jordan called Woods this week to congratulate him.
“There were so many people that were doubting him,” Jordan said. “You can think about the physical. But he overcame a lot of mental things, too. Not just the physical aspects, but all the scandals, too. I was watching TV and they were congratulating him, but the first thing they bring up is the negative aspect. That’s what he had to deal with. Granted, we all make mistakes. But for him to come back and be able to win again, it’s far tougher than anything I think anybody’s had to deal with.”
Jordan still plays golf, of course. But now he watches his Charlotte Hornets, the team he became majority owner of in 2010. The Hornets, unlike Woods, finished just out of the money this past season, missing the playoffs by two games. There will be no comeback this time.
“It’s tough sitting where I sit,” Jordan said. “I have no control without the ball in my hands. It’s driving me crazy. But it’s fun.”
(Top photo of Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan: Warren Little / Getty Images)
Exclusive: Michael Jordan weighs in on Tiger Woods:...
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goat recognize goatness
so its understandable 
HE MISSED 3+ YRS
