Epic Turnaround Begs the Question – Great Comeback Or Excellent Sandbag?

At the 1997 Masters Tournament, Tiger Woods was the overwhelming favorite heading into the first round. However, those who put their faith in the 21-year-old to take home the Green Jacket in his first appearance at Augusta might have been shaken to their core as he made the turn on Thursday with a +4 40.

But that all changed.

Woods would go on to destroy the course over the next 63 holes, winning by a comfortable 12-stroke margin over Tom Kite. It was one of the most impressive turnarounds in the history of golf, especially by someone who was making their initial appearance at perhaps the most nerve-wracking course in professional golf.

We have ourselves a similar situation here. I am not sure what way to lean on this one because we only have limited information. In a post by mini-tour legend Monday Q Info on Twitter (I guess it’s X now, but I’m not calling it that), one guy has had the greatest turnaround in tournament history.

Possibly the greatest turnaround in Club Championship history.

This man, fired a 98 the first day and a 71 today. It included:

-A NINETEEN stroke diff on the front
-He played 4-5 two under today and +10 yesterday.
-Total 27, TWENTY-SEVEN strokes better.

Golf is dumb. pic.twitter.com/76Oum3w9dD

— Monday Q Info (@acaseofthegolf1) August 13, 2023

Starting off with an opening round 98 would lead many competitors in a club championship to hang up their golf shoes and settle in at the 19th hole.

The opening round had just five pars and a lot of bogeys (I’ve been there more than I like to admit). The next day the guy comes out and fired a 71!  That’s a 27-shot improvement from the day before. 

Honestly, I’m leaning more toward the guy who had some bad first-day jitters and put themselves in a bad spot they couldn’t get out of.  Is this the greatest example of how dumb golf can be, or is it an all-time sandbag performance?

Cover Image via Golf Digest