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Tiger talk: The best quotes from Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods has had some incredible victories, many which have left the world speechless, here are his greatest quotes from some stellar performances.

Bursting onto the scene in 1996, Tiger Woods secured a five-year sponsorship deal, worth a reported $40million with Nike.

Even before stepping onto the PGA Tour, he was changing the face of golf.
His first Major Championship victory at the 1997 Masters by a record-setting 12 shots was Tiger just giving fans a taste of what was yet to come.
Bringing the great game to its knees on several occasions, Woods has provided the golfing world with so many remarkable moments.

From the US Open to the PGA Championship, he's conquered them all.

Here are Tiger Woods' best quotes:

1997 Masters

"I never told myself I was going to win. Saturday night I had a long talk with Pop and he said, "Sunday will be one of the toughest rounds you'll ever play in your life. There will be a lot of emotions." - ahead of his final round.

"It was a sense of accomplishment, but it was also a fulfillment of a lot of hard work and dreams. Every player growing up dreams of winning The Masters. - after winning his first Major.

"I think about it when I return to Augusta and remember what a cool experience it was. The tournament, the fans, hugging Pop and seeing my mom when it was over and what it meant for the minority players that came before me. I'll never forget that week." - Woods became the first African American player to win The Masters.

2000 US Open at Pebble Beach

"If you have the lead or you're in the lead, or it's neck and neck coming down the stretch, that's where I want to be. And I guess tomorrow, when I go out there, if I play solid golf and play the way I know I can, then somebody is going to have to shoot a really good number." - after taking a 10-stroke lead going into the final round.

"To finish a US Open this many under par, you know you played well. And this week, I drove the ball beautifully, hit a lot of good iron shots. But if you look back at each and every round, I made important par putts. - following his staggering 15-shot US Open victory.

2000 WGC NEC Invitational at Firestone

"I could see it in the air, and I stayed committed to the shot. Hit a nice little draw in there, about a two-yard draw. And from there, as it was falling, I couldn't see anything." - Woods talking about the 'shot in the dark' at Firestone.
"We could hear it. We just couldn't see anything." - The noise from the crowd.

"This is how I grew up playing. I used to sneak out on the golf course to go play. And to play in twilight like this and my dad and I used to always come in - we used to have probably two holes in pitch black or dark. But you have to call the shot you're going to hit; that's the only way you know where it's going to go. It's right-hand side, two-yard draw or three-yard cut back on the left-hand side cut back four yards. I don't know, but it was just like going back to junior golf days." - after playing twilight golf with his dad.

2001 Masters

"I didn't really do anything great. I just plodded my way along. I missed a few fairways. Got the ball on the green, just two-putted and moved on. That's basically how I played - or how I have played all week." - Tiger after posting a 68 and taking a one-shot lead into the final day.
"When you are focused so hard on each and every shot, you kind of forget everything else. When I didn't have any more shots to play, that's when I started to realize what I had done; I won the tournament, and I started getting a little emotional, and trying to pull it together. That's why I put the cap over my face, to pull it together." - on the moment he realised he'd won his second Masters and now held all four Major trophies.
"There's so many things that go into winning a Major championship. For that matter, any tournament, but more so Majors, because you've got to have your game peak at the right time, and on top of that, you've got to have some luck. You've got to get some good breaks, and you've just got to have everything kind of go right. And to have it happen four straight times, that's awfully nice." - on becoming the only golfer in history to hold four Major titles at the same time.

2005 Masters

"Well, I think under the circumstances, it's one of the best I've ever hit. I mean, if Chris makes his putt, I make bogey and all of a sudden, it's a different ballgame. All of a sudden, I'm one back. - Tiger talking about that iconic chip-in on the 16th.

"Got into a playoff and then I hit two of the best golf shots I had hit all week. The 3-wood was perfect. I felt so good over that shot and I hit it, and all of a sudden, the 8-iron I hit in there was flushed. That golf shot was cool, that thing to go up there just the way it did, and I made a nice little putt, too." - talking through how he won the play-off.
"He's hanging in there and so that's why it meant so much for me to be able to win this tournament with him kind of struggling, maybe give him a little hope, a little more fire to keep fighting." - on what the victory would mean to his dad who was battling with illness.

2005 British Open at St. Andrews

"Having the experience to call upon and know how to handle going out there and playing with the lead, I've done it before. So, I can always say that and believe in it, because I know I have done it. So hopefully tomorrow I can put a quality round together." - on closing out tournaments as he took a two-shot lead into the final day.
"Man, I tell you what, I honestly when I first started playing the Tour, I didn't think I'd have this many Majors before the age of 30. There's no way. No one ever has." - after winning his 10th Major title.
Tiger Woods British Open

Winner: Tiger on his way to a second British Open victory in 2005.

"This is as special as it gets. The home of golf. This is something you dream about. All players that want to win The Open Championship, automatically you go right to St. Andrews. This is it. This is as good as it gets. And to have won it twice and complete my career Grand Slam twice, it doesn't get any sweeter than that." - after securing victory at St. Andrews for the second time.
"As I said, I fell in love with it the first time I played it. In '95 when I played absolutely every single ball, all 18 holes into the wind, that what a great golf course is." - Tiger talking about his love for the 'home of golf'.

2006 British Open at Hoylake

"Well, there's not a day that I don't think I'll ever go through life without thinking about my dad. I love him dearly. Anytime I go back to my basics and work on grip, posture and stance and aim and all those things that I learned from him, I always think about those younger days. I honestly don't think there will ever be a day that I won't think about him." - on the passing of his father, Earl.
"At that moment it just came pouring out and of all the things that my father has meant to me and the game of golf, and I just wish he could have seen it one more time." - when Tiger cried in his caddie's arms after securing victory at Hoylake.
"It's a pretty sweet feeling, it really is sweet, to have this for an entire year at home. It's an incredible championship. The golf courses we get to play and the shots that you have to bring to this championship are ones that you never hit any other time throughout the year." - Tiger on successfully defending his British Open title.
"He would have been very proud, very proud. He was always on my case about thinking my way around the golf course and not letting emotions get the better of you, because it's so very easy to do in this sport." - discussing how his dad taught him to have a good mental approach.
"No doubt about it. Absolutely no doubt about it. Basically, to win your first tournament after my father had passed away, and for it to be a Major Championship, it makes it that much more special." - how victory at Hoylake meant so much.

2008 US Open at Torrey Pines

"That was actually one of the worst parts of the green. It's so bumpy down there. And I just kept telling myself two and a half balls outside the right. It took forever to break, but it finally snuck in there at the end." - on the putt which forced an 18-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.

"I lost my dad a couple years ago, and I know how special it was for him in 2002 for me to bring this home and talk to him about it and share it with him. I can't do that anymore, but now I'm a father, I'm on the other side now. So, it's probably the greatest tournament I've ever had." - on securing his first US Open win as a father.
"I'm glad I'm done. I really don't feel like playing any more. It's a bit sore. And I all I can say is the atmosphere is what kept me going. The tournament, being a Major Championship here at Torrey Pines, I couldn't ever quit in front of these people. It wasn't going to happen." - after battling severe knee pain to win at Torrey Pines.

2019 Masters

"It means the world to me. Their love and their support, I just can't say enough how much that meant to me throughout my struggles when I really just had a hard time moving around." - on having his son and daughter watching him win his fifth Masters.
"Yeah, absolutely. My dad shouldn't have come in '97. I mean, he had heart complications, and wasn't supposed to fly, but he flew and came. Gave me a putting lesson on Wednesday night, and the rest is history." - talking about the flashbacks he got of him and his dad when being embraced by his mum and children.
"I had serious doubts after what transpired a couple years ago. I could barely walk. I couldn't sit. Couldn't lay down. I really couldn't do much of anything. Luckily, I had the procedure on my back, which gave me a chance at having a normal life. But then all of a sudden, I realized I could actually swing a golf club again." - Woods talking about his inspiring comeback.
"It's got to be right up there, right, with all the things that I've battled through. Just was able to be lucky enough and fortunate enough to be able to do this again. It's ironic that I'm given a chance to play golf again, and lo and behold, I won a tournament coming from behind, which I had not done for the first 14. So it's just amazing
"It's special to me. It's special to my friends and family, and I think that everyone out here who was here got a chance to witness something that was amazing and just the competitive environment." - on whether it's the best Masters final round.

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