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The Tiger Slam
The Inside Story of the Greatest Golf Ever Played (Tiger Woods in 2000–2001)
By Kevin Cook
Table of Contents
About The Book
Twenty-five years ago, Tiger Woods achieved the greatest feat in golf history: the “Tiger Slam.” Now, for the first time, the award-winning author of Tommy’s Honor delivers a riveting account of Tiger at his most brilliant—dominating the game in a way we will never see again.
In 1997, as every schoolchild knows, Tiger Woods wins the Masters by the largest margin in history, becoming the first Black player to win a major championship. Four years later, the world watches with breathless anticipation as he returns to Augusta National, aiming for a milestone no other golfer has ever achieved: four professional Grand Slam triumphs in a row.
In The Tiger Slam, Kevin Cook delivers a gripping, inside-the-ropes account of an astonishing streak of victories that left Woods’s rivals scrambling to keep up. Readers will hear from many of golf’s biggest names—Tiger’s caddie, his coach, his opponents, his idols, and others, all offering fresh insight into the electrifying highs of his victories and the obstacles on and off the course that threatened his relentless pursuit of perfection.
We join Tiger at the beginning of his Slam: the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach. In a notoriously grueling tournament designed to bring golfers to their knees, who could even dream of winning by a record margin of fifteen strokes? Tiger could. We follow him to the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews a few weeks later for the 2000 Open Championship, where he transforms his game to meet the singular demands of the links. Still only twenty-four, he leaves the Old Course as the youngest player ever to complete a career grand slam.
We follow Tiger to the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he fights a spectacular Sunday duel with a player he grew up idolizing, ending with a playoff that changed the course of golf history. Finally, we return to legendary Augusta National, site of his record-breaking first major championship, to see if he can be the first to sweep all four majors. Dogged by reports of an early-season slump, facing a supposedly “Tiger-proofed” course, golf’s superstar tees off against his two fiercest adversaries in an unforgettable final round.
The Tiger Slam is the epitome of greatness in sport, a feat as exhilarating today as it was twenty-five years ago. In fact, it’s even more so, now that we know we’ll never see its like again. Such dominance is unthinkable in modern golf’s era of parity. Kevin Cook invites us to close our eyes and remember a young champion at the peak of his powers: unmatched raw strength, single-minded focus, strategic genius, and utter fearlessness. The Tiger Slam takes readers behind the scenes in the thrilling months when Tiger Woods took an ancient game to new heights.
In 1997, as every schoolchild knows, Tiger Woods wins the Masters by the largest margin in history, becoming the first Black player to win a major championship. Four years later, the world watches with breathless anticipation as he returns to Augusta National, aiming for a milestone no other golfer has ever achieved: four professional Grand Slam triumphs in a row.
In The Tiger Slam, Kevin Cook delivers a gripping, inside-the-ropes account of an astonishing streak of victories that left Woods’s rivals scrambling to keep up. Readers will hear from many of golf’s biggest names—Tiger’s caddie, his coach, his opponents, his idols, and others, all offering fresh insight into the electrifying highs of his victories and the obstacles on and off the course that threatened his relentless pursuit of perfection.
We join Tiger at the beginning of his Slam: the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach. In a notoriously grueling tournament designed to bring golfers to their knees, who could even dream of winning by a record margin of fifteen strokes? Tiger could. We follow him to the hallowed grounds of St. Andrews a few weeks later for the 2000 Open Championship, where he transforms his game to meet the singular demands of the links. Still only twenty-four, he leaves the Old Course as the youngest player ever to complete a career grand slam.
We follow Tiger to the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he fights a spectacular Sunday duel with a player he grew up idolizing, ending with a playoff that changed the course of golf history. Finally, we return to legendary Augusta National, site of his record-breaking first major championship, to see if he can be the first to sweep all four majors. Dogged by reports of an early-season slump, facing a supposedly “Tiger-proofed” course, golf’s superstar tees off against his two fiercest adversaries in an unforgettable final round.
The Tiger Slam is the epitome of greatness in sport, a feat as exhilarating today as it was twenty-five years ago. In fact, it’s even more so, now that we know we’ll never see its like again. Such dominance is unthinkable in modern golf’s era of parity. Kevin Cook invites us to close our eyes and remember a young champion at the peak of his powers: unmatched raw strength, single-minded focus, strategic genius, and utter fearlessness. The Tiger Slam takes readers behind the scenes in the thrilling months when Tiger Woods took an ancient game to new heights.
About The Author
N/A
A former Sports Illustrated senior editor and editor in chief of Golf Magazine, Kevin Cook has written about golf for Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications, and talked about the game on ESPN, CNN, and Fox News. His first book, Tommy’s Honor, won the US Golf Association’s Herbert Warren Wind Award.
Product Details
- Publisher: Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (December 10, 2024)
- Length: 320 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668043646
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Raves and Reviews
“The greatest single-year achievement in golf—since Hogan in ’53 or Jones in ’30—gets the definitive narrative it deserves in Kevin Cook’s masterful recreation of Tiger’s remarkable peak performance.”
—Mark Frost, New York Times bestselling author of The Greatest Game Ever Played and The Match
“There are countless Tiger books but Kevin Cook's is the rare must-read, elevated by his reporting chops and lively prose. As Woods continues to fade away, it is a pleasure to relive those long-ago days when he owned the game and the attention of every sports fan.”
—Alan Shipnuck, New York Times bestselling author of LIV and Let Die and Phil
“It is more than likely we will never see a major championship stretch like this again in our lifetime. But two things are for sure: I am thrilled that when Tiger won the Masters in 2001, I proclaimed the Tiger Slam to be ‘as grand as it gets,’ and secondly, I’m thrilled that Kevin Cook is the one recounting Tiger’s jaw-dropping Grand Slam conquests. This book is truly as grand as it gets!”
—Jim Nantz, CBS Sports
“Even from the leading edge of the commentary team, on the ground with Tiger, it was difficult to put in words how brilliant he was during this period. Kevin Cook has captured those ten months and provided as accurate a description of the best golf ever played as I have seen. A must-read for Tiger fans and haters alike!”
—David Feherty
Praise for Tommy’s Honor:
Winner of the Herbert Warren Wind Award from the US Golf Association
“Golf history at its absolute best.” —Bill Ott, Booklist (starred review)
“A stirring tale of tragedy, triumph, faith and perseverance. Kevin Cook reveals Old Tom Morris as golf’s first hero, a paragon who worked to make St. Andrews the symbol of the game’s enduring greatness. Every golfer should read Tommy’s Honor.” —Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters champion
Praise for Ten Innings at Wrigley:
“Hugely enjoyable . . . A natural raconteur with a jaunty press-box style, Cook . . . winningly captures the atmosphere of a looser, shaggier Wrigley, with off-duty waitresses and college students smoking pot in the bleachers and jawing at Phillies outfielders . . . A raffish, freewheeling book.” —The Washington Post
“Ten Innings at Wrigley will be read for years.” —Booklist (starred review)
Praise for Electric October:
Winner of the Ron Gabriel Award of the Society for American Baseball Research
“Heartfelt and entertaining . . . Cook’s narrative is splendid, but the subtext of his book is even better.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A poignant study that goes beyond baseball.” —The New York Times
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