Roaring Back

November 25, 2019
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. (Oct.)Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly noted Tiger Woods's age when won the 2019 Masters.

November 15, 2019
Sportscaster Jim Nantz called Tiger Woods' victory in the 2019 Masters Tournament "the completion of one of the greatest comebacks in any sport, all-time." It was certainly that, and veteran golf writer Sampson shows why in this crisp account of both Woods' precipitous fall from greatness?the sex scandal in 2009, followed by the series of debilitating injuries (multiple surgeries, including a back fusion in 2017)?and the arduous road back to the Masters, where Woods won his fifth green jacket and fifteenth major championship. The basic facts of Woods' career will be familiar to golf fans, but Sampson brings context and backstory to each step along the way, exploring in the process Woods' obsession with perfecting an already near-perfect golf swing and the possible negative effect on his health of undergoing intensive training with Navy SEALs. But it's the vivid retelling of what happened in Augusta in April 2019 that will have fans reliving the improbable moments of that inspirational final round, which culminated in Woods' triumphant roar after sinking the final putt. A essential bit of golf history and a fine warm-up for Woods' forthcoming memoir, Back.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)