This is an interesting read. I have to say that it is not what I expected. There was a lot included in the book that I feel was not necessary. However, I did find the peek into the unknown world of golf and Tiger’s life to be well worth the read. You often wonder, or at least I do, what goes through the mind of those who have ‘achieved greatness’ and become public figures. Everything they say and do is fodder for the public and open to criticism. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

There are over 120 biographies written about Tiger Woods. This one is a really interesting look at Tiger Wood's career, with an emphasis on the last 7 years or so of "comeback" time for Tiger. I think the author did an excellent job of writing- the narrative was both informative and entertaining.

Roaring Back
Curt Sampson written about Tiger Woods at various junctures Tiger’s career.
This is an even handed look at the resurgent Tiger. The first part of the book takes us through Tiger’s issues requiring a comeback and the effort Tiger put into the effort.
The remainder of the book is spent mostly chronicling the 2019 Masters day by day with all the ups and downs amongst the leaders.
A great read for golf enthusiasts and interesting for students of human nature.

It isn’t too big a stretch to consider the victory by Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters tournament to be considered the greatest comeback in the history of sports – any sport. While that claim can be debated, no one will consider that comeback by a man whose many physical issues and personal problems were put on public display as one of the best stories of recent years. Long time golf writer Curt Sampson tells the story of Woods’ epic win and something that is hard for any golf journalist to obtain or discuss – some insight into Tiger Woods the man.

If a reader is looking for a lot of salacious details about the very public affairs of Woods that led to his divorce and subsequent treatment for sex addiction, the reader will have to look elsewhere. Sampson rarely mentions these in the book and when he does, he calls the infamous night in which Woods’ wife learned of the affairs as the “Revelation” as in Woods won the Masters nearly 10 years after the Revelation. This reviewer appreciated this as the book focused more on other aspects of Woods’ life such as his warrior demeanor - the section on his desire to be a Navy SEAL was very interesting reading.

Sampson writes about several people who were close in Woods’ inner circle during his best days in golf but are no longer a part of the circle, such as Steve Williams, Butch Harmon and of course his late father. These insights, most of which have been told in other publications or media, seemed fresh in this context and will help a reader understand the complex man that is Woods.

Sampson doesn’t leave his good writing only about Woods. His passages about the Augusta National course, especially those about the par three 12th hole during the last round of the 2019 tourney when three of the four men who were within two shots of the lead were battling to take control of the final round. Woods was the only one of the foursome (Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Francis Molinari were the other three) who avoided Rae’s Creek on that infamous hole of Amen Corner. It should also be noted that the reader will learn more about and actually feel a little sorry for these three excellent golfers who succumbed to Woods on that Sunday.

Finally, the ending of the book is also quite good as Sampson reminds the reader that while they are closing the book, the book on Tiger Woods’ career is not closed yet and it will be one of the great mysteries in sports to see how this develops. Will he regain that form that made him the best player in the game for nearly a decade and one that many consider to be the greatest in the history of golf, or will the 2019 Masters be a once-in-a-lifetime comeback for him? If one wants to learn more about this comeback and the complete story, this is the book to get.

I wish to thank Diversion Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.