The 1997 Masters is rightly remembered as the week Tiger Woods announced himself as a future icon of the game, with the boy wonder winning by 12 shots at Augusta National.
Woods was making his first start in a major as a professional at The Masters. However, after taking the lead on Friday, the then-21-year-old never looked back.
It is well-known that Woods played his opening nine holes of the week in 40, opening the door for another player to set the pace on Thursday.
That player was John Huston, who had actually finished third on his Masters debut back in 1990. Unfortunately for Huston, his hopes of a first major victory were dashed during Friday’s second round.
John Huston led The Masters in 1997 before Tiger Woods stole the show
Huston went into the first major of 1997 having not won on the PGA Tour in more than three years. But there was reason for optimism that he may do well around Augusta National.
Over the previous three seasons, all three of Huston’s top-20 finishes in the majors had come amidst Georgia’s iconic pines. He also missed five cuts in that run, and was disqualified from the 1995 PGA Championship for signing for the wrong score.
Huston actually took the lead at The Masters thanks to an opening 67. His round had concluded with Huston holing out for eagle from 190 yards on the 18th hole.
Three shots back, in fourth place, was Tiger Woods.
Huston was one over par for the second round when he reached the 13th hole. However, he found Rae’s Creek with two of his shots and ended up walking away with a 10.
“It was pretty embarrassing,” he said, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. “You never know what’s going to happen in this tournament.”
Despite posting a second round of 77, Huston remained just outside the top-10 at the halfway stage. He was, however, now eight shots adrift of Woods.
Rounds of 75 and 70 over the weekend saw Huston finish in a tie for 21st.
His next top-10 in a major would come at the 2000 US Open as he finished fourth. The only problem was that Woods was 16 shots ahead of his countryman that week at Pebble Beach.
Huston won four more times on the PGA Tour after the 1997 Masters, with his last victory coming in 2003.
He also played in both the 1994 and 1998 Presidents Cups. However, he may not reflect too fondly on these weeks, having won one and lost seven of his eight matches in the event.
Huston never played in the Ryder Cup during his career.