40 days until golf: Tiger's amazing rebound at 1997 Masters

The PGA Tour plans to restart its season June 11 after halting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Each day until then, we'll highlight key moments, people, or facts relating to where we are in the countdown.

Eight months after turning pro and already with three PGA Tour victories on his resume, Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta National in 1997 with sky-high expectations.

He'd played the Masters twice prior as an amateur, finishing tied for 41st in 1995 at 19 years old and missing the cut a year later. But another middling result was far from acceptable in Tiger's first attempt as a professional while ranked No. 13 in the world.

Simply put, his week got off to a terrible start. He bogeyed No. 1, 4, 8, and 9 en route to a 4-over 40 to open the tournament. It was going to be an uphill battle if Tiger was going to make the weekend, let alone win his first green jacket.

But, as we know, it didn't take long for Woods to recover. He flicked a switch and posted 30 on the back nine with four birdies and an eagle for the largest nine-hole differential in Masters history.

Woods was locked in from then on. He shot rounds of 66 and 65 to enter Sunday with a massive nine-shot lead. Here's what Colin Montgomerie, who was in a tie for sixth at the time, had to say about the field's chances going into the final round.

Montgomerie was right. Woods shot 69 and cruised to a 12-shot victory for his first of 15 major championship titles.

Tiger's win set a number of records, most notably among them:

• Youngest Masters champion at 21 years, 3 months, 14 days
• Lowest 72-hole score (271), since tied by Jordan Spieth
• Largest margin of victory (12); four shots is the closest since
• Worst first nine holes by a champion (40)

Is there ever a bad time to rewatch this highlight?