cover image The Last Putt: 2 Teams, One Dream, and a Freshman Named Tiger

The Last Putt: 2 Teams, One Dream, and a Freshman Named Tiger

Neil Hayes, Brian Murphy, . . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $26 (358pp) ISBN 978-0-618-84004-5

Tiger Woods's extraordinary abilities on the golf course—and more recently, his personal life—have been documented exhaustively since he joined the professional golf ranks, but 15 years ago, he was simply a wide-eyed but confident freshman for the Stanford University team. Woods is far from the only compelling figure in Hayes and Murphy's gripping look at the 1995 NCAA golf championship, which featured Woods and his Stanford teammates up against their arch-nemesis, Oklahoma State. The two schools were a contrast, with Stanford, led by a coach with a “modest style,” putting together a team made to win a championship. Much like their star player's multiethnic background, the Stanford Cardinals were extremely diverse; Oklahoma State, meanwhile, had players who were mostly from well-to-do families that golfed frequently. The two teams' frequent battles throughout the year culminated in a sudden-death playoff at what many called the greatest match in NCAA golf championship history. Hayes and Murphy delve into not just the crucial strokes leading up to the game's thrilling conclusion but the iron-clad bonds that formed between teammates and their coaches. The authors craft a dramatic, detailed account of a relatively unknown event, and a look at Woods, before he became the world's most famous athlete. (Apr.)