Woods felt Michael Jordan influence as they drew | Golf News

Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan joined forces for a pro-am event prior to the 2007 Wachovia Championship, and the famous person duo carried out precisely as most would anticipate. The two American sporting legends drew a big crowd at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina, the venue internet hosting this yr’s Truist Championship after a one-year break while the course was being ready for the 2025 PGA Championship.

At that level, Woods was already a 12-time major winner and the most important draw in golf, while Jordan, freshly retired from the NBA, remained one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. Their joint look gave spectators a uncommon alternative to watch two all-time greats in motion.

Despite his critical demeanor, Woods prompt that Jordan had drawn him back into the same playful conduct the 2 first skilled when they performed their inaugural spherical together in Chicago in 1997, the same yr Woods gained his first Masters victory and one before Jordan’s sixth and ultimate NBA title with the Chicago Bulls.

“Whether it’s playing golf or playing cards or just hanging out, whatever it is, we’re always having a great time, always needling each other,” Woods said. “There’s always a wager of some sort on anything we do because we always want to one-up one another, and that’s the nature of how we are, and I think that’s also one of the reasons why we’ve been able to accomplish the things that we’ve been able to accomplish.”

While no concrete evidence emerged of Woods and Jordan inserting bets during the pro-am spherical, the six-time NBA champion’s well-known fame on the golf course left little doubt about what was seemingly happening. When pressed on whether or not any wagers had been made, Woods responded: “We’re not allowed to bet on the Tour.”

However, successful money on the golf course calls for the power to carry out under strain. Regardless of how masterfully Jordan demonstrated that high quality on the basketball court, it proved to be a appreciable problem when competing against arguably the best golfer of all time.

Despite Jordan being the older of the 2 — he was 44 at the time, while Woods was just 31 — the five-time Masters champion still praised his good friend’s spectacular athleticism.

“His golf game is a lot better than my basketball,” Woods said of Jordan.

“He’s still MJ on the court when he shoots; he just can’t do it for 48 minutes. It’s now like five minutes. But the shots, you know, the fadeaway, the drop step, he has it all still.”

No official file exists of how the duo carried out in the pro-am, though Woods went on to declare victory at the Wachovia Championship that weekend, securing his 57th PGA Tour title.