Chewing gum, 4am stretches and willpower: Tiger Woods' Masters miracle dissected

Tiger Woods' victory at the Masters was about far more than just superb golf. Off the course, every aspect of Woods' preparations was geared for victory. Charlie Eccleshare asks the experts how he did it.

Rob Madden

Physio and strength and conditioning specialist  

Sleep is absolutely critical for a sportsperson. So for an athlete to sacrifice it as Tiger Woods did in waking up at 4am on Masters Sunday to go through his stretching routine, you understand how much he values his physiotherapy. 

Ordinarily sportspeople will warm up for 30 to 60 minutes before a big event, but Woods feels it is necessary to spend a lot of time doing physio and getting ready physically before he plays (he did not tee off until 9.20am local time on Sunday).  And when the results are as stunning as they were in Augusta, it is clear that Woods got his preparation absolutely spot on. 

Physios around the world would love to know more about his preparation because to be doing what he is doing at the age of 43 after eight operations is phenomenal. What we can surmise is that Woods' pre-competition physio would likely have been a mixture of passive and active. Passive is when the physio is doing most of the work - like with a massage - whereas active is when the athlete is leading the stretches.