It could easily have been a scene from a movie, or at the very least a commercial. In 2005, the tension was palpable as Tiger Woods’ Nike ball tracked towards the 16th hole at Augusta National.

The head count was 33 — Tiger Woods was not in attendance. Thirty-two former winners, plus, per custom, the club chairman. There was nothing on Woods’s X account, or elsewhere, about his absence.

Tiger Woods has won the Masters five times in his career: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2019. It's the second most tournament victories of all time behind Jack Nicklaus.

Tiger Woods (L.) and caddie Steve Williams high-five after Woods' chip on the 16th hole during the final round of the 2005 Masters. Sports Illustrated via Getty Ima AUGUSTA, Ga. — Tiger Woods ...

Legendary golfer Tiger Woods has won The Masters Tournament five times, but he won't be competing at this year's edition in Augusta, Georgia. Woods shared last month that a ruptured Achilles will ...

Tiger Woods walks on the first hole during the first round of the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in Augusta, Ga. Credit: AP/David J. Phillip ...

Tiger Woods announced on Tuesday, April 1 that he's already healed from Achilles surgery in time to compete at the Masters next week. It turned out to be an April Fools' joke.

Even Tiger Woods might not have been immune to a possible Augusta hex. A lot of time has been spent analyzing Rory McIlroy’s post-Masters funk. No one, however, wants to contemplate the unthinkable.

A Masters without Tiger isn't a Masters at all (sort of) Wait, stop, rewind. That’s overblown. They held the tournament before he came along, and they aren’t exactly shutting things down now.

Tiger Woods and caddie Steve Williams begin to celebrate Woods' chip-in at the 2005 Masters. - Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images ...