Roaring Back: The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods

by Curt Sampson

Overview

The incredible true story of Tiger Woods’s dramatic comeback following his humbling and very public personal, physical, and professional setbacks.

One publicly imploded marriage. Two car accidents. Eight surgeries. And now, a miracle of hard work and storied talent: five Masters wins. Once hailed as “the greatest closer in history” before he fell further than any beloved athlete in America’s memory, Tiger swung at the world’s wildest expectations and beat the skeptics with his April 2019 Masters championship. Roaring Back traces his road to Augusta and the improbable, phenomenal comeback of one of the greatest golfers in history.

New York Times–bestselling author Curt Sampson details the highs and lows of Woods’s career in three gripping acts. From his startling loss at the 2009 PGA Championship, detrimental obsession with his swing, and that infamous night involving an ex-wife and a nine-iron…to adoring fans and lucrative sponsors turning their backs, exclusive interviews with past instructors and PGA tour peers, and an arrest complete with a toxicology report . . . finally to Tiger coming from behind for his fifth green jacket as the crowd rumbled in Georgia, and how his comeback rivals those of the most dramatic in his sport.

Sampson also places Woods’s defeats and triumphs in the context of historic comebacks by other notable golfers like Ben Hogan, Skip Alexander, Aaron Silton, and Charlie Beljan, finding the forty-three-year-old alone on the green for his trajectory of victory against all odds. As this enthralling book reveals, Tiger never doubted the perseverance of the winner in the mirror.

“Sampson admirably details all the highs and lows.” —Jim Nantz, CBS Sports

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635766820
Publisher:	Diversion Books
Publication date:	12/16/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	186
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Curt Sampson is one of America's leading golf writers and the author of many books, including New York Times bestsellers The Masters and Hogan. He has written for Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest, and Golf World.Kyle Tait is a professionally trained voice actor and narrator in Atlanta, Georgia. His first brush with a microphone came in sports radio, calling baseball in the Atlanta Braves' organization. He started voicing audiobooks during the off-season; a few years later, he left baseball to work as a narrator full-time.

Editorial Reviews

11/25/2019

In this stirring assessment of Tiger Woods, Sampson (The Masters) takes readers through the golfer’s life. Structured by significant moments in Woods’s career—the legendary 1997 Masters tournament; the 2009 PGA Championship loss to Y.E. Yang and Woods’s car accident months later; his stunning 2019 Masters victory—the biography incisively captures the famously inscrutable Woods. Throughout, Sampson weaves snippets of his interviews with Woods along with examples of how the golfer rebuilt his career, such as by hiring golf instructor Sean Foley (“a kettle of fish of a different color... he spoke biomechanics, not Hogan catch-phrases” and listened to rap music), and prepared himself before practice—Woods sometimes waking “at a quarter to four” to prepare for early tee times, an especially arduous task for his aching body. Sampson also provides insights into the early years of Woods’s career, discussing his reluctance to accept the role of “Ambassador of his Race” while also acknowledging father Earl Woods’s determination that his son not face the “racial injustice” he had in his youth. Perhaps most striking, Sampson writes with eloquence about Woods’s recent triumph at the Masters, the culmination of his years of recovery, and how the 2019 victory at age 43 “tapped into our intense and undying interest in tales of redemption.” This is a must-read for Woods’s fans and casual golfers alike. (Oct.)Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly noted Tiger Woods's age when won the 2019 Masters.

Publishers Weekly

Advance Praise for Roaring Back





"As I said live on the air, Tiger Woods’ victory at the 2019 Masters marked the completion of one of the great comebacks in any sport, all-time. In Roaring Back, Curt Sampson admirably details all the highs and lows that led him to that historic moment. Like Tiger’s performance in Augusta, it’s a book for the ages.” — Jim Nantz, CBS Sports





"If it were possible to clone Ring Lardner and Sinclair Lewis—with a dusting of the late Dan Jenkins for seasoning—you might come close to creating Curt Sampson. In Roaring Back, Sampson artfully charts the pain-filled odysseys of the game's greatest Comeback Kids from Ben Hogan to Tiger Woods, whose wrenchingly public fall from grace sets up a strikingly human tale of rebirth that illustrates why we Americans are born suckers a good resurrection story. This unflinching chronicle puts Tigermania in much-needed, clear-eyed perspective. It's a helluva fun read, as well." — James Dodson, bestselling author of Final Rounds and American Triumvirate





"I have known Tiger Woods since he was sixteen years old and borne witness, first hand, to his dramatic rise, fall, and redemption. Many writers have tried and failed to capture Tiger's mercurial essence over the years, but Curt Sampson does so here magnificently. Roaring Back is the literary equivalent of a championship putt." — Peter Jacobsen, Golf Channel/NBC Sports





"More words have been written trying to capture the heart and mind of the enigmatic Tiger Woods than any other golfer in history, including members of a legendary foursome: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Curt Sampson has been aggressively chasing Tiger for more than twenty years. In Roaring Back, he at last lays bare, through wry, observant prose, the truth of the man whose singular greatness inspired an entire generation of golfers and whose extraordinary comeback inspired the world." — Don Van Natta, Jr., bestselling author of First Off The Tee and Wonder Girl





Praise for Curt Sampson





"Jack Nicklaus may own six green jackets, but no one has captured the Masters like [Curt] Sampson." — The (Baton Rouge) Advocate





“The old sports writing axiom says, ‘The smaller the ball, the better the writing,’ and Sampson certainly has chops commensurate with golf's small sphere…. Sampson's connections in the sport are on par with his authorial flair….Sampson is best at capturing the details the smell of pine straw on a course or the flush on the back of a pressured participant's neck as only a golf aficionado and ace writer can.” — Publishers Weekly





"This crisp account [and] vivid retelling of what happened in Augusta in April 2019...will have fans reliving the improbable moments of that inspirational final round....An essential bit of golf history and a fine warm-up for Woods' forthcoming memoir."—Booklist





“[Sampson’s] writing about golf is punchy…and very much in-the-know.”—InfoDad Blog

From the Publisher