The Story of Sports Illustrated’s Tiger Woods 2019 Masters Cover Photo

This month Sports Illustrated is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and the golf team is commemorating the moment by looking back at some of our most iconic covers, including our double issue from April 22, 2019, featuring Tiger Woods.

Kohjiro Kinno didn’t wake up on Sunday morning of the 2019 Masters expecting to take a photo that would be splashed onto one of the boldest covers in Sports Illustrated’s history. But sports, and sports photography, are unpredictable, and that’s what transpired during a gray afternoon at Augusta National.

It’s rare for SI to print a cover with no words, but the editors have done it for moments where truly nothing else needed to be said. The image of Woods just after tapping in his winning putt at Augusta, after more than a decade of injuries, scandals and no major titles, told the story. Kinno, a longtime SI photographer who today freelances for several outlets, said there was something different in the air at Augusta that morning, as play began early to finish ahead of an afternoon storm. We caught up with Kinno, who was on assignment at the Paris Olympics, to get his memories from that photo.

Sports Illustrated: What was your assignment at the start of that day, and how did you end up tracking Tiger on the 18th hole?

Kohjiro Kinno: My assignment was to cover the leader of the tournament. It was a close leaderboard that day, and the leader changed a few times throughout the round. I kept my eye on the leaderboards around the course and eventually stuck with Tiger on the back nine, and just stayed with him all the way to 18. There’s no losing Tiger out on the course.

SI: It was a sea of people around the 18th hole. How did you get in position to even get that shot?

KK: That was my fifth Masters, so I knew I had to hurry up 18 to get to my spot. I was given the option of that photographer position and went with it. I settled in just as Tiger was finishing his second shot. It ended up short of the green, but I couldn’t really see that at the time because there were so many patrons blocking my view of his spot in the fairway. But I had a clear look at the green in front of me, so I waited for him.

SI: What about the moment itself. Tiger taps in and makes a visceral reaction that lasts for only an instant. How’d you capture it?

KK: I don’t remember too much of it. I just remember keeping my frame until he walked off the green. I was just waiting for any moment that told the story of the day.

SI: When did you realize what you had, and how did you find out it would be the SI cover image?

KK: By the time he was off the green, I was trying my best Olympic-walking-marathon-runner impression up the hill on 18 green and onto the ceremony area. [Ed note: Augusta forbids running, necessitating Kinno’s power-walk.] When I got to the ceremony I did a quick scroll on the back of my Nikon D5 camera, saw that I’d captured several frames from Tiger on the 18th green and on I went. I didn’t know one of those images would make the cover until the next day.

SI: When you see that photo today, what goes through your mind?

KK: I hadn’t seen that much of Tiger on a Sunday at a major, let alone the Masters. But my memories are more about the patrons that day. I could feel the energy, the anticipation of what could happen, and what ultimately did. I see it today and watch the replay and still don’t remember much of what happened on the green.

SI: Where does that photo rank for you among your collection?

KK: It was a special moment in my photography career but I also don’t like to stop there. Onto the next frame.