Tiger Woods, a history-making Master, pays tribute to his black American mentors

A new age for golf: Tiger Woods tees off during the final round of the US Masters at Augusta, Georgia, yesterday on his way to victory as the youngest champion, at 21, with a score of 270, the lowest total ever recorded in the Masters, to win from Tom Kite by 12 strokes, the largest winning margin in the event. Woods, who is in his first year as a professional, afterwards acknowledged the significance of his place as the first African American and the first Asian American (his mother is from Thailand) to win the title, saying he remembered other black players such as Charlie Sifford, Jim Dent and Lee Elder. 'They paved the way for me to be here. I was thinking about them and what they have done for me and the game of golf. Coming up the 18th I said a prayer and said thanks.'

Photograph: Stephen Munday/Allsport