At this precise moment 25 years ago—early May 2000—the greatest golf of all time was being primed for liftoff. A then-24-year-old Tiger Woods, who had always played a wound golf ball with a ...

Tiger was a star, period. You can make the case that what Tiger Woods did 25 years ago is the most dominant yearlong performance by any athlete, anywhere, in any sport, at any time.

Already a three-time winner in 2000, Tiger Woods was maniacally pursuing excellence. Nike’s Kel Devlin, the man behind the golf ball that changed the sport at the start of the 21st century ...