A young Tiger Woods opens up to Oprah Winfrey

Remember when Tiger Woods was cool and winning every golf tournament he entered (or so it seemed)? With Oprah Winfrey ending her popular daytime show Wednesday, Golf.com suggested it was a good time to look back on Woods’ 2001 appearance with the Queen of Talk.

Tiger Woods told (almost) all to Oprah Winfrey back in 2001 (Photo: Ezra Shaw/Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Watching the 25-year-old Woods gab with Winfrey, who introduced the golfer as "my son," may be a sobering experience for Tiger fans. The erstwhile golf ace talked about being uneasy with the adulation he received after winning the ’01 Masters and achieving the career grand slam.

"I just feel comfortable hitting soft draws and fades," a smiling Woods said.

Winfrey reminded her viewers that, following a year (2000) in which Woods captured six straight events, observers worried about Tiger ever winning again.

"Earlier this year there was talk of a slump," Oprah said in her introductory remarks. Then Woods capped his run of four consecutive major champions by taking the Masters. "Did someone say, ‘slump?’" Winfrey said.

It was illuminating -- 10 years removed -- to hear Woods open up to Oprah (what celebrity hasn’t spilled her or his guts to Ms. Winfrey during her 25 years on air?) about what golf had taught him ("discipline, integrity, sportsmanship"); his glee at appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the first time ("That’s what every dude wants to do"); and his need to have everything neatly in its place ("Anal, definitely, I am").

He talked about nearly "losing it" after winning the Masters in 2001 and how he held it together long enough for the obligatory post-round bonding ceremony.

"All of a sudden, I realized I had no more shots to play, I was done, and I had somehow come out on top," Woods said. "I have to shake [Phil Mickelson’s] hand and I don’t want to be sobbing....You don’t want to be sobbing in front of your opponent."

Woods also let on that even he got butterflies during tight matches. "I love feeling the rush of adrenaline, I love feeling nervous, like your eyeballs are beating," an enthusiastic Woods shared with the host. "I’m no different than anybody else....On the inside sometimes I’m dying, but I absolutely love the feeling."

Some things have not changed. While his words may ring a tad hollow in these days of his never-ending winless skein, swing changes, and injuries, the younger Woods was exuberant about his desire to come out on top.

"I enjoy competing. I enjoy coming down the stretch with a chance to win," he said. "That’s why I practice..., that’s why I play."

The feel-good interview with the one and only Oprah may cause some to wonder if the Woods’ sex scandal could have played out differently if he had (as many pundits suggested) sat down with Oprah immediately after his car crash. We’ll never know.