When Tiger Woods ended his partnership with Mike “Fluff” Cowan in 1999. While CBS reported that Mike Cowan was on shaky ground after he didn't work for Woods at the Buick Invitational or the World Match Play Championship. However, the split felt sudden nonetheless.

Tiger Woods and Mike “Fluff” Cowan formed one of golf’s most impactful early partnerships. It began in 1996 when Woods turned professional. From their very first week at the Greater Milwaukee Open, they delivered immediate results, powering Tiger’s historic rise through the PGA Tour. After more than two years, everything changed.

While Woods clarified that he and Cowan had "discussed this over the past few weeks," before their partnership ended at the 1999 Nissan Open, Cowan spoke about it to Links Magazine years later. “I don’t hold a bit of animosity because he fired me. I don’t know why he did it exactly. I’ve never asked him, and I never will. I don’t care. It happened, and you move on,” he said.

Afterward, Cowan did what few expected: he stepped away quietly and tried to figure out where his career should go next. There was no public frustration, no search for answers, just a deliberate pause.

“I went home after the firing and waited it out… I considered trying to play as a professional… but nothing ever came of it," Cowan said during the interview. It was an honest crossroads moment. In the end, he accepted the split without resentment, treating it as another turn in a long career rather than a setback.

Between September 1996 and February 1999, they collected seven victories, including breakthrough wins at the Las Vegas Invitational and the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic during Tiger’s rookie season. But the defining moment came in 1997, when Cowan was on the bag for Woods’ 12-shot demolition at the Masters. The performance that reshaped modern golf and cemented the duo as a force.

But before everything unraveled, Cowan had witnessed Tiger at his most transformative; none more so than at Augusta in 1997.

Fluff’s Front-Row Seat at the 1997 Masters

When Cowan looks back on his time with Tiger, the 1997 Masters still defines their partnership. It wasn’t just Tiger winning, but the way he changed the course in real time. 

In the same interview with Links Magazine, Fluff said, “Just watching him take that golf course apart with both his length and his putter. Watching him hit pitching wedges into the 15th hole. I don’t think that had ever been done.” And soon enough, Tiger’s Thursday turnaround became the foundation of the entire week. From Cowan’s vantage point, that week felt different from the start.

Fluff recalled, “The 30 we shot on the back nine Thursday was just an unbelievable way to come back from shooting a bad score on the front nine; turning what could’ve been 75 or 76 or who knows what into 70 set the tone for the whole week.” Cowan stepped in at the right moment with a simple reset as they walked to the 10th tee.

He delivered a steadying reminder. “I said something to the effect of it’s nothing more than the start of a long tournament. Let’s go shoot something in the red, and we’ll be all right, and from there he just dominated that golf course.” From that point on, and with that adjustment, Tiger didn’t just contend took control of Augusta and never let it go.

So, while the split may have been sudden, but the legacy of what they built together never faded. For Fluff, the memories of those weeks, especially Augusta, still matter more than how it ended.

Written by

Dolly Bhamrick

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi