The Tiger Woods tree meme depicts the professional golfer shaking hands with a tree—or a random hand protruding from behind a tree.
Why was Tiger Woods shaking hands with a tree?
The photo where it looks like Tiger Woods is shaking hands with a tree comes from a moment at the 2024 Masters Tournament. Woods was on the 16th hole on the Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.
During a break, Woods reached over to shake hands with CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist, who had recently announced he would be retiring after his 40th Masters Tournament. The camera's angle relative to where Lundquist was standing made it look like just a forearm was extending from the tree.
Tiger Woods' reaction to the tree meme
In May, Tiger Woods appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. When the late-night host brought up the athlete's recent meme popularity, Woods opened up about the tree moment and explained that it was important to him to pay respects to Lundquist. He had no idea how the photo would turn out and how far the internet would take it.
At first, the memes were about Tiger Woods specifically.
Then, others started applying the meme to other funny situations
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