EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12 Finally Gets a Tradition Unlike Any Other

When Tiger Woods PGA Tour was first released in 1998, it set the standard for golfing video games.

Instead of having generic golfers and golf courses no one had ever heard of, Tiger Woods PGA tour took the steps to include competitors of Woods and courses the PGA visited each year. Throughout the years, as each release improved in graphics, game play and features, one glaring course was missing.

The Masters at Augusta National.

For years, video gamers and reviewers alike cried that Augusta National was the one feature course the game needed to make Tiger Woods PGA Tour a superior golf title. The Masters was the one elusive major that the franchise needed to make the game complete. But the odds of getting the course in the game was less than Augusta finally letting women as members.

Now, the wait is finally over, as the Masters is finally coming to Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12.

When EA Sports gained the exclusive rights, developers went to Georgia and laser scanned Augusta National hole by hole to get the best looking reproduction that it could. Now gamers can cross Hogan's bridge, take a stroll through Amen corner and contest for the coveted green jacket.

If that weren't enough, CBS golf analyst Jim Nance has come on board to commentate the game along with David Feherty. What could be better than when your golfer walks up to the first tee at Augusta and all of a sudden you hear through your TV speakers, "Hello friends, Jim Nance and David Feherty at Augusta National for the Masters."

Now if EA Sports can get the soothing music that CBS plays during coverage of the Masters, the game would be a grand slam.

As Tiger Woods is rehabbing his image, so is EA Sports. After having to start over with their NBA franchise, EA Sports took a step back to reevaluate the company. Gaining rights to the Masters is exactly what EA Sports needed.

Where does the Tiger Woods golf franchise go from here? Who knows. One thing is for sure: EA Sports and Tiger Woods PGA Tour '12 get the green jacket for nabbing Augusta National.