Editor
22 April 2010 - 16:41
by Nigel Brown
Why Tiger must play the protagonist and lead American golf out of a black hole…
This morning the ridiculed charlatan of the sporting world, Tiger Woods, confirmed the next stage of his heavily PR controlled comeback trail by revealing he will be competing in the Players Championship beginning on May 6th. The former World Number 1 returned to a predominantly positive reaction at the Masters with only a few members of the watching public taking a vow of abstinence. A phrase that certainly hasn’t been in Tiger’s dictionary in recent years…
The once revolutionary cub, who raised the bar of modern golf and walked with a self assured swagger, looked an open book, and in need of healing. In the past Tiger has been criticised for being closed off from the rest of the PGA tour, labelled arrogant; with PGA officials levelling a heavy disparaging analysis of his spitting, refusal to sign autographs, swearing, and generally poor etiquette on the golf course. But a new beginning beckoned…
Tiger Woods 2: Back in the hole
Could there ever be a more fitting opening scene to “Tiger Woods 2: Back in the hole” than the Masters at Augusta; an histori, romantic course which immediately conjures images of Tiger’s first Major win, that 2005 birdie chip on the 16th, the last sign of Nick Faldo’s magic touch, and the home of the tranquil swing of Fred Couples.
Tiger learned immediately that despite the previous aura and recognition he carried on the Tour, the rules would not be bent for him as they once were. The Augusta club took their calculated swipe at Woods with the club’s chairman paying lip service to his extra-curricular activities, as well as rejecting his request to stay in a ‘club cabin’ to avoid the media. Tiger stayed, like his peers, in an ‘Augusta House.’ And, why not? The healing needed to begin with Tiger as one of the boys; this was not the time or place to put himself on a pedestal.
On the opening tee he looked, as imagined, sheepish, but eager to play golf. The only pain he experienced was a progressive over-sized swelling of the eyes thanks to Augusta’s blooming flowers and foliage. His golf, both swing and game-play lacked consistency, but allowed him to play with the hand-break off, and, even saw him by the end of his first nine, interact and respect the crowd, even raise a smile. With the hand-break off we experienced both the magical and inspiring, but also the tardy and the lazy. However a tie for fourth and a smile back on his face is more than Tiger could have expected six months ago.
Repay golf and protect your legacy…
Tiger took the baton before in 1996 and lead the Tour into a fresh and exciting modern era of golf, re-defining records and standards on the course. But now at the time of writing, despite Phil “lefty” Mickelson winning the Masters, there are only fourteen Americans in the top 50 in the world, compared to 31, when the first World Rankings were announced in 1986. With the leading lights from across the pond entering the final phase of their careers (Phil Mickelson is 39, Steve Stricker 43, Kenny Perry, 50, and Jim Furyk, 39) a dangerous black hole of golfing quality has emerged.
Given the circumstances it is now time for Tiger to start work on his legacy; his renaissance must be swift; the new chapter must be fulfilling. Woods must take responsibility for moulding the next generation of young American golfers. With the Ryder Cup later this year, the world number one must set an example to the viewing public using a tournament at which national prestige is at stake to lead his young peers into a new dawn. While Europe have produced the talents of Rory McIlory and Ross Fisher, and Asia has seen the rise of the exciting Ryo Ishikawa, it is Woods who must foster starlets like Rickie Fowler and help re-ignite American golf.
Celtic Manor calling…
Europe have begun 2010 firmly in control of the power struggle between both land masses, but the defining moment will be the Sunday evening of the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. If Tiger Woods can find form on the course, massage the next generation of stars and stripes, and help engineer a Ryder Cup win on European soil, re-positioning American golf, his legacy will glimmer once more, and his place among the golfing alumni will be preserved with character and class, rather than a shrug and a shake of the head.
Tiger Woods is back, and if we have judged him on his actions previously, so we owe him the consistency and courtesy to continue to judge him in the same manner and boundaries. Infidelity, possible divorce, and Las Vegas cocktail waitresses aside…both Tiger and the public have come to realise that sporting prowess doesn’t put you beyond everyday temptations. He must accept new responsibilities both on and off the course. Writing in Sports Illustratedin 1996, journalist Gary Van Sickle wrote the following about the emergence of Tiger:
“Golf, as we know it, is over. It came to an end on a chamber-of-commerce Sunday evening in Las Vegas when Tiger Woods went for the upgrade: He's not just a promising young Tour pro anymore, he's an era.”
Well, if Tiger was an era then, we have seen that era end. But let us all be fair to Tiger the human, and judge him on his actions in the next era, of what could be, a record breaking second instalment. Watch out Mr Nicklaus, Tiger is coming, 14 majors down, 4 to go…
Tiger is dead. Long live, the respectful and dignified Mr. Woods…