We Were All Cheated On

In 1994, I took up the game of golf. I was horrific at it in the beginning. I'm decent today as I carry somewhere around a 12-14 handicap. Anyhow, that year I tuned into the United States Amateur Championship hosted by the USGA. The venue was TPC at Sawgrass. The cameras from NBC were there as a golfing phenom was introduced to the entire country up close and personal in their living rooms. He won that event. In 1995, he returned to defend his title and NBC returned as did I to watch a repeat take place. A true legend was in the making. In 1996, he returned once again, and tried for the three-peat. I, along with NBC, returned and watched as he pulled off the improbable and became the first player in the history of the game to win three consecutive US Amateur Championships. For the first time in a long time, golf was mainstream. All thanks to Tiger Woods and Nike. Hello World...

By the way, does anyone tune into the US Amateur any longer? Didn't think so. Anyhow, I digress...

Phil Knight knew that he had latched on to something special. A generational player who was bound to pay huge dividends. Friends of mine who did not play or watch golf, suddenly began playing and watching like their lives depended on it. Tiger was going to make golf cool and Nike was willing to wager $40 million along with Titleist's $20 million. $60 million given to a rookie golf professional who had yet to win a tour event. Forty-two weeks later, he had a few wins under his belt, including the 1997 Masters by a record twelve strokes, and the title of the world's number one ranked golfer. That was fast.

Over the next decade, Woods would dominate in historic fashion, racking up the vast majority of his 71 PGA Tour wins (3rd all time), the bulk of his 14 major championships (2nd all time), and apparently developed a ridiculously narcissistic alter ego who struggled with fidelity, sex addiction, and simply being a good husband and a decent human being. Enter November 2009 which provided the springboard for the infamous Escalade accident, allegations of a cheating scandal, a 20 week hiatus from professional golf, and essentially what I am afraid is the end of an era. Matter of fact, I was certain that it was only a matter of time before Woods broke Nicklaus' record of 18 major championship victories. Now, not only do I doubt this, but I strongly doubt it. And it pisses me off.

Tiger is 35 years old. This is a pivotal age in the world of professional golf. Nicklaus won four majors beyond the age of 35. Frankly, most of us thought this would be the period of time when Woods was "padding his lead" over Nicklaus and the rest of the golfing world. Talk of 20-25 majors was commonplace among not only the media, but golf fans the world over. This was a done deal. It was not a matter of if, but when. However, we found out that Tiger is not this cold, calculating android of a golfer. He's human and he has lost his intimidation factor on tour. Before, if he sniffed the lead on Sunday, it was game over. You had no shot whether your name was Bob May, Rocco Mediate, or Phil Mickelson. He had something over you that you could not escape the grasp of. This is now becoming simple math. Tiger is going to play roughly 59 more majors before he is 50 years of age. Do you think he is going to win five of those? Neither do I.

The reason I am so irritated by this is we were watching Babe Ruth in his prime. I recall how I felt when I learned that Barry Sanders was retiring from football. I couldn't believe it. There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that he would be the NFL all time rushing leader today had he not retired when he did. It should be noted that while he left the game early, he was healthy, and he did it on his terms. While it was disappointing when he called it quits, I had major respect for his decision. There was more to life than football. However, with Tiger it is quite different. I feel cheated. This was his doing, albeit inadvertently. How on earth did he manage to hide all of his extramarital activities, appear as a happily married man, all the while owning the PGA Tour like nobody ever did before him? Do you know how hard it is to keep all those lies straight? It is a modern miracle that the proverbial crap did not hit the fan much sooner. Yet, he managed to juggle it all for better and for worse.

Tiger's main focus his entire life has been golf and catching and passing Jack's records. "Second sucks" is a phrase that he barked at Curtis Strange early on in his career during an interview and he caught flack for it from tour veterans. Yet, we learned to understand where he was coming from as he would essentially win one out of four tournaments he started throughout his career to this point. This statistic is astounding and may never be repeated. Certainly, everyone is counting out Tiger at this point with respect to his stated goal of winning more majors than anyone else in the history of the game. His swing is inconsistent, his mental advantage gone, and he is entering a portion of his life without a wife and children to share his home with. Yes, his best days are behind him. Perhaps this is the ultimate contrarian indicator. Nobody believes he has it in him. In a weird, odd way, something tells me this is exactly what he needs. It was too easy for him in the past. His challenge is before him. America loves the comeback and redemption story. This nation is literally begging for Tiger to come out of his funk and dominate the sport once again. Can he do it? All of my rationale tells me absolutely no way. I sure hope I am wrong. While the young guns are fun to watch, they are not Tiger as they do not bring the casual fan to the game or the ratings to the tournaments. The Tour needs Tiger of old, sans the fourteen or so, ahem, "friends." Ask any serious golf fan and they will probably agree.