As an avid golfer I have watched lots of golf over the years and I mean lots. To me there is nothing better than propping up on the couch with a cold beer on both Satuday and Sunday of a Major Championship and watching the top players in the world compete at the highest level against the best of the best. But, I'll be honest, all of these lazy weekends spent on the couch instead of actually out at the course enjoying a round were because of one man. That's right, him. Tiger. Tiger Woods.
Back in the spring in 1997 I was just a mere 9 years old and I'll be honest I don't remember every detail from when the first African-American took Augusta by storm with a commanding 12 shot victory. But, at the completion of his "masterful" performance I distinctly remembe my father looking at me and saying, "Better watch this guy, he's going to really really good." So I watched. I have watched for the last 15 years. For the most part I've seen just about all of Tiger's 71 wins on The PGA Tour including his 14 Major Championship victories.
Growing up I realized that golf was a passion of mine and that I wanted to pursue it. I wanted to just keep working hard and getting better. Like many other kids during that time, I wanted to be like Tiger Woods. I wanted to win. So I kept watching. I watched the "old" Tiger absolutely dominate the field at Pebble Beach for his first U.S. Open. He finished with a 15 shot victory over Ernie Els and being the only player under par. 15 shots...15. Are you kidding me? Nobody does that. Not at a U.S. Open. Is this guy for real? So I kept watching. Later that year at the PGA Champioship I watched the famous "duel" with Bob May. I saw a man who was finally being challenged courageously by a worthy opponent and I was eager to see how he'd pull this out. All Tiger did was play his last 12 holes in 7-under par to force a playoff where he polished May off there with his famous putt where he "walked" the ball into the hole. Unreal. 7-under in your last 12 holes. Talk about refusing to lose. So I kept watching.
I remember the 2005 Masters like it was yesterday. Final round. Tiger missed the green left on the par-3 16th hole. That's when magic happened. Enjoy.
I jumped up and down on my couch like it was Christmas morning. And no Verne I have never seen anything like that in my life. How clutch is he? I mean people just don't do this in golf especially on the biggest stage at Augusta, on Sunday, in the final round. He went on to make an incredible putt for birdie on the 18th green on the first sudden death playoff hole. Exhausted, I kept watching. It was the summer of 2008 and I was working at Camp Laney in Northeast Alabama for the first time. Thank God Sundays at camp are lazy days because I put myself in front of the t.v. and watched a hobbled an almost broken down Tiger make a run at his 14th major championship at Torrey Pines. My man was in pain. He could hardly hit a solid tee shot much less walk 300 yards to the ball for his next shot. He found himself down, 1 shot back of Rocco Mediate going into the last hole. Who? Nonetheless I must give credit where credit is due, Mediate played extremely well that weekend and Sunday especially. Standing in the way of Mediate and his first Major Championship was a 12 foot birdie putt and you-know-who holding the putter. Once again, Enjoy.
Me and several of my buddies celebrated like no other when the putt swirled around the hole and fell in. I knew I could count on him, he always comes through in the clutch. Typical Tiger is what a lot of people say and I agree. He has a flare for the dramatics and I loved it everytime it happened. Tiger went on to win the following day on an 18-hole playoff where he once again had to make a putt on the last hole to force a sudden death 19th hole. Simply amazing.
And then he was gone. He took the rest of the '08 season off to have surgery on his broken leg and to fix a torn ACL. In '09 he won two events, no majors and since then has yet to win another golf tournament. We all know the fine details of the Thanksgiving car wreck in '09 and the many months of breaking news and Tabloid headlines that ensued forcing Tiger to come clean of his extramarital affairs. Don't get me wrong I'm not taking up for him or saying he's innocent because he made many bad decisions that has essentially ruined his life. It's hard to put yourself on the highest of all pedestals only to come crashing down from the fall. But that's the price he had to pay for his mistakes. He lost his marriage, tons of money, fans and his game has gone down-hill.
My years of growing up, especially my teenage years, are filled with memories of watching Tiger in his Sunday red shirt and black pants fist-pumping after a big putt that would undoubtedly break his opponents. I mimicked Tiger's every move on the golf course, or at least i tried to. I specifically remember sinking a big putt in a high school golf tournament and throwing up a big Tiger-like fist pump with a whole 4 people watching in the crowd! I've seen Tiger at his ultimate highest peak on the sports mountain and now I fear that I have seen him at his ultimate lowest point.
If you'd have asked me in 2009 if Tiger would still catch Jack Nicklaus's record mark of 18 majors I would've told you yes. If you ask me now I say that I have major doubts about whether he can do it. He has lost parts of his game. He doesn't putt like he used to, his driving aaccuracy is beyond horrid, and the fear he puts in other players is almost non-existent. I'll say this. There is still hope for Tiger to catch Jack. Jack won his last major at 46 and Tiger is just 35 years old now so time is there. The question is can he regain his swagger? Can he ever strike fear in the hearts of other players? Will we ever see the old Tiger again? I'm not a fortune teller but my prediction is...well...maybe. I'm giving Tiger the next 3 seasons, hopefully healthy, to get it back. If he hasn't won another major title in the next 3 seasons then my answer will forever be No.
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