Tiger knows better than anyone that he will not be able to fully redeem his professional reputation until he wins another five Majors (i.e., from among the Masters in April, U.S. Open in June, British Open in July, and PGA Championship in August).
(“Tiger Won…Finally,” The iPINIONS Journal, December 5, 2011)
It’s an indication of how much Tiger Woods dominates professional Golf that even when he’s not playing well he’s still the only golfer anybody is interested in watching or talking about.
This manifested in Technicolor last weekend – when the highlight of The Masters was not the play of those atop the Leaderboard, but the controversy that erupted over Tiger’s violation of an arcane rule.
In short, after his approach on the 15th hole hit the flagstick and ended up in the water during the second round on Friday, Woods:
… admitted to knowingly taking his ball drop two yards further back from where he hit his original shot – a rules violation that provided him with an improper advantage.
(London Daily Mail, April 13, 2013)
There was no consensus among the experts: some insisted he should have been disqualified; others that he did not even violate any rule.
Whatever the case, I was persuaded by Woods’s own admission. This is why I offered the following take on Saturday — during a typical sports day-texting exchange with my old college roommate — even before I knew that officials had decided there was in fact a violation, and imposed a two-stroke penalty:
He should have done what Faldo suggested — disqualified himself. No good will come of from continuing: if he wins, there will always be an asterisk — esp if he passes Jack; if he loses, he loses his mojo and fans will have just another reason to think of him as a self-entitled jerk…
The officials are beholden to Augusta and CBS: nobody dared disqualify Tiger and lose 75% of their viewership.
Now, uncannily, here’s the take Mike Lupica, arguably the best-known sports writer in America, offered on Sunday after it was clear that Tiger would not only remain in the hunt, but was well-positioned to win his first Major in almost five years (i.e., heading into yesterday’s final round only four strokes off the lead).
If Tiger Woods wins the Masters now after what happened on a down slope on No. 15 on Friday, after he breaks one rule of golf and gets saved by another one and doesn’t get disqualified, it becomes the Masterisk now, for sure. And maybe it will feel that way to Woods himself if he loses by a stroke, or ends up two strokes out of a playoff on Sunday.
(New York Daily News, April 14, 2013)
Well, he did not win.
To the point, though, nobody (except Australians) will remember that Aussie Adam Scott won this year’s Masters in a rain-soaked playoff against Argentine Angel Cabrera…. Instead, everybody will remember that it was the tournament where Tiger was accused of cheating at Golf in a fashion that was every bit as sensational as when he was accused of cheating at love….
(Adding to the drama is the rumor that the jealous ex of his current girlfriend, Lindsey Vonn, was the TV viewer who pointed out Tiger’s violation to tournament officials. Was he really watching (or stalking) Tiger that closely…?)
Meanwhile:
Tiger is 35. So he can probably compete, physically, for another five years. But if he still hasn’t won his 15th major by this time next year, then I fear he will never be able to compete well enough, mentally, to dethrone Jack Nicklaus as the king of the majors with 18 wins…
But, to give you a sense of how difficult it is for one player to dominate the majors the way Tiger once did, just bear in mind that the last 13 major championships have been won by 13 different players.
(“Tiger, Tiger … Losing Fight,” The iPINIONS Journal, August 15, 2011)
For the record, he finished tied for fourth – four strokes off the lead yesterday, making it at least arguable that even without the penalty he still would not have won. So the hunt continues….
It is worth noting, however, that Tiger has not won a Major since 2008. Because, no matter his other accomplishments (to say nothing of his vaunted reputation for competitiveness and nerves of steel), if he does not dethrone Jack, Tiger’s legacy will be that of the most exciting and famous choke artist in the history of sports.
Finally, apropos of yesterday’s winner, there’s this from my “Tiger, Tiger … Losing Fight” commentary cited above:
Earlier this summer Tiger unceremoniously fired Steve Williams, the caddie who served him loyally through 13 of his 14 majors. Therefore, imagine Tiger’s resentment when Williams moved on to caddie for Adam Scott…
Perhaps even more devastating was hearing Williams then gloat all over TV about Scott’s victory being ‘the best win I’ve ever had.’ The insinuation being that he was as responsible for Scott’s win as he was for all of Tiger’s. So, on top of all of his other performance anxieties, Tiger now has to worry about proving that he can in fact win without Williams…
Well, now Scott has won his first Major with Williams, becoming the first Australian to win this most prestigious tournament in professional Golf. Tiger has yet to win one without him. I’m just sayin’….
Related commentaries:
Tiger, Tiger…
Tiger No. 1 again! But…
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