Tiger Woods is the 2019 MASTERS Champion.
Stepping back and looking at this accomplishment through the prism of Tiger’s career, especially these past two years, in which his desire to win was so palpable, this shouldn’t be a surprise.
But it is to me.
This is a Lazarus tale, a journey from death back to life, a story of resurrection that ranks as one of the great, if not the greatest, comebacks for an athlete in the annals of US Sports.
What do we compare it to? Of course, there is Ben Hogan’s return from horrific injuries to once again dominate the game in the 1950’s.
There’s Muhammad Ali regaining his right to fight, after a three year forced absence, and then reclaiming the heavyweight championship in the early 70’s.
There’s Ted Williams, and a host of other baseball luminaries, who gave years of military service to our country in the 40’s and 50’s, only to return to greatness when peace was achieved. But Williams didn’t face the physical obstacles that beset Tiger. And neither Hogan nor Ali were weighed down with chains of deep humiliation like Tiger endured.
Given the combination of physical injury and damaged psyche (this all self induced) that bedeviled Tiger, this must rank at the top of the heap for sporting resurrections.
At the start of Sunday’s play, I was in a debate with my brother about how we should want Tiger to finish in The MASTERS. Jeff maintained that a Tiger victory would be the best possible story for golf, a fitting end to Tiger’s resurgence to relevancy, a Return of The King.
I wasn’t so sure. I wanted the journey of redemption to continue, for Tiger to wander like Odysseus for a few more years, and only after more striving and close calls at majors, to finally claim #15.
My thinking was twofold. First, I wasn’t ready for the narrative in the golf world to change completely, as it now has. Tiger, even in his absence, and through his lowest of lows, has been the biggest personality, the most compelling story, the swizzle stick in golf’s cocktail. But his absence from the winners circle, and, at times, from golf entirely, afforded room for this new generation of golfers to emerge and take center stage.
The era of Tiger’s dominance had faded away and in it’s place we had a bucketful of new gunslingers, a bunch of flat belly studs, athletes who were, for the most part, attracted to the game by Tiger’s exploits.
These new centurions all fell at Tiger’s feet at Augusta Sunday, and will now be relegated to the back page as Tiger takes all the headlines and magazine covers for the foreseeable future.
The second cause for my reluctance to re-crown Tiger king might be petty and ungenerous. I was looking for some more signs of gratitude and humility from Tiger.
I’m a golf fan, a guy who does something golf related every day, if I’m not playing I’m watching Golf Channel, reading various mags and books, and talking golf with my limited circle of friends.
I’ve been following Tiger’s resurgence fairly closely and I’m disappointed that I haven’t heard Tiger acknowledge any one for helping him along the way. He has, on many occasions, thanked the fans and fellow players for their full throated support of him on his return to competitive golf. And that’s something, and we have seen a Tiger Woods who seems more at ease with folks on and off the course.
But I’ve got to believe there are a number of individuals who have played significant roles in helping Tiger return to a state of physical health and emotional well being. How about a shout out to them?
Golf is an individual sport. Yet today’s generation of professional golfer’s are immersed in a team concept of preparation and execution.
They have swing coaches, performance gurus, doctors, physio’s, chiropractors, agents, caddies, wives or partners, parents and children, each of whom plays a role in getting their player to perform their best. And when these lucky guys land in the winners circle they invariably thank their team.
Perhaps I’ve missed it but I haven’t heard any such praise and thanks from Tiger.
My brother jibes that “I’m a hater”. Maybe, I hope not.
I just believe that no man is an island. Not even Tiger Woods.
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