Time for the question of the day: Is it OK to cheer for Tiger Woods?
This is personal for me. I’m a golf addict. Plus, I’m a big Tiger Woods fan. Or at least I was.
Now I’m a big fan of Tiger when he’s on the course. That’s where he was yesterday, for the first time in five months. And for the first time since his world fell apart amid an unending series of scandalous headlines about his sexual antics.
To be honest with you, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when Tiger stepped onto the first tee at Augusta National for the first round of the Masters.
I should have known better. It’s the perfect environment for him.
Augusta National is not your run-of-the mill club. And the Masters is not your normal PGA Tour stop.
It is a pristine environment, tightly controlled and delivered in reverential tones. In other words, the perfect place for Tiger to make his comeback as the world watched.
Cheers followed Woods everywhere he went, from the range, to the putting green, to the first tee and all around the course. Not surprising. These are maybe the purest golf fans in the world. They aren’t about to let their cathedral turn into something out of “Happy Gilmore.”
Still, I was conflicted.
I still appreciate Tiger the golfer. When he’s on the course, he is not of this world. He simply does things no one else can do. He’s mesmerizing. When he’s on the leaderboard, it’s almost impossible to look away.
So I was not surprised in the least when he went around Augusta in four under yesterday, the best first round he has ever recorded at the Masters. He’s just two back of the leader.
There was one moment when I knew he was back – and in his element. On the ninth hole, his tee shot left him on the corner of a dogleg left, blocked from any shot at the green by a clump of trees in front of his ball.
At least that would be the case for most mortals. Instead Tiger unfurled a massive hook that started right before reversing direction, going around the corner and running onto the green, coming to rest about 15 feet from the flag. It was pure Tiger. And it was like he’d never left.
For the first time in my life, I realized I can hit the exact same shot Tiger executed. Unfortunately, when I hit that shot, I am trying to hit it straight, not a 50-yard snap hook.
I still feel guilty about cheering for Tiger. My guess is now he will be even more locked in, comfortable on the course, and with the galleries.
I thought he would play well, make the cut, and be somewhere near the top on Sunday.
Silly me. Tiger Woods is going to win the Masters.
That won’t necessarily make him a winner off the course. He’s still got some work to do there. But I’d be lying if I said I won’t be pulling for him Sunday afternoon.
He is the greatest golfer on the planet, on the sport’s greatest stage.
Simply put, he is not of this world, even if his actions off the course suggest just the opposite.
This is personal for me. I’m a golf addict. Plus, I’m a big Tiger Woods fan. Or at least I was.
Now I’m a big fan of Tiger when he’s on the course. That’s where he was yesterday, for the first time in five months. And for the first time since his world fell apart amid an unending series of scandalous headlines about his sexual antics.
To be honest with you, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when Tiger stepped onto the first tee at Augusta National for the first round of the Masters.
I should have known better. It’s the perfect environment for him.
Augusta National is not your run-of-the mill club. And the Masters is not your normal PGA Tour stop.
It is a pristine environment, tightly controlled and delivered in reverential tones. In other words, the perfect place for Tiger to make his comeback as the world watched.
Cheers followed Woods everywhere he went, from the range, to the putting green, to the first tee and all around the course. Not surprising. These are maybe the purest golf fans in the world. They aren’t about to let their cathedral turn into something out of “Happy Gilmore.”
Still, I was conflicted.
I still appreciate Tiger the golfer. When he’s on the course, he is not of this world. He simply does things no one else can do. He’s mesmerizing. When he’s on the leaderboard, it’s almost impossible to look away.
So I was not surprised in the least when he went around Augusta in four under yesterday, the best first round he has ever recorded at the Masters. He’s just two back of the leader.
There was one moment when I knew he was back – and in his element. On the ninth hole, his tee shot left him on the corner of a dogleg left, blocked from any shot at the green by a clump of trees in front of his ball.
At least that would be the case for most mortals. Instead Tiger unfurled a massive hook that started right before reversing direction, going around the corner and running onto the green, coming to rest about 15 feet from the flag. It was pure Tiger. And it was like he’d never left.
For the first time in my life, I realized I can hit the exact same shot Tiger executed. Unfortunately, when I hit that shot, I am trying to hit it straight, not a 50-yard snap hook.
I still feel guilty about cheering for Tiger. My guess is now he will be even more locked in, comfortable on the course, and with the galleries.
I thought he would play well, make the cut, and be somewhere near the top on Sunday.
Silly me. Tiger Woods is going to win the Masters.
That won’t necessarily make him a winner off the course. He’s still got some work to do there. But I’d be lying if I said I won’t be pulling for him Sunday afternoon.
He is the greatest golfer on the planet, on the sport’s greatest stage.
Simply put, he is not of this world, even if his actions off the course suggest just the opposite.
Comments