"The whole sexcapade thing will have no effect on Tiger's golf."
Soon after reading the latest SI Confidential on 2010, Tiger and Phil, it was a relief to receive emails from a few readers who shared my reaction: what planet have they been on the last month?
Okay, not delusional like certain Golf Digest readers wanting their Tiger column back, but guys, we're talking about a man who hasn't been seen in a month after crashing his SUV into a tree. That kind of disappearance would seem to suggest that he was either seriously injured to the point it could have an impact on his ability to perform physically, or, he's so severely humiliated that believing in a quick return as the same dominating force takes a tremendous leap of faith.
Example #1:
Hack: I don't see a changing of the guard. The best player in the world still wears red on Sundays.
That would be the red shirt lampooned on talk shows, in late night comedy sketches and on NFL sidelines?
And when exactly will those Sundays be when he's plying his trade? In 2010? I'll take a sighting first, then we'll talk schedule.
Bamberger: The whole sexcapade thing will have no effect on Tiger's golf.He can block out distractions like nobody's business. Weird things motivate him, like Stephen Ames or Vijay's caddie calling him out.
I don't know, I'm thinking this is just a little bigger than Stephen Ames or Vijay calling him out? But that's just cynical me.
Anonymous Pro: I think he's a lock to win the British Open at St. Andrews.
Hey, I'll just be glad to see him teeing it up at St. Andrews.
Shipnuck: I guess it's possible Tiger could go to Whistling Straits with three majors in his hip pocket.
Oh it's possible, but highly unlikely.
I would love nothing more than to see Tiger come back better than ever with not a hint that his quest to be the all-time best is interrupted. But after the last month, it seems unfathomable to think that his quest will ever be the same.
Monday, December 28, 2009 at 07:48 PM
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Reader Comments (50)
Perhaps yes, but then again...a guy who could not tolerate criticism (soft-ball criticism) of his swing changes has been an international pinata' for a month, and on issues a tad more personal. He may have spent his first of many Christmases without the mother of his 2 children. Nothing is the same off the course. To quote a great LA poet "The future's uncertain and the end is always near..."
Simple mistakes like that from "golf" writers should be caught. Have seen others (Elling. Sobel, et al) malke the same type of mistakes. Would it be so hard for these guys to be factually correct?
Those writers who say he will be back better than ever are merely angling to be the ones who get access to him.
I guess that should he win the grand slam Leno and Letterman won't be seeing him on their sets!
Oh, yes I can. If Tiger could be Tiger BEFORE THIS ALL GOT UNVEILED, I have little difficulty believing that he could go back to being the same dominant golfer that he was before. He doesn't have to worry about getting caught anymore. The cat is out of the bag, pardon the pun. I think he'll do just fine, thank you. I think that he will still be able to intimidate the rest of the field and make putts when he has to make putts. He'll make birdie and eagle when the situation requires birdie and eagle. And I believe he still has the ability to be the dominant golfer on the planet.
Heck, nobody on Tour was remotely capable of "being" Tiger before this all blew up. Only he was able to handle the pressures of being the best golfer in his generation by a huge, huge margin. Will this situation continue to cause him mental stress and heartache? You betcha. Will his domestic situation with wife and children continue to distract him? I can't imagine that it wouldn't. But when the tee goes in the ground, I think he will still be the best player by a wide margin.
now, to add my own speculation: i think there's a good chance that tiger will show up and continue to kick ass and take names. i didn't get the impression that his dominance "before the fall" came from being beloved by the crowd.
it may be that comments from the galleries get under his skin, but i doubt it. unless everyone starts making shutter noises during his downswing, i can see tiger blocking everything out, or using the crowd's hostility as motivation to play better.
remember, this guy's otherworldly mental strength allowed him to live a double life for a long time without any apparent difficulty right up until his wife smacked him in the mouth with a golf club. unless the galleries and/or his opponents start smacking him with golf clubs, i'd say there's a better than even chance that he'll continue to win tournaments and majors when he comes back . . . and he will come back. he may be thinking that by staying away he's 'punishing' the world for violating his privacy. but i think tiger needs golf almost as much as the business of golf needs tiger.
SI's March 14, 1993 Cover, shows Michael Jordan whiffing a pitch, the caption reads "Bag it Michael". MJ never spoke to a SI writer again.
Check it out. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/galleries/covers/jordan/940314/
Disagreement noted. I think the only thing that might materially affect his dominance is an extended (6-9 month) layoff. The rest of the distractions (mild word, I know) should be aptly compartmentalized by Tiger who is nothing if not a great mental compartmentalizer...
Big Swede...an interesting scenario that would gain him a measure of face saving. On the other hand, Rachel is a bit of a fame ho. She might rather have the money to not tell her story, which is why she enlisted Allred in the days after Thanksgiving.
Taffy...I'm with you. The hecklers will be merciless, guys mumbling stuff within two feet of him as he walks green to tee. The quiet of a big amphitheater broken by someone saying, "R-a-c-h-e-l!" Generally, I'm with you on your analysis. He wants the position of sponsors/Tour begging him to come back, so the more time he's away, the more leverage he gains. I would say Bay Hill might be a good cocoon for him to reappear, but Arnold took him off the website and Arnold's info must be pretty good. I actually think it's even money that we don't see him until June.
Thusgone...i would humbly edit your last line to "almost as much as the business of TELEVISED GOLF (READ: THE PGA TOUR) needs Tiger." It would be an interesting experiment and difficult to control for (considering weather), but i bet on weekends that Tiger is playing, afternoon rounds at the muni and country club will be down because we're all going to watch.
Also, I think i need to get a life. I now know the names of far too many Shack commenters.
If we've learned anything in the last six weeks, it's that we don't and didn't know Tiger Woods. So SI's writers are WRONG to say this won't affect his golf? Feel free to disagree, but no one's wrong or right, not yet.
My suspicion is that he will again be THE dominant golfer. I think this situation has already had its effect on his game, this past year. Being in an unhappy marriage is debilitating; getting out of one is liberating. You think he'll come out of this humble and abashed? I think he'll come out of it harder-edged and nastier. When has he ever indicated he gives a crap what reporters or the public think?
That's my view. Yours may differ. Let's check back in September.
as has been stated here by others, golf will do just fine without tiger woods or anyone else. almost all of us here started our love affair with the game long before we ever became aware of mr. woods and his abilities, and i suspect that affection for the game will continue unabated by anything woods or finchem or any of the other wheeler-dealers does.
At its deepest, it's a pompous and smug practice that will never go away, because when writers aren't doing their job—researching, investigating, and telling readers things we can’t divulge ourselves—they fill space on the page or on the air acting like know-it-alls. Guessing is fun. That’s all it is. It’s never the truth until the truth happens. So what if you think the Bears are going to beat the Dolphins. So what.
Anyway, all I can tell is that Tiger is not dead. Other than that … what is the truth about him and his life right now? Honestly, who’s the writer out there who’s been telling readers the most accurate story?
I think a real classy end to this whole brouhaha is for all his bimbos to be in Tiger's gallery when he strides up 18 claiming his next major. When he putts out they can all rush the green and they all have a hug, with Tiger smiling triumphantly.
Some tittie flashing from the gals, Stevie farting in joy, Kelly, Rich, Tim reporting The Man is BACK!!!
All will be well.
The galleries, I would bet,will be positive since most people will care only about the golf itself.
Woods however, can do himself a world of good by donning a little sackcloth and ashes for awhile.
To behave as he has on the golf course before this mess will officially make him a villain.
dbcooper indeed,- the media knows where the money is- they will return to their usual slobbering sycophancy. Ferherty already tipped their mitts. They will try to compartmentalize Woods' behavior.
Seriously, did anyone have the slightest inkling things were going to unfold as they have?...
I'll take that as a no...
Yet the fearless folks at SI know how it's going to shake out from here on.
"Heck, nobody on Tour was remotely capable of "being" Tiger before this all blew up. Only he was able to handle the pressures of being the best golfer in his generation by a huge, huge margin."
Aren't the revelations of the last month - the infidelity and the prescription drugs - evidence that in the long run he failed dismally in handling the pressure?
I think its unlikely Tiger misses ANY major this year.
I also don't think he'll be well received by the galleries. I think it'd be comical (not to mention hypocritical) of people not to talk smack to Tiger...yet it was OK to rip on Stephen Ames and Rory Sabatini for their comments about a beatable Eldrick. What if he goes on his little f-bomb dropping, club-slamming tirades? Then what? I'm sure the ass-kisser will still say "WE LOVE YOU, TIGER!!", but everyone else won't tolerate it anymore.
Everyone knew that he was a jerk on the golf course. So why did everyone think he was a model citizen off the course when there was absolutely no evidence to suggest that he was?
Not yours, Geoff, you've been pretty far out there on the TMZ moon lately. Somebody has to get back to the normal boring world of pro golf sometime. I personally wouldn't have bothered looking at the tabloids, so I guess I have you to thank for all of the scandalous details of speculation that I now sort of know. Now, I'll try to forget about all this garbage until we see what TW does.
What became of Dr. Phillips?
As I think back, his biggest point of contention was always that Steiny wasn't making all the calls early on, that IMG had been marginalized, whereas many of us presumed Steiny/IMG front and center in any kind of strategy, response?
Geoff, i searched "dr. phillips" on your site and his commenting was -- i could be wrong -- short-lived and rather pointed. If i'm incorrect here, please disabuse me. Did he have a long history of commenting so authoritatively? Or, perhaps, was he from Lavely & Singer, making sure they get/got credit for what they did back with the Men's Fitness-NE thing went down and, positioning the law firm for more dirty negotiations (and lucrative billable hours) to come?
Thoughts?
But I predict that Tiger will find golf easier this year than last year. I don't think he ever needed a gallery - the approval of others - to motivate himself. I think he likes to BEAT people, particularly those who don't respect him, or those who genuinely represent a threat. So, I think he'll be more focused than he was throughout 2009, and every murmur, slur, or jeer against him will only motivate him more than ever before.
Why? I would like nothing better than to see Elin bash him with a 9 iron again. He is relegated to the bane of being just another thug professional athlete. Screw him
Anyway, predictions about how Tiger will do on the course when he comes back seem futile to me. He had practically everyone fooled. No, make that everyone, period. I thought he had been in need of an attitude adjustment since late 1996, but even I was beginning to come around to his greatness. If he returns to "normal" without much difficulty that will be scarier than a public struggle, if you ask me (not that you did). And be more evidence of the "s-word" that dare not speak its name here. We don't need to go over that again.
For those pining for "golf" discussions, they will return in due time. But there just ain't much going on at the moment.
One comment for Crosby's Pipe: Earl did it and it did wonders for his image, through Tiger, that is. What gave me the willies about the lionization of Earl as Father-of-the-Century was the existence of Family #1. Yeah, divorce happens and Tiger's half-siblings are magnanimous, but It's pretty difficult to imagine that this fact has nothing to do with the glaring hole that must exist where Tiger was thought to have a soul or conscience* of some sort, you know, like we would expect from an erstwhile zen master.
*Those of you who are going to accuse me of "sanctimony" can just save it for some other place. I mentioned in my very first comment about this catastrophe that whatever lay beneath the initial incident Thanksgiving night was likely the cause of Tiger's manifest anger on the course. Indeed, now that we know what we know. And maybe his acting out was actually a good sign that he understood at some level that aggravated serial adultery of the basest sort is wrong. Yes, wrong. I hope so. He'll never be the Tiger we all "knew" and admired for his self-discipline (LOL), focus, and ability to win championships at the highest level. But it would be nice to see him recover. Maybe. It's hard to deny that Sarge has a point, too...and therein lies much of the heat generated here and elsewhere by the Total Eclipse of the Tiger.
Though Tiger and Mrs. Woods clearly can't be compared with most people, the excessive public adoration, fame and money they had probably only made it more difficult for them to maintain the fragile balance necessary to avoid the transgressions... or the boredom and indifference... that lead to divorce. Cry me a river, it is what it is. The kids in this case have plenty of people who love them, and many./most of their friends will have divorced parents, so they'll most likely be just fine.
Now that we got all that out of the way, Tiger will definitely be back for the Masters, This I know to be true. And he'll kill it too. :o)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Phillips_High_School
Staring at a snow covered golf course here in bonny Scotland my several visits to 'Shack-World' are one of the few things to occupy my day and I must admit I thought the good Dr was something of a 'ringer' too.Probably another thing we will never know!
I'm with the sceptics re Tigers return.He is notoriously sensitive to any criticism (just as Fuzzy) and I think he will find the lack of fawning adoration(and I count myself as a former culprit) hard to take.
The attributes required to succeed at the level Tiger did-such as his work ethic,focus,determination etc are going to be difficult to summon now that his shield of respect and aura of invincibility are broken.I think his return to uber success is anything but the foregone conclusion several of the posters think it will be.Dont think he'll be at the Masters either-now that could come back to haunt me as he wins by 12!!