Life Must Stop For...Life!

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Okay I have now officially had it preachy-sports-columnist-fathers taking this Tiger-fatherhood thing way too far. This time Rick Maese in the Baltimore Sun is suggesting that Tiger should have left Oakmont when he learned his wife was in the hospital with completely normal and non-emergency conditions...to be by her side and be the subservient man that some apparently want him to be.

What would you do? What would your wife want? What would your doctor recommend? They're personal questions that only allow for personal answers.

Thankfully, for Woods and his wife, everything worked out OK. He took a private jet to Orlando immediately after the tournament, and Elin gave birth to Sam Alexis the following day, reportedly by Caesarean section.

I'm guessing most wives wouldn't be so lenient, and most husbands wouldn't choose to remain on an out-of-town business trip knowing what was happening back home.

What I do know is that whatever we make of Woods' decision to remain in the U.S. Open says an awful lot about priorities. How could the tournament have been that important?

Everything Woods said leading up to and since his daughter's birth indicates that he understands golf will now take a back seat. So why didn't it that week? He didn't need the money. He didn't need another major. And he'll surely play in 20 more U.S. Opens before he hangs up his spikes.

Oh here we go...why did I know this was coming?

You can't help but think back to the 1999 U.S. Open, when another of the sport's superstars was expecting his first child. Phil Mickelson's wife, Amy, due any day, stayed in Arizona while Mickelson competed in Pinehurst, N.C. He had a pager in his golf bag and said repeatedly that as soon as it went off, he was dropping the club and boarding a plane. Didn't matter if it was the first tee Thursday or the 18th green Sunday.

Uh, but he was still playing with her on the verge of giving birth? Right? So really, he should not have been at Pinehurst, no?

Under this line of thinking, why does Phil get a pass and not Tiger?

Like Woods three weeks ago, Mickelson finished that Open in second, one stroke off the lead. If he happened to have a share of the lead, Mickelson said he would've skipped out on the playoff if that pager started buzzing. What would Woods have done? Even after his baby was born, he still wouldn't say what should be obvious: You go be with your wife.

"I'm not going down that road," Woods said when asked about the possibility of a playoff at Oakmont.

Woods comes from loving parents and has great family support and so it feels like a pretty safe bet that Sam Alexis Woods will grow up with a good father around her.

Oh spare us.

But let's please avoid falling into the trap of mythicizing Woods' 2007 U.S. Open performance, glorifying the greatest golfer in the world for nearly winning despite the burdensome knowledge that his wife was nearly 1,000 miles away in a hospital room.

How about mythicizing this need for the husband to be there every step of the way? Should Tiger have done pregnant yoga classes with Elin too? Been there to feed her the last 10 meals before the birth? Washed her feet and scrubbed her belly for good karma?

Woods was asked earlier this week how he was able to maintain his intense focus at Oakmont, knowing what was happening down in Orlando.

"You just do," he said. "You just do. You just do."

Unless, of course, you don't.

Just two days before Elin was admitted into the hospital, Woods told reporters, "All I know is that Elin and I are excited, and that this is far more important than any game of golf."

The safe guess is that when Woods finally did join his wife in her hospital room, that undeniable truth was more evident than ever before.

Oy...yes, let's do our best to make him ordinary like the rest of us, so we can feel good about ourselves.

No, I want the Tiger that's different than everyone else. The one with the cajones to play the US Open with this on his plate and who is not milking (no pun intended) a childbirth for something more than it is.

After all, it has been done billions of times before, and not every father was there for the occasion.

An In-Depth Look At The Tiger Woods Foundation

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Thanks to reader Mark for catching the Washington Post's front page piece by Joe Stephens conducting an in-depth investigation of the Tiger Woods Foundation's charitable giving and expenses. Stephens finds that, yes purses are a tad excessive in golf.

Tell me what you think, but I felt like the piece was stretching to make the point that there are too many conflicts of interest surrounding Foundation operations.

The charities that host such PGA Tour events collectively raise millions of dollars for good works in the community. Last year, the PGA and related tours reported having raised a total of $105 million. "We're very proud of that," said Ron Price, the Tour's chief financial officer.

Less well known is that much more money goes toward expenses and operations -- especially the purses taken home by golfers. Tour officials said their average tournament provides golfers with a purse of $5.7 million and, after paying costs associated with the event, generates $1.75 million for charity.

"You can certainly question the validity of calling something a charitable event when so much money goes to individuals," said Sandra Miniutti of Charity Navigator, a watchdog organization that rates nonprofits on efficiency.

Charity specialists say such disparities are not uncommon when it comes to special fundraising events. "It is not unusual for them to be on the expensive side, and relatively slim on the charity," said William Josephson, a New York lawyer who specializes in the ethics of philanthropy.
For me, this seemed to put a damper on most of the conflict-of-interest issues: 
Charity Navigator gives the Tiger Woods Foundation four stars -- its highest rating. One reason is that the foundation in 2005 reported spending $1 million, a relatively low percentage of revenue, on management and fundraising expenses. A factor keeping those numbers low, but not considered in the rating, is the foundation's receipt of millions of dollars raised by its sister nonprofit, the Charity Event Corp., which reports its expenses separately.

The Charity Event Corp. is the least known of Woods's charities but brings in the most money. The organization's fundraisers include the Target World Challenge golf tournament at Sherwood Country Club north of Los Angeles and Tiger Jam concerts in Las Vegas.

From 2004 through 2005, Charity Event Corp. raised $29 million and gave $6.7 million in grants and contributions to Woods's foundation and other charities, IRS records show. Much of the remainder went toward expenses, including golf prizes totaling more than $10.25 million. As in the case of many tournaments, officials at the charity said, the PGA Tour subsidizes part of the purse in exchange for television rights.

This part was intriguing...

From 1999 to 2002, records show, the Tiger Woods Charity Event Corp. paid $375,000 to IMG for what the nonprofit's tax returns describe as consulting services. IMG has helped develop Woods's public image and helped win him millions of dollars in corporate endorsements.

In 2000, the head of IMG's golf division, Mark Steinberg, joined the board of the Tiger Woods Foundation. Steinberg is Woods's agent at IMG.

Charity watchdogs are always on the lookout for conflicts of interest and self-dealing at nonprofit organizations. One charity has established a Web site that offers stark advice about how sports agents can use athletes' foundations to collect a bigger paycheck.

"By setting up a foundation . . . for your client you can obtain COMPENSATION FOREVER from gifts made from this foundation," says the Web site of the National Heritage Foundation. "You, the agent, may receive compensation directly."

McLaughlin said there was no conflict of interest between Steinberg's board position and the payments to IMG. The payments were commissions for the company's work attracting sponsors for its tournaments, he said. In recent weeks, IMG has been working to line up financial backers for the AT&T National, and IMG will be paid commissions for any sponsorship money it brings in, he said. Such commissions are paid competitively and IMG receives no special consideration from the charity.

Sam Explained!

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From a truly painful press conference transcript read:

Q. I believe Sam was a name that your dad used to call you when you were young.

TIGER WOODS: Yeah, Sam, we wanted to have a name that would be meaningful to either side of the family, my side or Elin's side, because she was born basically an extension of Father's Day, it just happened to fit. My father had always called me Sam since the day I was born. He rarely ever called me Tiger. I would ask him, "Why don't you ever call me Tiger"?
He says, "Well, you look more like a Sam."
I said, "All right, that's cool." (Laughter).

And this was wild:

 Q. This is kind of a three-part question, but they are all related. Can you talk about what your autograph policy is personally at tournaments, No. 1; and will it change at a tournament like this --

TIGER WOODS: Stop. No. 1, I sign. Only thing I don't sign are golf balls. (Smiling).
No. 2?

Q. Will that change at a tournament like this, with a tournament with your name on it, will it be more opportunity for you to do PR because the tournament has your name on it?

TIGER WOODS: No. We just sign. That's our responsibility as players; we sign an inordinate amount.

Q. And will it be tough for to you walk past a kid that wants an autograph now that you're starting to have children of your own?
And just a follow up before you start that answer, now that you are a father, will you be saving each and every child in Darfur too? Oh sorry, continue...
TIGER WOODS: That's a good question. I haven't really experienced that yet. You try and sign as many as you can for kids. Sometimes it gets a little dangerous because they start getting run over, get pinched up against fences and stuff like that, and that's when you just have to call it quits because it becomes unsafe.

But as far as signing, you try and sign as many as you can because they are coming out and they want to get something that they can take home and something that they can cherish.

Right!

Tiger's Fitness Regimen

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You know I was feeling good about that extra five minutes I put in on the stairmaster yesterday until I read this unbylined AP story previewing an upcoming Men's Fitness story revealing Tiger Woods' workout regimine with trainer Keith Kleven.

The routine is built around stretching up to 40 minutes before each session, core exercises, endurance runs of 7 miles and speed runs of 3 miles, along with weight training. But while Woods is competitive on the golf course, he said he doesn't have an ego in the weight room.

"I've never, ever hurt myself lifting," Woods said. "I hear people say, 'I hurt this' or "I hurt that.' I don't even know what that feels like. I've been sore, but I've always been able to function and do whatever I wanted to. ... Some people let their ego get in the way. You have to listen to your inner self. Your body knows when it can be pushed and when you just need to back off a little bit."

Woods opts for high repetitions and smaller weights, although Kleven said he is "off the charts" with how much he can lift.

"His endurance and strength allows us to do more reps at high levels than normally seen in a golfer," Kleven said, without disclosing specific weights. "His resistance for high reps is extremely high."

Perez Hilton Scoops The Golf Press?

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Assuming it's real, the cheesy gossip site seems to be the first with the must see, life changing photo of Tiger and Elin's baby?

The best I could find was this odd golf.com photo spread of the parents, which really means it's just an excuse to show pictures of Elin.

"But just as her father is chasing Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors, he'll also be measured against Nicklaus as a family man."

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I think we have our GWAA winner in the Daily-Columns-Oy-Vey Division thanks to Dave Anderson's take on the birth of Tiger's daughter, including excessive piling on from Jack Nicklaus.

Whatever she does, Sam Alexis Woods will always be Tiger Woods's daughter, which won't be easy. But just as her father is chasing Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors, he'll also be measured against Nicklaus as a family man. Not that he and Elin need to have five children and 20 grandchildren, as Jack and Barbara have.
But just think about the possibilities on the design business side? Just a thought.

On this measured against Nicklaus thing, how would one measure this exactly anyway? 
"Tiger's career, as bright as it has been, can only be enhanced by marriage and now by parenthood," Jack Nicklaus said in a statement of congratulations. "I have always felt that family adds a significant level of balance to your life and it gives you greater incentive in your professional life."

Yeah, Tiger really needs incentive! He's such a slacker!

Changing Sam Alexis' diapers may just turn around this shoddy 1-1-2-2 record in the last four majors! 

“There was just no believability that Tiger was dying to drive a Buick"

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The New York Times's Nick Bunkley explores the all vital brand dynamics of Tiger and his relationship with Buick, which appears to be changing.

“There was just no believability that Tiger was dying to drive a Buick,” said Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm in Atlanta.

“The brand personalities just didn’t go together, like oil and water,” she said.

Who knew brand's had personalities?  

“Buick is an older person’s car. Tiger is very young, very cool and at the top of his game. You imagine him driving a Bentley or a Mercedes or a Lexus.”

Hey, he had his chance at the Lexus last week and passed.

"The great coincidence about this birth was the timing."

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Doug Ferguson weighs in (tastefully I might ad, thus likely ruling him out for GWAA award consideration) on the birth of Tiger and Elin's first child.

The great coincidence about this birth was the timing.

Woods’ daughter was born the morning after he finished second by one shot at the U.S. Open, needing a 30-foot birdie putt on the last hole to force an 18-hole playoff Monday. It might be the one time, in hindsight, Woods didn’t mind settling for second.

Eight years ago, Phil Mickelson was about to become a father when he missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole at Pinehurst No. 2 that would have forced a playoff against Payne Stewart. His daughter was born the next afternoon.

Everyone knows the Mickelson children because they are dressed to the nines when they run out to the 18th. The exception was The Players Championship, when Amy and the kids were in San Diego, and Mickelson had to settle for a hug from Butch Harmon.

The only time Elin Woods was a prominent part of the picture was last summer at Hoylake, and only because Woods was a blubbering mess of tears having captured his first victory since the death of his father.

Elin once talked about wives and children going out to the 18th green to celebrate victory, and while she thought it was “very cool,’’ she had a hard time doing it herself because “it’s just not my personality.’’

I'm actually looking forward to the press questioning Tiger about the timing of the birth. It seems like there is a decent chance he had some inkling Sunday that she was about to give birth.

I'd be curious what he knew, when he knew it, and most of all, where he drummed up the audacity to not milk the situation like you know who did back in '99!

Tiger Becomes Dad; Writers Pounce On Potential GWAA Award Winning Fodder

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And you thought it was bad when he turned 30!

Like obit writers prepared for a celebrity passing, it appears America's finest golf scribes were armed and ready for the birth of Tiger and Elin's daugher. Poor (well...) Sam Woods wasn't even 48 hours old and the preachy, maudlin and utterly meaningless but oh-so-award-hopeful columns have already begun (here, here, here, here, here, here) about Tiger's role as the very first father in the history of the human race.

"Woods’s lack of impact on anything other than the marketability of golf has been achieved by virtue of his banality."

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The Times' Matthew Syed considers the positioning branding something or other of hot new grand prix driver Lewis Hamilton in the context of Tiger Woods.

Lewis Hamilton will soon become familiar with the rules of this depressing game. Even now the 22-year-old, who was competing to win a second consecutive Formula One grand prix in Indianapolis yesterday, is being schooled in the art of saying nothing. His handlers recognise that by presenting their client as a blank canvas it will be easier to persuade multinationals to emblazon him with their logos. Like Jordan, he will soon become a walking billboard.

Hamilton has been compared with Tiger Woods, but for all the wrong reasons. Many have suggested that his ethnicity — he was the first driver of black heritage to win a grand prix — will inspire a new generation of young black drivers to enter the Formula One paddock in the same way that Woods has transformed the demographics of professional golf. But this is a pipedream — and not just because of the formidable economic barriers to entry in Formula One.

The truth is that Woods has not had anything like the influence on global black consciousness that his cheerleaders suggest. Not one black player has joined the PGA tour since Woods turned professional in 1996 and there has not been a black player in the Ladies Professional Golf Association since 2000. There are today no home players from an ethnic-minority background playing on tour and of the 60 teenagers in the English Golf Union’s elite programme only two come from minorities.

We should not be surprised by any of this. How could Woods become a role model for young people from, say, the ghettos of South Central Los Angeles when his target constituency is across town among those who can afford the mark-up on his red Nike replica shirts?

Woods’s lack of impact on anything other than the marketability of golf has been achieved by virtue of his banality. He has managed to present a public persona of such blandness that few people can remember him taking a stand on anything except the stern of his $20 million yacht. When he was asked to criticise the men-only policies of some private golf clubs he declined, saying that it was a matter for them. His press conferences are a masterclass in insipidness that drain the soul.

Tiger's Post Third Round Press Conference

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Succinct session with the slingers...

 Q. What architectural features did you take from that course that you might want to use?

TIGER WOODS: None. Golf course is hard. I don't think anyone -- I wouldn't have any members.

Not exactly one they'll be adding to the club yardage book.

Ah the important stuff...

 Q. Gloves on 18 -- you switched golf clubs in the bunker on 18, how long had you been using them?

TIGER WOODS: Gloves?

Q. Yeah.

TIGER WOODS: I do that all day. I was sweating.

Q. How long did you use the one previous?

TIGER WOODS: One hole, we switch three, four gloves, and let them dry out and rotate them. Sweat leaks into them.

Glad we got to the bottom of that.

Q. How long has it been since you hit it this good? That was a lot of fairways, 17 straight greens under these circumstances, and in punitive conditions it had to have been a long, long while.

TIGER WOODS: Good question. I really don't know.

Q. When you tapped in at 18, that was a tribute to Arnold Palmer?

TIGER WOODS: No. I said I was pissed. Happy with a 5? (Laughter.)

Uh huh.

 Q. Could you tell right away when you got to the first green that the golf course was receptive?

TIGER WOODS: The greens were holding. It was more receptive, yeah. They weren't anywhere near as hard as they were yesterday afternoon.

But the downhill putts were just as fast, but I think the nice thing was if you hit shots with a 6-iron or 7-iron. The ball was going to hold. It wasn't going to be repelled.

Tiger A Pebble Beach Investor?

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In Kenneth Weiss' story on the California Coastal Commission's rejection of the proposed Pebble Beach expansion, he writes:

Ueberroth and other company officials asserted that some development is needed to help Pebble Beach's 130 investors — including Tiger Woods — make a reasonable return, pay for upkeep on the peninsula's famed 17-Mile Drive and meet other expenses.

Is this well known? I don't recall reading this anywhere?