If there was ever a question or doubt as to the power of Tiger Woods in golf (and there shouldn’t be) this year’s Masters Tournament should put those to rest. Even though he eventually finished behind Charl Schwartzel and didn’t win the coveted green jacket, he surged in the final round and his incredible performance on the first nine holes captivated audiences across the world.
It was a flashback to the pre-divorce incident Tiger, with him sinking birdies and eagles and catapulting himself to the leaderboard, exciting his fans along the way and giving casual observers reasons to switch away from the other major sports and tune into golf.
I’m a fan of the game because I pretty much love all sports, but my interest in it definitely peaked during Tiger’s rise to fame and greatness and he is still someone I fully support and root for.
His dominance and superior talent always made tournaments even more worth watching, since you knew there was always that chance that he’d make an amazing shot. Since the entire fiasco that lead to his divorce and fall from the public’s grace and his place among the top of golf’s rankings he’s been regularly criticized and vilified, which I always found to be foolish.
He’s the biggest draw the game of golf has had in quite some time, in its history. Whether it’s the stories on how great he is, how much he wins, his private life or his losing streak, Tiger grabs headlines like no other golfer, let alone most athletes, can. It’s a reality summed up well in a recent piece on Yahoo! Sports “Devil Ball” golf blog.
Put aside the hard numbers, the simple facts like the increase in purses since Tiger’s arrival and the 50 percent decreases in ratings when he doesn’t play. Just admit it. For a minute on Sunday, perhaps when he went birdie-birdie-eagle on 6, 7 and 8, you thought to yourself that Tiger Woods could win this thing. Perhaps you thought Tiger Woods would win this thing. Whether that thought filled you with joy or anticipation or nausea or rage is irrelevant; what matters is that you felt something that you don’t feel when any other golfer makes that kind of run.
It’s all the cold, hard truth. I know firsthand because my desire to watch tournaments without him are lower than Kobe Bryant’s shooting percentages. I was among countless people who found themselves glued to the TV yesterday, anxiously watching each shot to see if he’d pull off the major comeback win.
No disrespect to Schwartzel or the other talented and deserving golfers in the field, but most people weren’t watching to see them. Sure he hasn’t fully regained his game and his confidence, but it’s a testament to his skills that he’s finished in fourth place each of the last two years at Augusta.
Even at less than full strength, Tiger Woods is good enough to beat just about anybody. That’s what makes it so easy to love or hate him, so easy to constantly look for the next major golf event. And for that, the game of golf and its fans should thank him.
- Will.
The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com
