Thursday, March 29, 2012

Tiger Woods in the Rough is Great to See

The long-running Tiger Woods saga has been saturated with more drama than your average soap opera. Woods, once a superstar golfer, lost everything in a flash and is now on an epic journey to claim back not only his status on the course, but his reputation off it.

Tiger's first Masters victory
We have witnessed Woods' rapid rise to stardom with success at a young age, a battle with career-threatening injuries, a scandal that rocked the world, deep remorse and acknowledgment of previous faults, which leaves only one missing scenario — a fairytale ending.

Tiger, one of the United States' most famous embodiments of the American Dream, must now seek to emulate his initial rise to greatness once again, and this resurgence mission gathered great pace on Sunday.

Shooting a 13-under par 275 at Bay Hill to claim victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational by a 5-shot margin, Woods claimed his first PGA Tour victory since September 2009 at the BMW Championship to draw a line under what has been the lowest point of his career.

It all began when he crashed his Escalade outside his home in November 2009, but got worse with numerous reports of infidelity, a high-profile divorce, public defamation by former caddie Steve Williams and a damning description of events in former coach Hank Hanley’s recently published novel.

Doomed to fail
Woods hit rock bottom in sensational fashion with arguably the biggest public fall from grace of any superstar past or present. But, he is determined to prove that his troubled times are over and that such misdemeanours are a thing of the past.

Tiger Woods' attempts to bring himself full circle in an unbelievable restoration of faith and fortune is the sequel to his incident-filled first episode, and the setting for his latest chapter is Augusta.

The Masters is a modern representation of a reality show, incorporating drama and comedy in an action-filled adventure towards the capture of the romanticised green jacket. Taking the stage, Woods, who has, up until last weekend’s victory, been considered unlikely of success, will enter the tournament as 3/1 favourite. 

He will understand that he has much improved competition at The Masters, especially in the form of Rory McIlroy, who won the U.S. Open last year — the youngest player to do so since Bobby Jones in 1923. McIlroy boasts a longer stretch of form and recently held off Tiger’s dramatic surge of a last-round 62 to claim victory at the Honda Classic in Florida.

At the other end of the scale, 41-year-old veteran and psoriatic arthritis sufferer Phil Mickelson will also pursue Woods. Mickelson, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame last year, is a three-time Masters champion, who claimed his 40th PGA Tour victory last month in the ATT Pebble Beach Pro-Am and knows Augusta inside out.

McIlroy will be biggest threat
The Tiger Woods show lacks traditional themes, for he is no hero and does not chase villains, but it is by far the most eagerly anticipated programme on the PGA’s listings and Woods’ recent victory has sent media speculation into overdrive.

Whether Woods manages to secure his fifth green jacket at Augusta or not, The Masters will benefit just from his presence. When he missed the 2011 U.S. Open in Bethesda, Maryland, due to injury, ratings fell by a staggering 26 percent, illustrating just how influential his participation is on spectatorship.

So as the viewing public prepares to witness the next chapter of the Tiger Woods chronicle, there are two main schools of thought among the audience.

Some brand Woods as a golfing genius who must be given the plaudits he deserves for his achievements on the golf course — because this is the reason people grew to love him — and believe his "private" life is none of our business.

Is this how it ends?
Others see a man who betrayed not only his wife, but the public, who heaped adoration on Woods, helping him to become the iconic figure that he was, and feel a person so morally bankrupt as he appears to be deserves little respect after such transgressions.

Whether you see the good in a man who has trodden a long path of repentance to seek forgiveness for his sins, or the evil in a man who committed crimes so drastic they cannot be forgiven, one fact remains: Golf with Tiger Woods is a must-see event.

Written by Dom Wallace

7 comments:

  1. Rojen has left a new comment on your post "Tiger Woods in the Rough is Great to See":

    There's no way he can win..!!! If he does, I would venture to suggest that he is unequivocally the greatest sports star of our generation.. Err but maybe he is, even without this Masters victory. A Superhuman with a very human Achilles heel. Women. Nice article Dom ;)

    Posted by Rojen to Sport 4 Thought at March 28, 2012 10:58 PM

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    1. I just feel the timing of Tiger's surge and the fact he has been laying low for so long seems to be perfect. A win at The Masters would be the fairytale ending to a torrid few years and I just feel with the element of fantasy that always surrounds this competition, it might be his moment to strike. It will be interesting to see how the crowd takes to him - I can't see anything but great support for him. These people are golf fanatics who pay good money to watch the professionals at their best. They are not interested in the players personal lives. I just hope Tiger and McIlroy are both at their very best to produce a fascinating and scintillating tournament.

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  2. Great read! I agree, this is the most anticipated Master's in recent memory. I am really looking forward to seeing Woods perform since he thrives under pressure. McIlroy is not afraid of woods either, so it should be great golf.

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    1. *Masters

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    2. Woods is hot on the trail of Jack Nicklaus' record - he is just 1 PGA Tour victory and 4 Major Championships behind. Having come close in Abu Dhabi, second in the Honda Classic (shooting his career best final round of 62) and winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational the signs are good.

      Incidentally, 'The Big Easy' Ernie Els is facing the pressure task of winning the Shell Houston Open in Texas this week or face failing to qualify for The Masters for the first time since 1993!

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  3. I'm rooting for Woods but McIlroy is a different beast now he has a major under his belt!

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    1. It seemed all too much for Woods. The biggest surprise for me was Luke Donald, he was very poor. All credit to Bubba Watson, he played well and seems like a nice guy. I cant help but think that if Lee Westwood had a decent putting game, he would win so many more tournaments...

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