I’ve been an ardent and loyal fan of Tiger Woods since the beginning of his historic career. I’ve defended many of his outbursts as behavior he would one day leave behind.
Well, if he were going to leave it behind, it would have been at the 2010 Masters, where he returned to golf after a 3-month layoff.
It’s not just the profanity (see above), but the club dropping after missed shots, the “whatever” attitude, and the horrid interview with Peter Kostis after his birdie at the last hole. There were no good words for Phil Mickelson or his Masters’ hosts, no gratitude expressed for being back on the PGA Tour, only a sense of his own entitlement — “I entered the tournament to win.”
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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I’m looking for another player — though Tiger may still grow up, one day — upon whom I can lavish my Sunday afternoon attention.
All of golf’s greatest champions — Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson — have conducted themselves as representatives of a gentleman’s game, what I once called “the last outpost of American manners.”
Tiger Woods’ greatness should be written about with an asterisk by his name. When you look at the bottom of the page to see what the asterisk means, you would find:
*Woods’ greatness as ball-striker, competitor, and shot-maker was compromised by his lack of respect for his competitors, his fans, and, most of all, the game itself.
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