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Let’s face it; we’ve all made a Tiger joke at one point when the legend fell from grace. The media fueled the rumour mill and most had a laugh when he crashed his car trying to save himself from being assaulted by his then wife, followed by every prostitute in his vicinity wanting a piece of his fortune.
The man literally went from hero to zero overnight when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant just outside his house whilst trying to escape his enraged wife in 2009. Tiger was a man whose every triumph we praised and had put him on a pedestal for years, but from that moment on, his infidelity and sordid ways garnered much more appeal. People who had never watched a Major before were all on the anti-Tiger bandwagon.
He lost his wife, lost millions of dollars in settlements, and perhaps most concerning, he lost his game (yes I had to throw that pun in there, judging by all the women who came forward, his ‘game’ was top notch. His golf game however, was not). His 4 month break from professional golf, that was indefinite at the time, and loss of major sponsors Accenture, Gatorade, AT&T, General Motors and Tag-Heuer did not help. When he returned at The Masters in April 2010, he was a shadow of his former self. This loss of form resulted in the man who had been the world number one for the most consecutive weeks as well as for the greatest total number of weeks gradually falling to a low of world number 58 in November 2011.
Keeping a low profile, Tiger did what he does best and focused on his golf game for the next year. His win at The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March 2013 was his 77th PGA title and already his third of 2013.
He summed his victory and return to number 1 up by saying. "I play well here, it's as simple as it gets." He went on to add that "It was a by-product of hard work, patience and getting back to playing golf tournaments.”
In a world where heroes have fallen from glory and torn apart to a point of almost no return, one cannot overlook the achievement that Tiger has accomplished. Tiger was the first to fall and have his name dragged through the mud across global tabloids. Lance Armstrong followed, and we all know about the Oscar saga currently happening in our very own country. Yes, Tiger still hasn’t won a Major since ‘the incident’ and he will continue to be judged by some until he does, but he has managed to comeback from the brink of obscurity to regain his world number 1 ranking. His because nobody has held it longer. His because he did not give up and go quietly. He fought and proved himself with his game and by playing golf like only he can.
His personal affairs are at the end of the day his own business, but he seems to have those in order too. Just last week he announced that he is dating Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful Alpine Skier in history. This could end up being the fairy-tale ending that nobody would have anticipated because slander was far more appealing.
To those that still doubt and poke fun at the man, it would be wise to take a step back and consider all that he has been through and the effort, will-power and hours of dedication it took him to get back to his former level. For me, seeing a balding, emotional, 37 year-old Tiger Woods win a tournament and reclaim the number 1 ranking after so long puts things into perspective. You can't keep a champion down. A Tiger has risen again.
The man literally went from hero to zero overnight when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant just outside his house whilst trying to escape his enraged wife in 2009. Tiger was a man whose every triumph we praised and had put him on a pedestal for years, but from that moment on, his infidelity and sordid ways garnered much more appeal. People who had never watched a Major before were all on the anti-Tiger bandwagon.
He lost his wife, lost millions of dollars in settlements, and perhaps most concerning, he lost his game (yes I had to throw that pun in there, judging by all the women who came forward, his ‘game’ was top notch. His golf game however, was not). His 4 month break from professional golf, that was indefinite at the time, and loss of major sponsors Accenture, Gatorade, AT&T, General Motors and Tag-Heuer did not help. When he returned at The Masters in April 2010, he was a shadow of his former self. This loss of form resulted in the man who had been the world number one for the most consecutive weeks as well as for the greatest total number of weeks gradually falling to a low of world number 58 in November 2011.
Keeping a low profile, Tiger did what he does best and focused on his golf game for the next year. His win at The Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March 2013 was his 77th PGA title and already his third of 2013.
He summed his victory and return to number 1 up by saying. "I play well here, it's as simple as it gets." He went on to add that "It was a by-product of hard work, patience and getting back to playing golf tournaments.”
In a world where heroes have fallen from glory and torn apart to a point of almost no return, one cannot overlook the achievement that Tiger has accomplished. Tiger was the first to fall and have his name dragged through the mud across global tabloids. Lance Armstrong followed, and we all know about the Oscar saga currently happening in our very own country. Yes, Tiger still hasn’t won a Major since ‘the incident’ and he will continue to be judged by some until he does, but he has managed to comeback from the brink of obscurity to regain his world number 1 ranking. His because nobody has held it longer. His because he did not give up and go quietly. He fought and proved himself with his game and by playing golf like only he can.
His personal affairs are at the end of the day his own business, but he seems to have those in order too. Just last week he announced that he is dating Lindsey Vonn, one of the most successful Alpine Skier in history. This could end up being the fairy-tale ending that nobody would have anticipated because slander was far more appealing.
To those that still doubt and poke fun at the man, it would be wise to take a step back and consider all that he has been through and the effort, will-power and hours of dedication it took him to get back to his former level. For me, seeing a balding, emotional, 37 year-old Tiger Woods win a tournament and reclaim the number 1 ranking after so long puts things into perspective. You can't keep a champion down. A Tiger has risen again.
