Posted on 04/18/2019 2:26:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
From 1997 to 2008, Tiger Woods dominated the world of golf, winning an extraordinarily high percentage of the tournaments he entered. Woods' illustrious golf career included wins in 14 majors, just four short of tying Jack Nicklaus' all-time record. Then came the revelation and scandal about Woods' double life. Publicly, he was a devoted husband and father; privately, he was a serial cheater. He suffered a series of injuries, resulting in four back operations since 2008, and an embarrassing arrest -- with an accompanying mugshot -- for driving while under influence of the prescription drugs found in his car. Many gave Woods' career up for dead.
At the time, a friend of mine declared, "Tiger's finished."
I responded, "Define 'finished.'"
Well, after not winning a major for 11 years, and not winning the Masters in 14, Woods won just the Masters. About the alleged end to Woods' career, here's what I wrote in 2009:
Will Tiger Woods lose endorsements? Yes. How many and for how long remain open questions. Has the carefully groomed image of the contented family man who "has it all" gone supernova? Absolutely. Will he lose his wife, given her public humiliation and her shattered trust in her husband? Strong possibility.
But the history books are full of Act 2s.
Woods is a golfer. He is neither politician nor pastor. As he struggles to deal with his apparent inner demons/self-loathing/shame/embarrassment/dishonor, he can still golf. The curiosity factor alone means stratospheric ratings for his next tournament, especially if he's still contending on the final day. People unable to spell "golf" will tune in for his next event.
As more bizarre things surface -- the growing number of alleged mistresses, his mother-in-law's hospitalization, the recklessness of his behavior -- new revelations may start producing diminishing returns in shock value. People will wonder whether he's a really rotten guy with a phony stage-managed image or a really sick guy who "needs help."
Former President Bill Clinton is the only elected president ever to be impeached. Does Clinton draw down the window shades, only to venture out under cover of night to go to the ATM? Please. He blamed the Republicans, who wanted to "overturn elections." When Clinton first ran for president, he admitted on "60 Minutes" he'd had "problems with his marriage." People interpreted this as an acknowledgment of previous cheating with a promise to sin no more. But he did. He lied to the country about it. He lied about it under oath. Today he strolls around the globe, an elder statesman whose opinions are sought out and somberly considered.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, in the midst of Clinton's crisis, went to the White House to serve as a presidential "mentor." Jackson brought his visibly pregnant mistress, and both later posed for a group photograph in the Oval Office. When Jackson's scandal broke, he briefly closed shop. But he soon said: "The ground is no place for a champion. The ground is no place that I will wallow on." Back in business.
As to former President Richard Nixon, few have fallen from so high to so low so quickly. The only U.S. president to resign, Nixon did so just ahead of an impeachment posse, with a conviction in the Senate a near certainty. After leaving office, he got paid for an interview with David Frost, wrote a bunch of books and gave speeches on foreign policy. He sufficiently redeemed himself, to the point that by former President George W. Bush's second term, many Democrats thought Bush's "crimes" worthier of impeachment than Nixon's.
As for Woods, he once had a favorable rating of nearly 85%. A recent poll still gave him a favorable rating of 60%. And Woods conceivably could even turn public opinion in his favor if he continues to excel on the golf course. "My, what an ability to focus!" etc.
There are many lessons here. There is the silliness of considering celebrities, about whom we really know very little, to be our "role models." There is the envy, sometimes, for the lives of others when very little is as it seems.
Fortunate is the person who can look back on his or her life and say, "I would do it all again the same way." My dad once said that to me. Most of us mortals have made mistakes, sometimes too many to count. Some mistakes have to do with career. Some have to do with money. Some have to do with other poor decisions and poor choices -- reconsidered, of course, with the benefit of hindsight.
But the ones that cause the most regret and the most pain have to do with the treatment of other people -- especially those who loved and trusted us. We finally discover the value and worth of what we once had but failed to appreciate. And now it's too late. Good luck, Mr. Woods.
So was Jack... for a time.
What I refer to as oxidation, or what is commonly referred to as age... wounds all heals.
His comeback has been nothing short of miraculous and a credit to his will to succeed. We should all have that desire.
Considering the strength and skills of the young studs on the tour today, he may not win another tournament but he will definitely be a contender in any event he enters....
I wish him lots of luck and am glad he's back on the tour. It's worth watching again......
Who in the heck is this Kaslin guy? His posts show intelligence and a deep understanding of Americanculture.
That said, note that the Masters didn't show former champ Fuzzy Zoeller for one single frame during the Par-3 tournament. Tiger -- who, rather than accept Fuzzy's apology, ran off and hid at Phil Knight's cabin for 2 weeks -- wore the same Nike red shirt from his last Master's win in '05.
So, did Nicklaus win another Masters after '86? Or another major? Well, no and no.
When Tiger's tally ends at 15, remember that he had a major assist when Molinari put it in Rae's Creek and then struck wood on Sunday -- an implosion worthy of Nick Foldo.
You realize Laskin is linking opinions from other people?
This one was written by Larry Elder.
For sure Kasim is smart to see the value of these opinions and kind enough to take the time to post them here for us to read.
I would never read most of them is not on here
Kaslin.
Darn auto
Considering the strength and skills of the young studs on the tour today, he may not win another tournament but he will definitely be a contender in any event he enters....
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None come near what Tiger has between the ears. If his health holds up, I look for relative dominance once again. I realize that’s a big if. I’ll go with 3 more wins this year including another major.
I'm certainly not betting against it.......
Those guys are monsters and belong in the NFL..........
The gal who won hit, Phyllis Meti, hit a drive of 413 years.....LOL!
The man came back from a spinal fusion just 2 years ago.
If Molinari hadn’t imploded, Tiger would not have won the masters this year.
And he has had 24/7/365 to hone his new swing and unlimited resources to super fine tune all his gear to his new condition. He has done a great job but it is no miracle.
Tiger had spinal fusion surgery. Pretty miraculous he can play professional golf let alone win the Masters. Very happy for him. He made a nice comeback in life from a pretty hole.
I agree that it was more Molinari losing than Tiger winning. Tiger played just well enough to stay in it and take advantage of mistakes. However, Nick Faldo did not implode at the Masters. I think you are thinking of Greg Norman, who had a 6-shot lead in the ginal round. The Shark imploded, and Faldo waltzed in for the win.
That’s all part of the game. You can only hold your own act together.
When all that crap went down with him and his ex, I told everyone, it will be at least 5 years before he’s truly a force in Golf again... MINIMALLY. And that was before all the injuries and other things....
Ended up taking a decade. I am not surprised to see he fought his way back.. but it just as easily could have been (particularly because of the injuries) that he may never have come back.
However, just from the psychological standpoint, it was going to be years, before he would be able to really return to top performance after all that self inflicted drama.
Don’t care! Told you so!
Maybe a better person after all this?
I believe Tiger was wrong not to accept his apology and as such Fuzzy lost all of his endorsements.
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