A More Interesting Tiger

For golf fans, it's all about the story. Every good drama has balance - a balance of good and evil; a balance of humor and gravity. If one was to write the story of the world's greatest golfer, perhaps the greatest ever to have played the game, that story would also need balance. Face it, Tiger Woods, before Thanksgiving of 2009, was pretty boring. His after-match interviews were bland at best. His image was that of the family man with the impeccable work-ethic who'd beat balls past sunset after tournament rounds, and who'd be at the gym before sunrise, keeping his edge finely honed for competition. The drama was on the course - it doesn't get any better than the 2008 U.S. Open, overcoming adversity and all that, and the chip-in from off the 16th green at the Masters is the stuff from which legends are made, but not good novels, not good movies. Our golf story would need the hero to be a tragic figure, one with a dark side, one with doubts and weaknesses. It's these elements that make Batman so much more interesting than Superman. Now we know Tiger's weakness, his vulnerability. For once in his public life, he's out of control. The page is turned.

Will the rest of the story be about the comeback? We await the next chapter.

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WWBJD?

Golf news of the day is usually less than controversial - it's a pretty boring sport - but we live in interesting times. It's not up to me to moralize about the behavior of contemporary icons of the game, and my commentary here is supposed to be timeless, so I must resist the urge to be topical. Among the questions of the day are those surrounding the personal behavior of World Number 1 - but that behavior has naught to do with golf itself, so I'll save that for another post. The recent cheating accusations against world number 2? That's got everything to do with golf. I'm a big fan of Phil Mickelson - I want to see him win. I appreciate the way he appreciates the fans, and I personally saw this in action at both of the Bethpage U.S. Opens. In putting that Ping in his bag, he is not in violation of the rules regarding wedges, not technically. It's that word technically, however, that makes all golfers uneasy. Phil might say that it's not up to him to interpret the rules, only to live by them. Others cite the "intent and spirit" of the rules, and insist that Phil is in knowing violation. What standard should we abide by? How's this for timeless: What would Bobby Jones do?

That's more than I wanted to say...
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