Waking up at 5 a.m. on a beautiful summer day in August was cruel and inhumane punishment for me, but that is what it took for me to see a legend who was only 25 minutes away from my home, so I gladly forced myself out of bed.
Driving to Chaska, Minn., in my old but dependable 1996 Honda Accord, the only question that ran through my head was whether or not I would see the man who many consider one of the greatest.
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2009, me, my friends and a horde of golf enthusiasts entered the gates of Hazeltine National Golf Club to spectate a practice round of the PGA Championship.
Rumor spread that the man who we all came to watch was approaching the seventh hole, so we flocked there and waited eagerly.
About 45 minutes later, we finally saw the man formally known as Eldrick.
Tiger Woods walked up the seventh fairway in a dark purple Nike shirt with former caddy Stevie Williams to a chorus of cheers.
Saying that certain individuals are just as big, if not bigger than their sport, disenchants the beauty of competition, but in all honesty, Tiger Woods is golf. He means more to his sport than any other athlete in the history of sports. Without Woods, golf is a lifeless recreational hobby scouring feverishly for a pulse. It would not be nearly as popular or profitable.
His infidelity and attitude polarizes some, but to argue that golf is better when he is not in contention or competing is an idiotic assertion. His signature fist pump, undeniable mystique and ability to win galvanizes people.
Tiger Woods is to golf as what Michael Jordan was to basketball. During Jordan?s first and second retirement stints, the NBA was led by great players such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley who could not catapult the league to fortune like Jordan did. Golf was the same during Woods? hiatuses. Relying on players like Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and others to carry golf to prosperous heights like Woods had done is not realistic.
This past Sunday, Woods finished third in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and first in the Chevron World Challenge, an offseason tournament that Woods hosted last December.
Woods has not won an official tournament since 2009 and has not won a major since 2008.
Golf fans, like me, who want golf to prosper, hope Woods? third place standing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a harbinger for not only his 2012 season, but for the rest of his career.
On Dec. 30, 2011, Woods turned 36, which is not an old age for a PGA golfer, but it is definitely not a young age, so the door is slowly starting to close. His relentless quest to break Jack Nicklaus? record for most major tournament victories is to prove that he is the greatest of all time.
Majors define a golfer?s career, and Woods knows that.
As much as I respect and appreciate Jack Nicklaus, I want to see Woods break his record.
Nobody has revolutionized golf like Tiger Woods.
? edited by Jeff Karr
Source: http://www.kansan.com/news/2012/feb/01/brew-woods/
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