I’m not a fan of Tiger Woods. Let’s get that straight right away. So this might be a little bias, but I think Tiger gets too much lee-way when things go wrong.
Let me explain. Tiger brushed up against the silly rules of golf this past season and got his hand slapped by the powerful too afraid to stand up to the man who is the face of golf and really lay down the law.
Then, and I’m reading from a Sports Illustrated story, a brave soul like Brandel Chamblee calls Tiger out for being “duplicitous” and hints that he may be a cheater.
Tiger responds by grabbing the golf world by the tail and before Chamblee can backtrack the former PGA Tour player no longer has his gigs at Golf Magazine or at Golf.com.
This is exactly what is wrong with this world. A guy gives his honest opinion and the powerful (read Tiger) threatens all kinds of things and the guy who is less powerful is now even less powerful.
It isn’t right. If we can’t say what we think or believe, we have lost part of the freedom that makes this country great. If I have to hold my tongue for fear somebody will slap me silly and take away my ability to make a fair living, then I might as well jump off the nearest bridge.
Tiger Woods
I have never understood the hero worship the public has for Tiger. Sure he once was perhaps the best golfer ever to walk a golf course, but that greatness doesn’t make him a great person. And as we all discovered, he was not a great person. Now he is not even a great golfer. He’s good, but he’s not great, as he once was.
But it doesn’t matter whether he is great or good or average, Tiger should not have the leverage to take down somebody who is not afraid to state the obvious: Tiger believes the rules of golf only apply to others, not him.
And as silly as I think some of the rules are, rules are rules.
Even the past great ones like Jack Nicklaus knew that, and abided by them without jumping on somebody’s butt because they dared to confront him.
Tiger needs to grow up.
Golf needs to get some steel resolve.