Backing Into Obscurity?

There will be figures we, no matter what, will never like.  For instance, I have to think hard when I notice this one girl behind the Chipotle line.  She barely gives me enough food to feed my gerbil, much less my 6’5” frame.  But, the alternative is Noodles & Company, so I grit my teeth and bare it.  Some sports figures also seem to underwhelm us, and yet we have to respect them, if only because they manage to patch up the ugly in their sport.  I mean, who can actually claim to like Nick Saban.

For me, that person has always been Tiger Woods.  With each new major victory, I groaned.  His amped up mentality, which so many others loved, always struck me as arrogance.  I am one of the few avid golf spectators who has, in the past, stayed away from Tiger.  I can count multiple majors where I stopped watching once he hit the fourth round with the lead.  Until a small little Asian guy beat him on the best hybrid shot you will ever see, Tiger was unbeatable.  (For those curious, his win at Pebble Beach deserves to go down as the most impressive major victory ever…he was the only guy under par, and won by 15 strokes).  Once his scandal started, everyone began cooling on Woods, but before too long he was back in the mix, winning tournaments and tantalizing fans everywhere.

And he still will, but I think it’s time to consider nailing the coffin shut on Tiger’s rise.  His apex has come and gone.  And, much as I hate to say it, it’s saddening.

Just to explain, a back injury is one of those things that golfers can’t ever really shake.  The best epitome of back problems over the years, Fred Couples, had difficulty after losing his back for much of the 1994 season, just one year after ascending to the World Number One Ranking and winning the Masters.  He still feels the effects.  That said, Tiger has more general athleticism and conditioning than Freddie had, and he’s made so much money he won’t rush himself back.  But, and I think this is true, his chances of tying Jack Nicklaus’ major wins record are now almost zilch.  I believe Tiger will win one more at least…he’s only 38, and when he does win it will be a lot like Jack’s 1985 Masters.  A blast from the past, a weekend where past memories flood viewers, and a time when golf looks surreally appealing to almost anyone.

And that’s the worst consequence of Tiger’s injury news today.  He will miss The Masters for the first time in his career, a tournament that fits his game best.  But, all of a sudden, golf is in trouble.  Yes, we all love Phil Mickelson, if only for his U.S. Open futility.  Adam Scott looks good in pictures.  Rory McIlroy has the most beautiful swing you can imagine.  But none of these would-be challengers can bring the attention to golf that Tiger garners. 

Yeah, I dislike that fact.  It kills me that those whose only association with golf is a Robin Williams skit can likely only mention Tiger Woods when asked who’s playing golf today.  He draws the most galleries at events by far, and last year the Masters experienced a 7.2 rating for the 90 minutes centered around Tiger finishing his third round (compared to a 6.3 overall for the third round in general). 

Tiger is the tide that has raised all golf boats.  It is not surprising that the Golf Channel finally found existence against the backdrop of Woods’ deep successes.  Tiger drove Nike to an amazingly strong 8 percent market share for golf balls, when Nike had before then been nothing but a niche manufacturer.  Ratings for the 2009 PGA Championship final round, which concluded in a second place finish by Tiger, were 150 percent above the previous year’s numbers.

In the end, golf may be just fine.  It remains a big recreational activity for many, and that certainly can’t be discounted.  But to act as if anyone playing now has a similar effect on golf, compared to Tiger, is ludicrous.  Even Phil, everyone’s favorite village idiot, doesn’t draw the same kind of media attention that Tiger does.  Did you know Phil might miss The Masters because of injury as well?  Oh yeah, the dude has a strained oblique muscle.  The different treatments are stunning in how unequal they are.

I will wait to find the next heir apparent, and hopefully golf will continue.  But any golf fan, regardless of whether they like Tiger Woods, should hope this injury doesn’t have a lasting impact on his career.  If it does, golf may have its forty days in the wilderness.