Tiger Woods is returning to golf to compete at the Masters tournament at Augusta National, the most prestigious golf venue in America, after many months of a self-imposed lay-off. Industrialist Siddharth Shriram, also an avid golfer, tees off his series of exclusive reports from the golf course
“Hi, I am Tiger Woods,” said he, warmly grasping my much smaller hand in his powerful, friendly grip. This was almost half his life ago, when he played as an amateur in the Thai Honda Open. Sweetly, he gave me a ball with “Tiger” imprinted on it which I still have.
He came across as strong, friendly, courteous, confident, obviously highly talented and full of the promise that had been hyped up since he was two years old! He fulfilled that promise through golfing exploits too numerous to detail, so much so that he won “ONLY” 50 per cent of the events he entered and was always the hot favourite. Termed superhuman by many commentators, he was variously described as a remarkable freak of nature, a “once in an era” being, and also that he carried the knowledge of his greatness with some arrogance in his stride. His perfect fitness levels, his education, his “cablinasian” (Caucasian/Black/Indian/Asian) breeding mixture, added to a fantasy mystique which was fanned by his reticence to talk about himself. His image was contrived to be comprehensively private, extremely controlled and as a perfect role model for young and old alike.
He raised the physical conditioning and performance bar for the entire golfing world, including for professionals. Golf courses were redesigned to accommodate his prodigious distances; TV ratings, whenever he played, reached such levels that sponsorship money flooded into the PGA coffers, resulting in unimagined prize monies (the Master’s purse has increased from $2.1 million in 1995 to $ 7.5 million now), creating hundreds of new pro golf millionaires; the equipment suppliers prospered on the back of the rapid rise of the game across the world, including in erstwhile communist and low income countries, all based on the surge caused by Tiger’s persona.
His image was perfected by the work of the “Tiger Woods Foundation” with children, where they learned that in life, as in golf, excellence is attained by full commitment in execution.
He was and always is the golfing story even when not competing.
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And yet, with all this success, and the attendant huge media coverage, it can be said that nobody in the public really knew him. Not knowing him did not mean that some monster lurked within; it meant that living in the glare of constant public scrutiny, did not allow the “boy” to emerge and grow into the complete human being with all the frailties and strengths that are tested, bounded and developed by normal social interaction. The spotlight is no substitute for sunlight for encouraging normal growth, and hence the over reaction in satisfying the natural physical urges that are perhaps amplified in any magnificent athlete. However, he could not keep these matters “private”.
While his legendary physical, mental and coordination capabilities enable him to pull off magical shots from the unbelievably difficult lies that his errant driving lands him in, he has now driven into virtually an unplayable patch in his private life from which he has no experience of how to get out. No practice swings allowed, no mulligans, no definable target areas and no perception of the lay of the land ahead; ergo no magical shots to get out of this mess.
The entertainment media particularly demonized him for his fall just as they raised him to the heavens at his rise. Some media is best pleased at the lascivious and the salacious in a great person’s fall from grace. They go into a furious feeding frenzy, demanding ever more of the same, like spoilt children. They become instant experts on everything from morals, mores and manners to how fraught with failure Tiger’s return to golf is bound to be. When Tiger did not behave as they wished, unmindful of the biblical bidding of letting him throw the first stone who has not sinned, they expressed their wrath self righteously to try to bring him to heel. When Tiger did re-enter the real world, in his own unique way, even the Golf Writers Association of America churlishly boycotted the event because they wanted his re-entry their way.
Speculation about famous people whether they be actors, politicians, scientists, sportsmen or others cannot be avoided and absorbing such public speculation has to be part of Tiger’s diet for the present, without spoiling his digestion. He has seen a Dorian Greyesque image of himself and he does not like it. Deep down Tiger Woods is a strong family man. If he performs strongly in golf, as heretofore, and has learnt the lesson of how extra marital adventures, while thrilling, can destroy family life, he will rise like a phoenix again.
Tiger cares less about the money but more about rehabilitation from his weaknesses and reconciliation with an obviously alienated wife. He knows that he is where he is because of the care from both his own parents and he would want a “together” family to be available for his children. His huge powers of recovery are bred into him by his Green Beret father and Buddhist mother. He is learning that the beginning of understanding is that every person, no matter how great, how powerful, how awesome, is vulnerable and subject to decline and that success comes from summoning up strength from the wellspring of spiritual reservoirs deep within.
Tiger’s responsibility is to fix himself and, equally importantly, mend his relationship with his wife. If these are done, he will win back public trust as well. Right now, he is like Horatio on the bridge, facing fearful odds of the demons within him, and fighting for his father, his temple and his god.
Tiger Woods is not the best golfer the world will ever see because, as famously cinematically recorded in gunfighter genre in “Son of Paleface”, “no matter how fast you are there will always be somebody faster”. We just have to wait for a Ryo or a Rory or a Kim or one of a host of other present and future challengers in preparation, to enter that “zone” for a few years where the mind, the body, the equipment, merge with the changing energy fields of nature, to create shot after shot of sheer beauty and thus to overtake Tiger.
Right now, he is just another human being, the best golfer the world has ever seen to date and one who has brought joy to millions all over the world. So let us all give him a second chance and hope for the best Masters tournament ever.
Watch these columns for the next week!!