It speaks volumes that, only yesterday, I explained my disinterest in watching men’s tennis as follows:
I find it almost as boring as watching golf without Tiger Woods.
(“Women’s Tennis Australian Open: Hail, Naomi Osaka!” The iPINIONS Journal, February 22, 2021)
So imagine my shock when, just hours later, news broke that he was involved in a car crash. Because initial reports evoked fears that his fate would be the same one Kobe Bryant suffered when he died in a helicopter crash around this time last year.
Tiger Woods was involved in a ‘high-speed’ single-car accident in Los Angeles at 7:12 a.m. Tuesday morning, per the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, and was in ‘serious condition’ after undergoing surgery for multiple injuries to his legs. …
This is the latest in a long history of injuries for Woods, a 15-time major champion and 82-time PGA Tour winner. He last competed alongside his son at the PNC Championship, which wrapped up on Dec. 20 in Orlando. He then underwent a microdiscectomy procedure to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve. It was his fifth back surgery overall and the first since his spinal fusion in April 2017.
(Golf Digest, February 23, 2021)
Thank God, none of his injuries are life-threatening, but they are career-threatening. But, truth be told, I’m on record declaring Tiger’s career effectively over even before his Lazurus-like victory two years ago at The Masters.
Here, for example, is what I wrote in “US Open: Tiger Woods Becoming the Hugh Hefner of PGA Players,” June 18, 2018 (you have to read the whole thing to get the title…):
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Tiger will win again; and not just some rinky-dink tournament, but a major. The problem is that Tiger himself made surpassing Jack’s 18 majors the standard by which we should judge his career.
Tiger knows better than anyone that he will not be able to fully redeem his professional reputation until he wins another 5 majors (i.e., from among the Masters in April, US Open in June, British Open in July, and PGA Championship in August).
(“Tiger Won…Finally,” The iPINIONS Journal, December 5, 2011)
Therefore, it won’t do for him to catch lightning in a bottle just one more time. He has to catch it 5 times (or 4 at the very least) for anyone to credibly suggest that he is the GOAT. Mind you, to put this quest for the holy grail of his sport into perspective, most players would be happy to end their careers with just two majors.
That said, there is one abiding consolation: Tiger is still the biggest draw – not just in Golf but in all sports. I conceded this point in “Golf: More about Tiger than the Game Itself,” July 25, 2014, “The Masters: All about Tiger Even When He Was Losing,” April 15, 2013, and, topically enough, in “The US Open: Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!” June 17, 2008, which includes this admission:
If Tiger Woods is not playing, I’d rather watch paint dry than watch golf.
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So, given that these leg injuries are bound to compound his back injuries, chances are very good that I won’t be watching golf anytime soon, if ever again. Because, while Naomi Osaka is displaying enough skill and charisma to sustain my interest in watching women’s tennis after Serena, no player is displaying the same to sustain my interest in watching men’s golf after Tiger.
I wish him a full recovery of course. It’s just that I’m mindful that even Lazarus had only one resurrection. Frankly, Tiger should thank his lucky stars if he recovers well enough only to enjoy an active life with his kids.
But now, at 45, he would do well to rest and rehab for the next five years. Then, if he still has a jones for professional golf, he could set his sights on rewriting the record books on the Senior PGA Tour.
Finally, he blamed his last DUI incident on a cocktail of pills he was downing daily to deal with chronic pain from back surgeries. Well, he will probably be taking double shots of that cocktail after these surgeries.
Therefore, here’s to family and friends staging an intervention to prevent him from driving while on prescription pain killers. He’s accustomed to using a caddie whenever he goes on the golf course. He should get accustomed to using a, er, driver whenever he goes on the road.
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Serena / Osaka… Tiger…
* This commentary was originally published yesterday, Tuesday, at 7:51 pm