Winning tournaments in his inimitable fashion is the only way now to eradicate images of his bacchanalian private life from public consciousness. And only this will give his understandably spooked corporate sponsors – who dropped him like a hot potato – the cover they need to feature him as their spokesman once again… In any event, I am convinced that Tiger will return … sooner rather than later.
(Tiger escapes to a “safe haven,” The iPINIONS Journal, December 14, 2009)
I wrote the above in the immediate aftermath of his scandalous fall from grace. Back then, I would have bet my life savings that Tiger would have won his 15th major by now. The Majors, of course, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf. They include the Masters in April, U.S. Open in June, British Open in July, and PGA Championship in August.
Well, just as I predicted, he did return sooner rather than later after that now infamous domestic spat in November 2009 – only four months later to be exact. The surprise, however, is that Tiger has not won a single, rinky-dink tournament since then, let alone that 15th Major.
This is why, by contrast, those who vowed back then that he would never win again are feeling somewhat vindicated. And that feeling could only have been reinforced on Friday when Tiger missed the cut at the PGA Championship, the final major of the year and a tournament which accounts for 4 of his 14 major titles.
It is impossible to resist engaging in pop psychology to explain why he can’t even buy a win these days. Apropos of this, I cannot help remarking on how delusional Tiger sounded on Friday after what had to have been the most humiliating performance of his professional career:
It’s a step back in the sense I didn’t make the cut but a giant leap forward in the sense that I played two straight weeks healthy.
(BBC Sport, August 12, 2011)
A giant leap forward? Hell, if merely staying healthy, physically, for two straight weeks is a giant leap forward, then actually winning another major might take a miracle….
But it’s plainly disingenuous for Tiger to suggest that chronic injuries have prevented him from winning. For this is belied by the fact that he not only seemed just fine throughout his winless 2010, but actually won his “last” Major, the 2008 U.S. Open, while in obvious pain from a knee injury. (Incidentally, Tiger withdrew from the final round of the Players Championship in May 2010, complaining about a neck injury. But he was back on the tour within weeks, which gave credence to suspicions that he withdrew merely out of frustration – when he realized he had no chance of winning.)
Frankly, one does not have to be a trained psychologist to diagnose that Tiger’s problems are more mental than physical. It’s self-evident that they have everything to do with the public humiliation he suffered in the wake of that notorious domestic spat. The tabloids hailed his sexual prowess in reporting titillating details about his Charlie-Sheen like penchant for hookers. But that humiliating scandal sapped him of the self-esteem and confidence that not only imbued his game with an aura of invincibility, but instilled self-defeating fear in other players.
Unsurprisingly, the media have focused on the fact that he lost his wife and a half billion dollars in divorce payments and commercial endorsements. It’s arguable though that an even greater loss was the mental strength that gave him that invincible swagger, but which depended so much on reverence from fans and fellow players alike.
What Rory McIlroy, the winner of this year’s U.S. Open, said about playing this PGA Championship with a strained tendon in his right wrist is instructive in this context:
It was probably tougher mentally more than anything else, trying to get it out of your mind.
(BBC Sport, August 12, 2011)
Furthermore, that a physically fit Tiger announced after missing the cut that he won’t play another tournament until November is testament to how mentally vulnerable he has become. Indeed, one can be forgiven for thinking that he’d rather nurse his wounded pride than risk another ignominious cut.
Except that this avoidance strategy will only make his performance anxiety more acute. And, given his now notorious sexcapades, how’s that for irony of ironies…?
I am convinced that Tiger is losing his very pubic fight to recapture his mojo simply because he cannot get that public humiliation out of his mind. And each humiliating loss will only make him more anxious about playing his next tournament.
Meanwhile, apropos of humiliation, earlier this summer Tiger unceremoniously fired Steve Williams, the caddie who served him loyally through 13 of his 14 majors. Therefore, imagine Tiger’s resentment when Williams moved on to caddie for Adam Scott who won his first World Golf Championship at the Bridgestone Invitational a week ago; especially since Tiger only managed to finish in an ego-crushing tie for 37th … 18 shots back.
Perhaps even more devastating was hearing Williams then gloat all over TV about Scott’s victory being “the best win I’ve ever had.” The insinuation being that he was as responsible for Scott’s win as he was for all of Tiger’s. So, on top of all of his other performance anxieties, Tiger now has to worry about proving that he can in fact win without Williams….
At any rate, Tiger is 35. So he can probably compete for majors, physically, for another five years. But if he still hasn’t won his 15th by this time next year, I fear he will never be able to compete well enough, mentally, to dethrone Jack Nicklaus as the king of the majors with 18 wins.
Still, it speaks volumes about how much this sport revolves around Tiger that even when his misses the cut (or is not even playing in a tournament), sports commentators spend more time talking about him than about any other player – as Scott found out last week and Keegan Bradley, the rookie who won this PGA Championship, found out this weekend. No doubt this is because it has been demonstrated quite convincingly that when Tiger is not featured in some fashion viewership plummets dramatically. The “bottom line” is that golf needs Tiger more than Tiger needs golf.
NOTE: For the record, I am convinced that Tiger will win again – and not just some rinky-dink tournament, but a Major. But to appreciate how difficult it is for one player to dominate the majors the way Tiger did, bear in mind that 13 different players have won the last 13 Major championships.
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