I have been and remain an unabashed Tiger Woods fan, mesmerized by his ability to golf his Nike ball and unbothered over the years by increasing evidence that his flirtation with perfection didn’t necessarily extend off the golf course and into his private life. There, like you and me, Tiger is all too human.
That said, the Tiger Woods we see now, shaped by more than a few very public embarrassments as well as a car crash that almost took his right leg, is certainly a kinder and gentler version when compared with the steely-eyed competitor who arrived in 1996 with the salutation “hello world.”
I like the current version the best, even if the golf game has been eroded somewhat both by age and injury.
Let’s quickly dispense with this concerning the game’s GOAT. Tiger has won nine more PGA events in 219 fewer PGA starts than did Jack Nicklaus, meaning Tiger could tee it up in a PGA event 291 more times without a win and he would have a higher winning percentage than did Jack.
I understand that 18 majors is greater than 15, but that win-percentage statistic just won’t bend. Tiger’s greatness is amplified by the fact that he has done it when golf is truly an international game and fields are deeper than they have ever been.
But today I want to talk about another Tiger accomplishment, Charlie Woods, Tiger’s 12-year-old son and partner last week in the PNC Championship, which featured major golf champions in a modified superball event. Pretty good chance you watched at least some of the event, which was won by John Daly and John Daly Jr. by a couple of shots over Tiger and Charlie, despite the latter’s 11 straight birdies on Sunday that was part of a 15-under-par 57.
I think the Woodses make the strongest case yet that I have seen for the power of genes. Charlie’s swing not only looks like Tiger’s, but so do his on-course mannerisms. I bet Charlie is good with the young ladies at school as well.
During the broadcast, I found poignant an observation made by Gary Player concerning Tiger and Charlie’s relationship on the course. I will paraphrase but Player essentially said that Charlie chose to play golf “to give him access” to Tiger.
It instantly occurred to me that access to my father is why I began playing golf as a 9-year-old many years ago, so I could spend Saturdays and Sundays with dad — first as a caddie, toting his and his partner’s bag for $5 a round, but then as a 13-year-old who finally broke 80 and was deemed worthy of joining a group of near scratch players, my father being one. I got schooled not only on golf, but how to stick the needle in as well as endure it.
These were all-day affairs that would begin with a ride to the course, proceed to the range for the warmup and then four hours on the course, include the ride home and conclude with conversation at the dinner table – yes, families used to do that — concerning that day’s play. And 51 years later, we are still teeing it up together, most recently yesterday.
While the skill levels are obviously different, my father and I did in our day bag a few father-and-son trophies and in 1985 lost in a four-way playoff in a CGA tournament that included the best father-and-son combos in North Carolina and South Carolina. We carded a 1-under 71 at Foxfire GC using a modified alternate shot format, but my missed 3-footer on the second playoff hole robbed us of the glory but not the memory.
And the memories are what matter, as Tiger himself pointed out when asked about the PNC experience. You don’t have to be a world-class golfer or a golfer at all to make them with your son or daughter. They can be found hunting or fishing, on all athletic venues, in a studio, church, the back yard, just about anywhere. If more fathers would make that happen, the world would incrementally become a better place. For additional inspiration, give Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” a listen.
While watching the PNC, it occurred to me that Tiger has set himself up for yet another epic comeback. I don’t think even the most optimistic among us would have believed on Feb. 23 that Tiger would be walking let alone playing golf before the dawn of the new year, but there he was and the quality of his play last weekend was mind-boggling, despite the limp.
If Tiger can find a way to drag that right leg around 18 holes, my guess is that he will one day add No. 83 to the trophy room, breaking the tie with Sam Snead for most PGA victories.
It’s not hard to see Charlie sticking in the needle by telling Pops 82 and 15 won’t be enough.
Donnie Douglas is a former editor of The Robesonian. Contact him at ddouglas521@hotmail.com.