Tiger Woods At The 2017 Hero World Challenge
The long and winding road of Tiger Woods’ career, with all of its fits and starts, had another restart at the 2017 Hero World Challenge, in December. After withdrawing from the 2016 event the golf world was focused on the Bahamas for the event.
Shortly before the event my friend, Gordon Sherry, told me about his plan to attend with a client. Gordon had facilitated a contribution (entry fee), well into six figures, from his client, for the privilege of playing in the pro-am before the tournament.
“Do you think he will acknowledge the considerable contribution my friend made to his foundation?” the Glasgow native asked me, somewhat tongue in cheek. The Tiger Woods Foundation was the beneficiary of the event. With only 18 professionals and pro-am teams, Tiger would probably have been made aware of the amateur players and Gordon’s connection in obtaining the contribution.
Gordon has carved out a niche in the game, following a stellar amateur career, winning the 1995 British Amateur and leading the 1995 Walker Cup Team that defeated a US team that included Tiger Woods. As an agent, a founder of a virtual golf club named the “Links Club”, and a speaker and teacher, he is well known and well connected in the game. If that isn’t enough, he writes on golf for ‘The Scotsman’ newspaper, a nationwide paper in Scotland.
Gordon forwarded me a story he wrote for the paper on Saturday of this event. With his permission, I have reprinted it.
Tiger Woods At The Hero World Challenge
It’s more than 22 years since we played against each other in Wales in the Walker Cup. We are by no means friends but golf very occasionally brings us together and usually a friendly reciprocated smile, a quiet laugh about old times and pleasantries play out. Usually.....Tiger is "focused" and seems to be making minimal contact with anyone. Easy to criticise but we don't really know where he is mentally given all the trials and tribulations of recent years. (After all, he has had more girlfriends than rounds played in the last few years.)
This week we are reacquainted here at Albany during The Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, a PGA Tour event that Tiger hosts. The Tiger Woods Foundation is the charity associated with the event. (A seemingly obvious tax break for those blinkered golfing millionaires who regardless of seeing right or wrong continue to want to stroke his ego.)
This week has all been about the return of the Golfing Messiah that is Tiger Woods and the interest, of course, is whether or not this latest golfing comeback will be physically blemished free. Watching on the range has been interesting. Every spectator, volunteer, sponsor, official, resident and indeed every player can't help but glance over to watch in anticipation as Tiger cracks another one off on the range. There is definitely an air of concern whether the next one will be the one that tweaks a muscle or creates a doubting twinge. If yesterday's 69 and today's 68 are anything to go by it would appear he is over his physical troubles. A front nine of 31 today was hugely impressive.
My late coach Bob Torrance often said that "he's going to have to modify his swing to prolong his career". He often pointed out 'flaws' in Tiger's swing that he was convinced would cause issues later. I think most of us doubted Bob's words. It was Bob's job to analyse and dissect a swing and find a solution to suit that person and in hindsight, that's what he did with Tiger from a distance. Only we thought how can it be so off when he's winning majors. Tiger would have won majors with any swing it seemed and indeed won the US Open in 08 with one leg!
I'm not sure Tiger ever got the chance to spend much time talking swing with Bob but like every student, Bob worked with Tiger would have learned a lot. You would always find it hard to disagree with Bob because it was simply taught and usually logical, fully explained to the point where it was hard to argue against. More than anything he taught in a way that allowed mental toughness and trust to be subconsciously built. "The only reason you practise is to trust your swing under pressure".
This all said the golf swings Tiger has been making on the range suggest a new approach. Annika Sorenstam explained that her best golf arose from playing at what felt like 70/80%. In other words under control. She, like Tiger, has won 14 Majors in case anyone is thinking "Annika Sorenstam??"
That might be the biggest challenge for Tiger. Can he perhaps deal with not being the longest and be under control. After all, it was his shortest club in his bag that produced the results more than any other part of his game. His extraordinary ability to simply play a different game and chase the win and relish that challenge were incredible to watch. After two days there is definitely a sense of a real hunger and focus on just that.
With so much pressure on literally every step he takes, every practise swing he makes, every full swing and of course every word he utters, the attention is through the roof again on his every move. Will Tiger be able to return to the deep focused golfer that we saw in the early 2000's? A golfer who was so deeply engrossed in his golf shots and not his swing. A golfer who only prepared to win and most often did. If in fact he is totally pain free and feeling so good as described here then there is every chance we will see the steady progress of winning golf return.
No golfer lasts forever. Indeed every legend in every sport eventually 'loses their edge'. Whether that means hunger to compete or indeed simply losing ones bottle. Tiger has had a 2 year rest and is still only 42 in late December. It will be 10 years since he won a major in 2018. Maybe he's finally ready to top up his major count. It could be that the rest was simply one that his body massively required after 35 years of intense practise.
We know that form is temporary and class is permanent. But with everything he has gone through physically and let's not forget mentally, which is so often in Tigers case overlooked, it will be interesting to see whether Tiger can regain the highly consistent form with which we became complacently accustomed.
22 years on our lives couldn't be further apart. Tiger lives in the Bahamas, I live near Balmaha. However this great game very occasionally and for very different reasons briefly brings us together again. I'll take Balmaha but I'm also grateful to be here inside the ropes to watch closely a true golfing legend start his quest for a return to the winner's circle. Inspirational role model? Not so sure. Excellent tournament host? Not so sure. Gracious and thankful to those who support him and his foundation still? Not so sure. ((Great for the game? Sure....if finance is the only thing that matters. Players, in particular, are reluctant to even whisper any negative thoughts about him. "If it wasn't for Tiger we wouldn't have what we have today. You know I fly round in a private jet and have an amazing lifestyle because of him." An interesting and indeed flummoxing personal appraisal of a top-ranked golfer....! Does this thinking only add to the lack of total humility which he exudes?))
Is he a golfing legend who could return to the top of the game? Absolutely possible.
Gordy
I responded to his email by stating, “It doesn’t sound like he interacted with you and your man much.”
He got back to me with this response.
“At the welcoming dinner we sat next to Matt Kuchar, who was great. Tiger sat back to back from me, not two feet away. Twice during the event I asked him if my client could get a picture with him. He said nothing either time, ignoring what I asked and as a result there was no picture. The only acknowledgment of the pro-am participants came when he addressed the entire group. He reported that $29,000,000 had been raised in the last nearly 20 years of the foundation’s existence. Wouldn’t you think he could have gone around to each of the tables and thanked the attendees?”
Following the dust-up with his ex-wife and exit from the game, a golf writer wrote a column about Tiger. In it, he blasted Tiger. In so many words the writer said he deserved his problems with the way he treated the press and public when he was on top. He ripped him for, among other things, conduct again exhibited at the Hero World Challenge, his own tournament.
In fairness, many have favorable stories about Tiger. When he was in Minneapolis for the 2001 PGA he was visible, working out at a facility and out in public somewhat. Not that he posed for photos in the pre iPhone camera days, but would greet people when spoken to.
At a corporate outing for the sponsors of his tournament, the AT & T, several years ago my friend Bill Kelly played three holes with Tiger. “He could have been better, but he was fine,” he told me. “I had two of my kids with me who got pictures with him.”
While not winning the tournament he did finish four rounds, playing well in three of the rounds. Tiger has been great for golf. When Tiger was on top golfers and nongolfers alike followed him. Kids started to play because of Tiger, minorities also. Golf still needs Tiger. We all hope Tiger can regain his past form. Golf does well when Tiger plays.
I have never met Tiger Woods and my opinion of him has been formed from behind the ropes. No one is perfect and neither is Tiger. It’s too bad Tiger can’t improve on the easy stuff, like taking a picture with someone who has contributed an enormous amount to his charity. Or sincerely thanking those who give money to a charity he apparently cares about.
Tiger can still have a big impact on the game. I hope that he does. Only Arnold Palmer has excited the public like Tiger Woods. Tiger could learn a lot by looking at Arnold’s legacy. Only Arnold has rivaled Tiger in my Life In Golf.
