I was looking forward to Tiger’s comeback at the Safeway Classic this weekend. But I’m reading this morning that he won’t be playing, after all. Of course, the golfing world is disappointed; we’re feeling betrayed.
To me, it’s shocking on so many fronts.
If there was one thing that set Tiger Woods apart, it was his nerve. He would stand over a pressure packed putt or line up a crucial drive and you knew he wouldn’t fold. That putt was going to find the bottom of the cup. That drive would be in the fairway – way, way down the fairway.
Now, at 40 years old, has Tiger lost his nerve?
Did he get cold feet?
He knew the world would be watching, and if he were a mere mortal, you couldn’t blame him for succumbing to stage fright. But Tiger Woods?
No, Tiger, you don’t just say at the last minute that your game isn’t in good enough shape to compete. You don’t just get our hopes up and then back out because you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself.
That’s not what champions do.
Especially not a champion like you, winner of 14 majors and 79 PGA events, a living legend, an inspiration not just to golfers but to aspiring humans everywhere.
. “You the man,” as fans keep shouting. And “the man” doesn’t get stage fright.
Certainly not a man named Tiger. A man named Tiger would, as Henry V famously exhorted his troops, “imitate the action of the tiger, stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood.”
So come on, Tiger, be a tiger. Stand tall on the first tee like the Tiger of old, with the eyes of the world focused on you, and rip one down the fairway, way, way down the fairway.
The golfing world needs you. America needs you. The world needs you. Don’t fail us now.
