Tiger Woods

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Hoyacane1620

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Saw this re-posted a few times on twitter. The original author is a man named Chris Field.. It really struck me and I thought it was really well written:


He had it all. Everything. Until he didn’t. And the fall was not a small one. It was documented everywhere. All his sins, and there were plenty, for the world to see. Whispers, finger pointing, head shaking, headlines. Slowly, with almost nobody watching, he started coming back
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12:02 PM - 14 Apr 2019
  • An injury almost ended the comeback before it even started. He persevered through that as well. Today, with the world watching, he does it. A generation who years ago sat with their dads watching Tiger win sat with their own kids now and said, “watch this.”

    A generation inspired to become and excel at golf by watching him on TV as kids watched one more time today as he passed them on the leader board. His children who watched it all unfold over the last decade with their own parts in the story are waiting for him just off the 18th.

    The mom who watched her son have it all, and then lose it all, is waiting too. She never left, by the way. Mommas almost never do. The story isn’t perfect. They never are. We never are. But it’s a heck of a good one.

    Watch closely kids. Being great is one thing. Being great after falling out of grace takes twice as much work and ten times as much courage. That’s the good stuff in life. That’s why a bunch of old dudes got tears in their eyes today.
 
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It was one of the best weekends of golf I can remember. It was just special. If just for one weekend...one day...Tiger was Tiger again. His group legitimately wilted under the pressure on the back nine. There are countless stills of Molinari and Finau ****ting themselves after a **** shot that put them in a compromised position with Tiger just looming behind them waiting for his shot. Molinari, specifically, once the pressure on the back nine started, absolutely could not handle it.

With a potential tie looming, Koepka missed a birdie he's probably hit countless times in his life with Tiger about to wrap it up.

Tiger...a little older...a little wiser...on the 18th on Sunday...his third shot...young Tiger tries to go for the kill and aims the pin up and tries to end it...a risk reward that puts the Masters in jeopardy. But, old Tiger...old Tiger is a bit conservative, and instead of going for the kill, just chips it up and assures himself a two putt win.

Tiger is awesome. He's flawed to no end. But his redemption arc is a great narrative and golf is better for it.
 
Personally, I think the "flawed" thing is overstated. He cheated. Sure it's wrong, but hardly unique, especially for celebrities and big time athletes. His life crashed. Maybe it was an area where he needed to grow up. But clearly he's changed. His relationship with his kids is telling in this regard. People make mistakes of all kinds. And it was a long time ago. We need to let it go.

The real story is his golf. Had he not been injured, the records he would have set are beyond imagination. He had more talent than anyone ever. He hit shots nobody else would even attempt. He just wasn't #1 for an absurd length of time. The distance between himself and whoever was #2 was ridiculous. he just didn't win, he played on a totally different plane than anyone else, as his margin of victory, Masters and U.S. Open attest. And he won an Open playing with a broken leg (!), in severe pain after almost every shot. I take nothing away from Jack, or Arnie, or Hogan. But Jack believed that his major record would not stand the Tiger onslaught. Arnie brought the game to everyman popularity...Tiger brought it to the masses who never cared about the game. Hogan was badly hurt, but not as bad as Tiger was. And least we forget, Jack, Arnie, Hogan, Sneed, played when they had to beat maybe 5 guys to win. In this era, multiply that by 10.

So, count me as one of the people who shed a tear on Sunday. And as I told my son, "I'm sure more nervous than he is".

We should all appreciate the greatest athlete ever, period.
 
El Tigre da gawd.

Seriously though. Greatest golfer in history, did not deserve what he went through, terrible injuries to overcome (not on Hogan's level) and one of the greatest moments in sports history this past weekend.

Achieved it in a time of the most competitive golf ever. I hope he can squeak out a few more to pass Jack as he rightfully should.
 
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if he stays healthy as he is now Tiger will likely easily break Jack's record and win at least 20 majors.
Pushing all in I see. Simple math, he's 43 irc, so 7 years or so to win 5 more. It's going to be tight. Each year after 40 is exponential like hurricane cats is all I can say. I'm pulling for him. Never liked Jack, dotting i at Taint just made it worse and finally, his gratuitous backing of Tiger's chances when none thought it possible was a total PR play imo.
 
Pushing all in I see. Simple math, he's 43 irc, so 7 years or so to win 5 more. It's going to be tight. Each year after 40 is exponential like hurricane cats is all I can say. I'm pulling for him. Never liked Jack, dotting i at Taint just made it worse and finally, his gratuitous backing of Tiger's chances when none thought it possible was a total PR play imo.
here is a comparison of Jack and Tiger

career starts Jack 586 Tiger 338
career wins Jack 73 Tiger 81
major starts Jack 161 Tiger 72
major wins Jack 18 Tiger 15

Jack won 12 % of total career tournaments he played Tiger has won 24%
Jack won 11% of major tournaments he played Tiger has won 20.8%

if Tiger maintains his average he will need to play only 19 more major tournaments to break Jack's record.
 
As a golfer he did an amazing thing Sunday. In his personal life he failed miserably. I celebrated his golf accomplishment but as a husband he’s a piece of crap.
 
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Yeahh, the Tiger story doesn't move me at all. His fall from grace was Karma. Tiger in his prime was terrible to the fans and other golfers on tour, not a good guy. His personal life is his own, I could give a ****. I don't understand the fanboy lovefest from the media and fans alike, he doesn't deserve it. Obviously, one of the best of all time of course on the golf course.
 
I don’t think any of us realize what we would think of MJ if he played now. He was a jerk too. Heck he’d punch his teammates. But all anyone wants to remember is his greatness. He’s a shrewd businessman who exploits everything he can in the name of profit. As does Tiger. It’s just funny to me how some choose to vilify Tiger. Yes he’s a man who sins, aren’t we all. But I believe he has changed a lot as he’s gotten older and it’s a really good change for the game.

What Tiger did this weekend was special and I’m sure the ratings will reflect that. I haven’t seen them but what Tiger does for crowd size, ratings, tournament purses, is like no other in the history of the game. Congratulations Tiger!
 
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I am so happy for him. Everybody has stuff in their past, some not as bad as others, but nobody should throw stones. Yes, he ****ed up. Yes, he was immature and his life fell apart because of it.

However, and this is the beautiful thing about life, he pressed reset and set about putting things in order. Can't change what happened, but he knew he was in control of his trajectory going forward.

Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody deserves the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and get a second chance. What you do with that second chance is what determines your legacy.

It's awesome to see a redemption story like his. I really hope that he starts another big run clicking off majors.
 
Yeahh, the Tiger story doesn't move me at all. His fall from grace was Karma. Tiger in his prime was terrible to the fans and other golfers on tour, not a good guy. His personal life is his own, I could give a ****. I don't understand the fanboy lovefest from the media and fans alike, he doesn't deserve it. Obviously, one of the best of all time of course on the golf course.

I gotta be honest I never heard any of what you claim, could be true, but I will say he seems to be a different person now and for some to not be able to acknowledge that sure seems awful high and mighty. I'm sure glad I'm not judged by my worst years.
 
Personally, I think the "flawed" thing is overstated. He cheated. Sure it's wrong, but hardly unique, especially for celebrities and big time athletes. His life crashed. Maybe it was an area where he needed to grow up. But clearly he's changed. His relationship with his kids is telling in this regard. People make mistakes of all kinds. And it was a long time ago. We need to let it go.

The real story is his golf. Had he not been injured, the records he would have set are beyond imagination. He had more talent than anyone ever. He hit shots nobody else would even attempt. He just wasn't #1 for an absurd length of time. The distance between himself and whoever was #2 was ridiculous. he just didn't win, he played on a totally different plane than anyone else, as his margin of victory, Masters and U.S. Open attest. And he won an Open playing with a broken leg (!), in severe pain after almost every shot. I take nothing away from Jack, or Arnie, or Hogan. But Jack believed that his major record would not stand the Tiger onslaught. Arnie brought the game to everyman popularity...Tiger brought it to the masses who never cared about the game. Hogan was badly hurt, but not as bad as Tiger was. And least we forget, Jack, Arnie, Hogan, Sneed, played when they had to beat maybe 5 guys to win. In this era, multiply that by 10.

So, count me as one of the people who shed a tear on Sunday. And as I told my son, "I'm sure more nervous than he is".

We should all appreciate the greatest athlete ever, period.
Very well said.
 
I wonder how many people can deal with success and fame and the temptations that come with it.
As Bill Burr said. “ how can I judge these men. I do t have a platoon of Scandinavian girls waiting to suck my dck when I’m coming off the 18th. I can barely handle the temptations of face book. Now I’m supposedly to judge this guy”
 
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