Golf Must Now Adapt to a Tigerless World

In the increasingly glamorous, highly publicized, multi-billion-dollar golf industry (it’s bigger even than the movie industry), there can sometimes be a question mark hanging over people’s motives for announcing anything. However, there’s absolutely no reason to believe that Tiger Woods’s desire to shift the spotlight away from his knee last week and back on to the USGA and the U.S. Open was anything but genuine.What, after all, would he have to gain from spilling the fairly newsworthy beans that the pain on display at Torrey Pines was caused by something other than the repercussions of his April 15 surgery? Sympathy, perhaps? No, Woods really isn’t the type to go looking for anyone’s pity. An excuse? Absolutely not. He’s even less likely to go digging for a way to explain a poor performance, not that he has many.Had Woods declared at any point during the tournament that it would likely be his last of the season and that he had to go back under the knife to repair the anterior cruciate ligament he tore shortly after the Open Championship last summer, or the double-stress fracture to his left tibia he sustained while rehabilitating from the knee’s third surgery (and after largely ignoring doctor’s advice to keep his weight off of it for several weeks), we would have heard about little else. And Rocco Mediate’s fantastic performance in taking Woods to 91 holes would not have received the attention it definitely deserved.Knowing what we know now just makes his win on the longest U.S. Open course in history all the more remarkable. By winning, he became the second man, after Jack Nicklaus, to claim the Grand Slam (all four majors) at least three times. With his 65th win on the PGA Tour, he moved beyond Ben Hogan into third place by himself on the all-time winner’s list. He also notched his 500th week at the top of the world rankings — all on 11/2 legs. He may not be superhuman — he hasn’t won every single tournament he’s entered — just the most incredible sporting mortal that’s ever lived.Tiger’s gallant gesture is not without precedent. His wife, Elin, was in the hospital during last year’s U.S. Open, in the final hours of a difficult pregnancy, which happily ended just a few hours after the championship was over with the safe arrival of baby Sam Alexis. But knowing any comments regarding his family and Elin’s admittance to hospital would become far bigger news than what was actually happening at the event in which he was playing, and would ultimately overshadow Angel Cabrera’s triumphant moment, he decided not to divulge the news. Of course, the pandemonium that would have resulted had he told the press wouldn’t have done his preparation and concentration much good either, but there’s no denying that what he did, or rather didn’t do, showed class.That’s all well and good, but what does a Tigerless season mean for the game? Well, whatever gains it made among noncore golf fans following exciting prime-time coverage on Saturday and Sunday evenings will probably be lost. As for the tournaments he’ll miss, the majors — the Open Championship and PGA Championship — would obviously prefer him to be present but will survive just fine. The nonappearance of the game’s best player doesn’t destroy 148 and 92 years, respectively, of history.His own AT&T National at Congressional Country Club in July will be somewhat subdued, even if he is in attendance, but it is the PGA Tour that will surely suffer most, especially as it tries to establish its FedEx Cup, which Tiger won by a landslide last year. Yes, his absence might make for a slightly more exciting points race between Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Justin Leonard, Geoff Ogilvy and a few others, as well as a potentially riveting Tour Championship in Atlanta at the end of the season. But whoever does win the Cup and the accompanying $10 million will forever be remembered as the guy who won it the year Tiger couldn’t play. Words to that effect won’t actually appear in brackets after his name, of course, but they don’t need to.Another big loser will be the Ryder Cup. Woods has won only 44% of the points he could have in five appearances, and it has been speculated that his being on the team actually intimidates his own teammates. But he has won three and halved another of the five singles matches he’s played, so the U.S. will definitely miss that almost guaranteed point. And there’s no doubt the event itself would benefit from his being there, thanks to bigger TV audiences and increased gallery enthusiasm. There’ll still be plenty of that with U.S. looking to win for the first time since 1999, but no one excites a crowd like Tiger can.It isn’t clear yet when Woods’s next surgery will take place, but his coach Hank Haney says the recovery will take anywhere between six and eight months. It’s far too early to speculate on when he might return, but it would be no surprise if he targets next April’s Masters, which he hasn’t won since 2005. If that’s the case, he’d probably want to play a tournament or two before Augusta to warm up for his run at a fifth green jacket.Haney adds that when Woods does get back he’ll be better than he ever has been, because he’ll be able to devote much more time to practice (he hasn’t hit balls after a round for almost a year). Better than he ever has been? You’re kidding, right?tonydear71@comcast.net

Golf Must Now Adapt to a Tigerless World

Golf Must Now Adapt to a Tigerless World

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