Tiger Woods returned to competitive golf at the Masters last week in a carefully orchestrated plan to minimize media involvement.The Masters only allowed 96 entrants, compared to the usual 156 players at regular tour events. And the size of the crowd is always limited at the Masters compared to most PGA tournaments, with weekly badges sold out many months in advance.
Although the press announced that Tiger was welcomed with open arms by the media and the viewers, that was not completely accurate. While most television viewers watched Tiger hit shot after shot, I was busy watching the crowd reaction to many of his shots. I was surprised how many viewers showed body language that did not indicate they favored Tiger's appearance back on tour since his infidelities became public knowledge last November.
When Tiger hit his second shot on one par-4 on Sunday, and his ball rolled sideways over 30 feet on the green into the hole for an eagle, I watched one man behind the ropes with his arms folded across his chest and shaking his head side to side. I could read his mind; he did not think Tiger deserved to score an eagle on the hole.
After Tiger finished fourth in the tournament, I felt his comments smelled of sour grapes. All he did was talk about how badly he played, instead of complimenting Phil Michelson for his win. When he was asked when he would play again on tour, he said he was still going to take time off from playing, as if he sensed that many viewers felt that he came back too soon, without taking care of his marriage first and foremost.
Did Tiger come back too soon, and will his marriage survive? Let me know what you think.
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ReplyDeleteI think there's a chance that his marriage will last. There's not a chance in the world that all of his fans will forgive him. Most will eventually pretty much forget, though. His career will probably never recover, in regard to income from sponsors. Tiger will be just fine overall, though.
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