Forget Tiger Woods’s standing as the richest, best-known sportsman in the world, the world’s No 1 golfer. Pass over what his transgressions these past few days have done for his standing in the eyes of the public and consider instead the damage he has done to his aim of becoming the greatest golfer the world has seen.
A golfer’s standing in the history of the game is measured by their victories in the four annual major championships, the Opens of the US and Britain and the Masters and the PGA in the US. Win three as Padraig Harrington has done in the past three years and you become a top player. Win six as Nick Faldo did in the 1980s and 1990s and you become one of the greatest. Win 18 professional major championships as Jack Nicklaus did between 1962 and 1986 and you are regarded as the finest golfer the world has ever known.
It is exceeding that total of 18 victories that has driven Woods on more than anything else. As a child he had Nicklaus’s record stuck up on the walls of his bedroom. Woods is 33 and has won the 14 major championships he currently has more quickly than Nicklaus won the same number. Thus it could be considered a near certainty that he will add the remainder. But the effects of the past few days will make it harder for Woods to achieve his aim.
Woods worked hard to be different, more aloof from the fray, more distant from the fans, less well known by his rivals than any other golfer. Harrington and Rory McIlroy both recently remarked on how enjoyable rounds with Woods are. “He talks, cracks jokes, compliments us on good shots,” they said.
Yet they admit that Woods kept them at a distance as he did everyone. They saw him around the locker room, grabbing a bite to eat, but they didn’t go out to dinner with him. They rarely shared the same hotel, never used a gym at the same time. From the time he emerged as a teenage prodigy, Woods’s mantra was the same: “Keep them wondering. Don’t let them get too close. Be secretive. It all helps create an air of intimidation.”
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Not any longer. Lee Westwood, Europe’s leading player, should not feel as intimidated by Woods when they play alongside one another in an important event next year. Woods sought to appear superhuman; now he has been found to be human. If we fear what we don’t know, then it follows that what we know we fear less.
Demystifying Tiger Woods has been a slow process for most of the 13 years Woods has been a professional but this year Woods has done a lot of it himself. He has given away a lot about himself by his swearing and club throwing on golf courses around the world from Turnberry during the Open in July, to Melbourne, Australia, last month.
In August Woods was unsporting and used gamesmanship against Y. E. Yang in the final round of the PGA Championship — and still could not rattle the Korean. Until then when Woods led a major championship after three rounds he always went on to win in the fourth round. This time though Yang became the first man not to crumble before Woods, to overtake him in fact, and win, and he did it while playing alongside Woods.
Woods is expected to return to competition at an event in San Diego early next year. When he does it will be interesting to see whether he retains the affections of the many women golfers and spectators who in recent times have found him an object of such attention. Will they call him a skirt chaser? Or will they show a little more sympathy and try and excuse his transgressions on the grounds that he is an exceptional golfer?