The Written Word
for October 17, 2001

I say that Tiger Woods should retire. Quite apart from other considerations, what has he got left to prove? Three times in a row he was US Junior Champion. Three times in a row he was US Amateur Champion. He has won every tournament that matters and at one point held all major titles at one time.

He’s rich. Filthy rich. In fact he was that before he even teed a ball up as a pro. So why continue playing?

We all know the answer to that. He wants to win more career majors than anyone else in history and he’s already 1/3 of the way there before his 26^th birthday. He is a vicious competitor.His teacher Butch Harmon, says he’s only 75% the way to his full potential. Tiger wants to keep on winning. That’s what he does best and that’s what his purpose in life is all about.

But I would ask this phenomenal young man if it’s worth it. Because unless I miss my guess, he is already in the sights of several assassins.

I realize that’s a horrible thing to contemplate much less say aloud but it has to be true.

If Tiger Woods was simply a great golfer, as Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones or even Jack Nicklaus were in their time, I wouldn’t say this. But Tiger has become an American institution. No, I’m wrong – he’s a world wide institution that has USA stamped all over it.

Hijacking four planes and doing what the terrorists did last September 11 took enormous planning and money. Getting Tiger would be child’s play in comparison but the impact would be huge and permanent.

When the Ryder Cup was canceled this year no one understood better than the European players who would be playing on home turf. As the European captain observed "you can’t expect Tiger to come under these circumstances and without Tiger there just isn’t a Ryder Cup".

How do you protect Woods? Galleries the size of small cities follow his every move. Even the most sophisticated of surveillance systems would be child’s play for an experience assassin. Of course you could give him the protection the President of the United States gets but Mr Bush’s security people wouldn’t let him play before a gallery 1/100^th the size Tiger is used to.

If you were Osama bin Laden and you wanted to show that you could hit a truly magnificent symbol of America’s power and influence – a symbol as important as the World Trade Center in terms of what it means – wouldn’t you target Tiger Woods?

The last thing I want is for my declining years to be deprived of the brilliant play of Eldrick "Tiger" Woods. I am, unashamedly, a hero worshipper. He is easily the most remarkable figure in the sports world of my time and his importance transcends sports and moves into life itself.

But I want him to live.

I don’t think that’s a particularly good bet if he keeps on playing professional golf.

And what a pitifully sad commentary on our lack of civilization that is.