I don’t believe that Tiger Woods will ever dominate the golf scene again. He has lost the power to intimidate.
To have won 14 majors before the age of 33 is remarkable and entitles us to say he was the best golfer, by far, of his time and maybe the best of all time.
Golf is a game of inches, as Bobby Jones said, “the six inches between your ears”. Tiger was taught the mental aspect of golf by his father who said “no one will ever have the mental toughness you will”. Until last November, Tiger’s mental control was unbelievable. Having lost that I doubt if Woods can ever get it again.
In addition to his golfing woes, Tiger will now have financial problems. His enormous empire is sustained by endorsements from places like Nike. They will not be quick to act, but act they will if Tiger doesn’t at least make a decent showing at the PGA championship later this month. If his sponsors leave him, Tiger will have lost his cash flow. I believe that much of the reason for Woods appalling showing in 2010 is worry about money compounded by a huge cash settlement with his wife. You don’t maintain private jets, enormous boats and houses without having huge supplies of money coming in.
This doesn’t mean that Tiger will never again be a big factor in golf. He’s too good a player for that. He just isn’t going to dominate again. Other players while on the one hand getting rid of such a dominant player is good news, realize that the big purses they play for is because of huge television audiences watching golf because Woods is playing.
I do think that Tiger has lost that mental edge and that this will not come back.
And I’m sorry – like so many golf fans I loved to watch Tiger when he had his “game face” on.
I hope he can come back – at 34 he has lots of time.
I just don’t think he can.
It’s nice to see a man who thinks cheating is acceptable get his comeuppance all on his own.
I personally hope he never wins again. He’s a shining example of greed and power and ALL that is wrong with that lifestyle. Just like the CEO’s of the car makers that ‘took’ tax payers money and then handed huge amounts of it out to themselves. It’s that sense of entitlement that pisses many people off. Woods, by his own admission, thought that family honour and the various rules that go along with that honour, didn’t apply to him. He was a fraud Rafe – at least in his so-called personal life (which people whom choose to become famous – give up the right to total privacy). Once again, I hope you never wins another golf games in his life.