The failure of tiger woods to make the cut at Turnberry, although a serious loss to ABC and the casual golf fans who wouldn’t know tom waston from buba waston, may, ultimately, be the best thing for him and the sport he loves. Only through a period of decline, however slight – and the British Open could be a start – can the next, deeper stage of admiration truly kick in, the one afforded to our heroes who rebound from adversity to exhibit a new, endearing humanity.
Flash back to Jack Nicklaus, age 40, at fabled Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open, the signs declaring “Jack is Back.” Well, Jack had to go somewhere for him to come back, didn’t he? After capturing the 1978 British Open at St. Andrews, the Golden Bear went into the first extended slump of his wondrous career, leading some to believe he was washed up. The expression of unrestrained joy on his face when the final putt dropped for another major victory said it all, as if he too had harbored doubts. Enduring supremacy in this most challenging game is never assured for any mortal.
Fans who long respected him now adored him. It was as if he needed failure to attain a higher level of adulation, to show that, in some small way, he was like us. Perhaps the same can be said about his rightful heir, Woods.
The bet here is that Woods’ performance at Turnberry will prove to be an aberration. His track record since he turned professional in the summer of 1996 would certainly support that theory. He doesn’t stay down for long.
Yet if a trend were to develop, if his inability to come through on the grandest stages in golf – he failed to capitalize on opportunities to win this year at Augusta National and Bethpage – emerges again next month in the PGA at Hazeltine and in 2010, how he would respond to this unlikely stretch of mediocre play (for him) would say a lot about how he’ll be perceived in the coming years, and in the history books.
It’s not merely about winning more trophies. It’s also about demonstrating the inner resources to prevail in a different way, to show the strain of unfamiliar confusion and despair and then, heroically, to overcome those obstacles. This is true about athletes in every sport, not just golf. Muhammad Ali became more beloved than ever after his setbacks to Joe Frazier and Ken Norton. We rooted for him to defeat George Foreman in Zaire. There is nothing as compelling as the hero who climbs back to his familiar perch.
This would present a tremendous opportunity for Woods, even if he would find the suggestion laughable, if not offensive. Instead of pure excellence, he could display pure grit. He could, for a change, take us into his mind-set, his doubts (yes, Tiger Woods, too, must have doubts), instead of offering another bland post-round assessment. No athlete of such remarkable ability has ever been so remarkably unrevealing, and it’s no accident.
Woods must forget about the media, and any concerns of how the Fourth Estate might spin the story of his struggles. He must trust the fans, the ones who have made it possible for him to be richer and more famous than he could ever have imagined. They are on his side, completely. They want to see him dominate again, and win the record-breaking 19th major, which he will likely do in the next four or five years.
For all the magic he has generated since the groundbreaking victory at Augusta in 1997, there has been one glaring omission from his repertoire – the comeback.
The most remarkable stat in golf remains the fact that Woods has yet to win a major when he’s trailing heading into the final round. That may come off as an absurdly unfair knock against someone who has notched 14 majors in only 13 years, who, clearly, is the greatest to ever play the game. Yet it must tell us something, that whatever it takes to mount an Arnold Palmer-type charge on a Sunday afternoon in a major championship may not be in Woods’ comfort zone. It should have happened by now.
Imagine if the drought in majors – five (he missed two due to his knee surgery) in a row and counting – were to go on for a year or two, or three.
Then imagine the scene at, say, Augusta National in April of 2012 as the 36-year-old Woods, still fighting his demons, outduels one of the young guns to secure his fifth green jacket.
It would be quite a moment for Woods, and the game.
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