After another unimpressive performance at the Shell Houston Open by Northern Ireland’s Rory
McIlroy—the PGA’s latest Great White Hope/Dope—Tiger Woods has for the time being
reclaimed his rightful position at the top of the golf world. How could he not
when we’ve seen this all before? Remember David Duvall? He had a run at Tiger
from 1997 to 1999, briefly claiming that Number One position in 1998. But
Duvall was already going downhill fast when he won his only major championship, the 2001
British Open; if fact, since that highpoint of his career, Duvall has gone
winless on the PGA Tour. Others, like Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson, hung around the fringes for awhile; but
despite impressive win totals, they never
really seriously threatened Woods’ perch for long.
And now we have the new Golden Boy, and largely by default
since the competition was largely comprised of pretenders. McIlroy wasn’t
exactly lightening up the world on the European tour anyways; through 2012 he
started 115 tournaments, and won a grand total of five. He has had relatively better
success on the PGA tour—with six wins in 54 starts through 2012. But 2013 has
not been kind to him; although not terrible, he has not been in contention in
any of his PGA tournament appearances, and the #1 ranking he briefly held
has melted away and disappeared; all it took was a few huffs and puffs from a
revitalized Tiger to blow that media-created house of cards down.
Since he was the anointed the “heir apparent” by golf
commentators and fans eager to write Tiger off since his “troubles” dating from November
2009, there has been repeated efforts to artificially puff-up McIlroy, even
after it has become clear that he is a head case who might not be psychologically
ready to maintain the steely determination needed to dominate an individual
sport the way Tiger has done for over a decade. Here is to hoping that Tiger
makes golf “fans” who always begrudged his success wait a few years longer—by which
time McIlroy may very well be just another barely-recalled pretender.
I’ve seen a video of a two-year-old Tiger Woods carrying his little golf bag with its plastic golf clubs on the set of the Mike Douglas Show; guest James Stewart was predictably game, but Bob Hope just stood there with his hands in his pocket, as if thinking to himself “Do I really have to waste my time watching this little black boy pretend to be a golfer?” Douglas had a bucket of balls ready, thinking this tiny tot might need more than one try; instead, Tiger nailed the first shot, to the awe of the audience. The down-to-earth Stewart actually picked up the tee that flown off, but Hope still just stood there, hands in pocket, with a patronizing look on his face, unimpressed. Little Tiger didn’t seem much impressed either with himself either, as if this was as natural to him as breathing.
I’ve seen a video of a two-year-old Tiger Woods carrying his little golf bag with its plastic golf clubs on the set of the Mike Douglas Show; guest James Stewart was predictably game, but Bob Hope just stood there with his hands in his pocket, as if thinking to himself “Do I really have to waste my time watching this little black boy pretend to be a golfer?” Douglas had a bucket of balls ready, thinking this tiny tot might need more than one try; instead, Tiger nailed the first shot, to the awe of the audience. The down-to-earth Stewart actually picked up the tee that flown off, but Hope still just stood there, hands in pocket, with a patronizing look on his face, unimpressed. Little Tiger didn’t seem much impressed either with himself either, as if this was as natural to him as breathing.
Long story short. It's all about white men who resent the black man's success with white women.So. get used to it. Woods like Gretzky honed his skills at a very, very early age and this has contributed to his prowess on the links. Fathers teaching their sons before they started grade school and having them both dominate their sport is no coincidence.
ReplyDeleteRory Update: a 79 on Thursday (Day 1) of The Open.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice to have some competition for Tiger. Like him or not, when he's at his best, he's scary. McIlroy's problems do appear to be mental more than physical and this is why he's going to take a while before getting back to where he was. Confidence is everything, and he clearly lost his a while ago. Small steps. Happy Healthful Holidays.
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