The Disappointing Fall of PGA Golfer

The Disappointing Fall of PGA Golfer

The last time Tiger was out of the top 10 was when he was ranked 13th on April 6, 1997.  This was right before winning the Masters.  After that, Woods went on an unprecedented tear, being ranked number one for 623 weeks.There was also a great sense of pride in the fact that Tiger, like a mythical superhero, could show up to a tournament as the only black man out of 150 participants and whip every single player on the course.  I thought that the emergence of Tiger Woods would lead to a wave of  great black golfers, as other inspired young black men took to the course to replicate the efforts of their idol.  As much as he ridiculously described himself to be “caublinasian,” (whatever that means) he struck a mighty blow to one of the Why decide on custom made Fitted TaylorMade R9 Fairway Wood most racist and elitist sports in the world.  The man other golfers traditionally expected to be their caddy was consistently spanking them on the course and asking “who’s your daddy?”But to date, there are no prominent black male golfers other than Tiger himself.   With Tiger’s exit from greatness, the path has been cleared for new, hungrier, young (mostly white and Asian) players to make their mark on the world.  I never thought I’d see the day where my hero had become an also-ran, but I guess nothing lasts forever.On one hand, it probably got a little dull for Tiger to keep investing the amount of time and energy it takes to be the greatest golfer in the history of the world:  You have to practice longer than your competitors, you can’t have as much fun as everyone else, and you’ve got to make sacrifices that most people aren’t willing to make.  I became concerned about Tiger’s career when he decided to get married, for I’ve always felt that relationships sometimes take away time that highly ambitious people can’t commit.At the same time, Tiger may end up falling painfully short of breaking the record that served as the driving force behind his entire career: winning 18 major championships, set by Jack Nicklaus.  It will surely make the white male golf establishment happy to see that the incredibly threatening black guy never quite reached his mark.  By finishing with 14 majors, Tiger may end up painfully close to his goal.  No, I do not think Tiger is going to win another major – his attention seems to have gone elsewhere.