He is 37 years old. He has played on the PGA Tour for 17 years. He won his first major in 1997 at the age of 21 by a record-breaking 12 shots. He has 79 PGA Tour wins and owns 14 major titles — good for second all-time in both categories. He has been ranked No. 1 in the world for a record 647 weeks throughout his career. He has won five PGA Tour events this season, which is the most of any player. He has earned over $1 billion through his on- and off-the-course ventures, and he is about to become $10 million richer. His name is Tiger Woods.
This man, for the past 15 years, has been the most dominating figure in the world of sports. However, Woods has become less revered for his on-course achievements due to his stained public image.
His off-course issues, including an affair and subsequent divorce, have totally changed the way we think when talking about Tiger Woods.
Most fans now view Woods as the wrong face for the game of golf and a bad role model for aspiring athletes. This should not be the case.
Though Woods has had his problems, he has done everything in his power to repair his public image. He took four months off from the game to receive counseling and get his personal life in order and made numerous public apologies for his admitted infidelity. After the layoff, Woods’ game struggled and he fell to 58th in the World Golf Rankings. Now in 2013, he is playing arguably the best golf of his career and has regained his status as world No. 1, a title he has held since March 2013 and a span of 26 weeks.
Woods’ recent rise from mediocrity back to the top of the rankings was nothing short of remarkable, but his fans still want more.
The biggest knock on Woods’ game through the past few years has been his inability to win majors. Woods’ last won a major in 2008, when he defeated Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff for the U.S. Open crown. His critics will argue this drought offers evidence of Tiger being “done.”
By no means is Tiger Woods “done.” Since 2008, he has competed in 18 majors, finishing in the top 10 in nine of those tournaments. For Woods, that is a mediocre five years. For the average Tour golfer, that is a successful career, let alone five years.
Part of the reason fans expect so much from Woods in terms of major titles is because of his own comments. He has made it no secret that his main goal for the rest of his career is to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.
In the eyes of his fans, major titles are all that matters. They could care less how many non-major events he wins during the season. They only want to see him hoisting the trophy on the Sunday of a major.
Why are fans this way? What ever happened to appreciating the feats of our most beloved athletes? Woods has already had arguably the most impressive career in the history of golf, yet most fans will not be satisfied unless he breaks Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.
But do not worry. The major wins will come. Woods is too good a player and is playing too well to not win at least five more majors before the end of his career. Like I said, it is not like Woods has not been in contention in majors. He has constantly been relevant on the weekends of majors. He just needs to close them out.
Realistically, given his history of injury, Woods probably has about five years of golf left in him. If he really is the greatest to ever play the game, winning five majors before the end of his career should be no problem.
As for the present, we need to appreciate how good a season Woods is having. He dominated the PGA Tour for the majority of the season, yet nobody seems to notice that he is in the driver’s seat to secure his third FedEx Cup title this weekend in Atlanta at the Tour Championship.
Tiger Woods is still the best at what he does, no matter his off-the-course issues. Though he has not won a major since 2008, he is without a doubt the best golfer in the world and with a solid performance this weekend in the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, will take home $10 million as champion.
Just because it is not the U.S. Open does not mean it is not an impressive title. The FedEx Cup champion is the most consistent golfer throughout the entire season and this season, the most consistent golfer has been Woods. His lack of recent major titles should not diminish his legacy as one of the greatest golfers of all time. A win is a win, and when it comes to winning, nobody does it better than Tiger Woods.