Courtesy: Washington Post
*FAN SUBMISSION by Joe Inabinett of Sacramento, CA. Follow him on Twitter @jinabinett.*
For the past 10 years, any time a major championship has come down to the final Sunday round, I’ve had serious issues with my church attendance. Whenever Tiger Woods has been in contention, I might as well fire up the podcasts or hit up a Saturday night service, because there’s no way I’m going to miss a chance at seeing Tiger inch closer to solidifying his place as the best golfer in history. Say what you want about his off-the-course blunders, there are plenty of haters that saw his unfortunate 2009 turn as a sign that he stuck his own fork in his own career. I liken my thinking on Tiger’s personal issues to that of Michael Richards and the error of his ways. No matter what he did, no matter who he offended, nothing can make me love Seinfeld’s Kramer any less.
There’s something about the sport of golf that is more forgiving than any other. Perhaps it’s because the only person Tiger has to answer to in his comeback is himself. To me, that is half the mystery and intrigue of the sport. There are no coaches yelling from sidelines, no teammates looking for a game winning pass. I’ve gone down to the court on many occasions successfully replicating a game deciding jumper or hook shot, granted the surroundings are different, but honestly how hard is it to stand on the 3-point line and throw a ball in the hoop a specific way, satisfying the everyman that he too can be an NBA star.
No matter how many times I’ve tried to recreate Tiger’s backswing or fade of old, I haven’t even gotten close. Sure, there have been a few miraculous bunker saves or long putts that dropped for no greater reason than sink holes appearing out of thin air in suburban neighborhoods. There’s something about hitting a tiny little ball with a metal stick that just screams class like nothing else. I know I can’t be alone in this thinking, why else would millions of people flock to these golf events worldwide. If Tiger was a prime suspect in a nationwide manhunt, I’m sure that his fan base would only grow tenfold. Tiger has single handedly changed the face of a sport forever, spreading awareness to countries that hadn’t before even seen a golf course. That can’t be said about many athletes.
Tiger didn’t take the “Open Championship;” faltering to old time foe Phil Mickelson. But he was within a couple strokes the entire day on Sunday, keeping everyone, including myself glued to his performance. So in a couple weeks, at the Tour Championship (the final major of the year), I will wait, as I have every major Sunday, for a glimpse of a return to something I haven’t seen since my grandfather introduced to me to this new kid on the golf circuit named Tiger Woods.
Well done Joe.