I am not a Tiger Woods fan. I am awed by his accomplishments, I am impressed with his physical gifts, but most impressed with his mental toughness and concentration ability that is unmatched in the history of golf, maybe in the history of professional sports. So what is my problem with Tiger Woods? Why am I not a fan? The answer is easy, I do not watch a lot of golf on TV, but I almost always watch The Majors. Tiger Woods has in the past completely ruined the majors by essentially lapping the field...making Saturday's "moving day" the day when he blows by the field and Sunday's final round a boring battle for second place. I know he does not always make chumps of his PGA rivals, but he has done it enough that I root against Tiger Woods, not because I don't like him and don't admire his game as well as his constant dedication to improving his already spectacular game. I root against Tiger Woods, at least for the first three days of the major tournaments, so the last day will be worth watching. I look forward to golf's majors tournaments. Watching Tiger Woods increase his 5 shot three round lead into a 10 shot pummelling of the field just is not that much fun.
However, this year Tiger is injured. While he is on track to be back in time to play in the US Open, there is a risk that he could miss the tournament. Pondering the possibility of a Tiger-less US Open, I must admit, is much more unattractive to me than the prospect of another 10 shot Tiger Woods victory. Winning a Tiger-less major in golf's Woods-era, would be like having 2 extra games to break Babe Ruth's home run record...there would always be a cloud over the victory..."congratulations Mr US Open winner on your victory today...do you think you would have won if Tiger had played?" Sorry, but the question would have to be asked.
So I am a reluctant anti-Tiger fan. However, we need him back for the US Open. I am rooting for Tiger's speedy return and hope that he comes to the US Open in great form. So while I truly hope there is a full field for The Open, I hope my reward for backing Tiger's speedy and full return is not another Tiger blowout. I have seen those already. They bore me. I think I may be able to get on the Tiger Woods wagon when he is 45 or so and having to keep up with the wonder-kids of the next golfing generation. He will probably only win the US Open of 2020 by a stroke or two...which would be great fun.
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