The game of golf is not for anybody, but those of us who play and watch know that it is not a very forgiving game. Watching the sport might be just as tough as playing for anyone who doesn’t do it regularly. It was a sport that originated at country clubs and was only played by the wealthy. Then golf hit is booming point when some of the all-time greats like Jack Nicklaus and local legend Arnold Palmer got to playing the game. Now the game is in great hands, with one of the most popular athletes on the face of the planet, Tiger Woods.
We all know what happened with him a few years ago. His world came crumbling down around him, and his life as he knew it shattered before his eyes. It goes to show that nobody is invincible and everyone gets caught eventually. At that point, most people thought he could never recover – not physically – mentally. Tiger is the most mentally tough person the sport has ever seen, and having that happen is something you would never forget. Then he went on a very long break from the game to get his head straight and seek help for his problems. All of this happening hurt the game of golf and it’s viewership as it’s hard to get into an individual sport that is missing it’s best player.
He came back from all that off the course help and problem solving he returned to the Masters Tournament in April of 2010. His first tournament in some 9 months, and he wound up finishing in the top four. But from then until the 2012 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational he was winless. That is two full calendar years of golf that he didn’t win a single tournament that he started. Woods went on to win three events that year, but none of them majors, which are the most important.
Woods currently has 77 career wins on the PGA Tour which is five back of the great Sam Snead. He also has 14 majors, and that number trails Jack Nicklaus’ mark of 18. Woods is a global icon and you can argue that he has solely made the game of golf as popular is it is today. His domination of the game from the mid 1990’s until the late 2000’s made golf what it is today.
Now in 2013, Tiger has already won three tournaments, which is the same amount as he won last year, and we are even into April. Woods has been through a lot and golf fans have seen him go from his peak, to his absolute bottom, and now he is steadily climbing back up the mountain. Twenty-nine months ago was the last time that he was on top of the game, and ranked No. 1 in the world. By winning his third tournament, and Rory McIlroy not performing at the level he is accustomed to, Tiger has taken back what is rightfully his. This is huge for the game of golf, now they can market the sport the way they used to, not that McIlroy was a bad player to be the face of the game, but we all know that the face of Woods is one that is synonymous with the PGA Tour.
The sport, and PGA Tour couldn’t have asked for a better time for him to regain the ranking, as it’s just a few weeks before the most prestigious tournament in the game; The Masters. Nothing like having golf’s most famous athlete ranked No. 1 and playing some of the best golf he has played in years. Augusta is one of his favorite courses and he knows it very well, but only time will tell if he can conquer the course and the rest of the field to win another green jacket.
Photo Credits: US Presswire
