Is Tiger Coming Back?
I’ve held off on mentioning anything that had to do with Tiger Woods because he has been jammed down our throats for weeks now. However, there is a report that he might be returning to play golf as early as February 17. The rumors started in Australia and were obviously met with serious doubt. However, they have continued and people are beginning to wonder whether or not the controversial golf star will resurface at the Match Play Championship in Arizona.
The venue does hold a special meaning, as it was there that Tiger made his triumphant return to golf after his knee surgery had put him out of commission for a while. The competition is also sponsored by Accenture, one of the companies that dropped his sponsorship deal. The fact that his old business partner is hosting the event could either keep Tiger away, or motivate him even more by offering him to opportunity to prove that he’s a changed man. The real question, though, is how will he play?
With the media attention that he will undoubtedly bring and the pressure to perform after sullying his own image, Tiger will need all the concentration and focus that he can muster to make a comeback. Though the world may seem against him for his behavior, golf is suffering without him. Phil Mickelson even went so far as to say, “the game of golf needs him.” It’s true that the PGA has suffered since Tiger decided to step off the links. Their profits are down and they’re losing sponsors who would have normally stayed due to the media coverage that Tiger brings. As a result, there are less matches played, and less money to be won at the ones that are still around.
Say what you will about Tiger as a person, but as a golfer, he brought life into the PGA and improved the game of golf. Not just by being a good player himself, but by enticing sponsors to put money into the game and by motivating other golfers to play better. Whether or not he comes back and takes the game by storm, or slowly makes his way back into the swing of things, the game of golf will be better off with Tiger behind a club.
To read the original article, please go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/8500307.stm