Opinion - Editorials   

Even Tigers can cry

A punch in the air, a cry of `yes', and a flood of tears in the arms of his caddie. It was evident that an emotional Tiger Woods saw his victory at the British Open above all as a tribute to his father and golfing mentor, who died a couple of months ago. The poignancy of the moment that followed the tapping in of his final putt will remain etched in memory, but history will perceive the significance of his victory in a more detached and objective way. With this win, Woods has notched up his 11th Major, drawing level with the flamboyant Walter Hagen who dominated the game in the 1920s and was instrumental in developing golf into a professional sport. Now only the great Jack Nicklaus stands between Woods and the `title' he must covet most of all: `the greatest golfer in history.' On the face of it, Nicklaus, with an extraordinary 18 Majors under his belt, appears unsurpassable. But the gap of seven Majors between the great champion and his challenger must be seen in perspective. Woods won 10 of them before he turned 30, three more than Jack Nicklaus at the same age. Nicklaus won his last Major title when he was 46; if the 30-year old Woods maintains the current run of form, he will need only a few years to better what many regarded as an unbeatable haul. This gives us a picture of how much more Woods could still achieve and the place he could earn in golf's history.

The British Open victory may have lacked the sinuous ease that characterised some of Tiger's earlier victories, particularly those during the glory years, 2000-2002. This was a win he had to work for, stitched together by a carefully thought-out plan that was, by his flamboyant standards, conservative. Relying mainly on irons, Woods used his driver only once in 72 holes — a strategy that forsook distance in favour of accuracy and kept the ball out of the roughs and bunkers in Hoylake's challenging links course. It was a clinical performance, built around ruthless efficiency rather than showy brilliance. But as Woods revealed right through the tournament, he has that rare ability to draw on some hidden reservoir of genius whenever required. This is exactly what he did when the under-rated Chris Di Marco closed in on him on the back nine, sinking birdies on the 14th, 15th and 16th holes and eventually pulling away to win by a comfortable margin of two. For the most part, however, it was a methodical performance — so steely and surgically precise that it was impossible to imagine there was a cauldron of emotions bubbling within him. When Woods broke down in the end, it was reassuring in a strange and comforting way. It showed us that geniuses have human frailties and tigers can cry.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Continuing worry over inflation
Even Tigers can cry
Varanasi in the time of terror
Can Mumbai take any more?
China greying too fast
Corrections and clarifications
Why the terrorist mind is closed to most authors
Top U.S. lawyers attack Bush's legal exceptions
Operation Prince
Shocking
Office of Profit Bill

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu