Brendan McLean
Staff Writer
@Brendan_McLean5
To be hated, you need to be relevant. No one can name the world’s last ranked golfer, but everyone can name the world’s number one golfer. How about the 446th ranked player in the world?
Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McILroy, Bubba Watson, and Ricky Fowler round up the top five. So who’s number 446? Tiger Woods. Talk about a fall from grace. Tiger Woods was the most polarizing golfer in the world. “Was” is the key word.
Tiger was great, now he’s irrelevant. The folks who root for Tiger Woods want him to win and be competing every Sunday. The people who hate Woods, want him to play on Sunday’s and lose in an embarrassing fashion. If Woods shoots a 7 over par and is eliminated on day two, that doesn’t help anyone.
Think about it. If the Patriots go 4-12 every year the hatred dies. The Yankees are living proof, when they were great, people hated them. Now, they are irrelevant and the hatred has died down. Woods is now irrelevant.
I can understand why fans would hate Tiger Woods for his off-the-course decisions. I can also understand why some fans love the player, not the guy. I’m not telling you which way to feel about the guy. I am telling you, Woods needs to be good. When he shoots 17 over, nobody gets what they want.
Imagine Tiger going to putt on the 18th of Augusta National with everything on the line. Half of the country, wanting him to sink it, while the other half is praying that he misses. That is why we watch sports. We want our favorite players and our hated players to be in the most crucial moments.
What was Woods’s best trait? His killer instinct. When Woods smelt blood in the water, he got even better. Woods has 14 major-tournament victories, which means he is four away from trying Jack Nicklaus’s record. Woods is a natural born winner. Tiger believes he still has all the ability, physically and mentally to win at a high level. He has also been known to use injuries as an excuse.
Golf doesn’t even need Tiger to win; Golf needs Tiger to be competitive on Sundays. Every time Woods talks to the media, it is cringe worthy. Woods has too many excuses and reasons for why he doesn’t even make the cut. We all remember his joke of a performance at the U.S. Open. The only tournament he seems to finish near the top is the Masters.
“I’m progressing slowly; I take it day by day, that’s the frustrating part. There is no timetable.” Woods spoke to the media after his last practice round in Texas. Woods is questionable to tee off at the Masters in early April.
Not only do I want to see Tiger play in the Masters and do well; golf needs Tiger to play and play well. Spieth and McIlroy are great golfers but they aren’t the draw that Woods’s is, or used to be.