An Interesting Winner / A Dull British Open

We certainly cannot blame Louis Oosthuizen for an undeniably dull British Open. The winning margin allowed for as little intrigue as Woods' 2000 US Open win at Pebble Beach. We might have something to say about the dreary play of Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Tiger Woods & Phil Mickelson but that's fodder for another cannon.

The good news is that Oosthuizen may actually be the kind of man Tiger was merely impersonating. He was humble in victory a trait the legendary golf teacher, Harvey Penick, would have appreciated. He was grateful but not pandering, moved but not awed. The R&A would be hard pressed to find a better winner of the silver medal.

But, beyond Oosthuizen's fine manner is the very interesting story of his caddy, Zack Rasego. The two spent the day talking to each other in Afrikaans but when Rasego called his wife back home after the win he used Rasego, a language used by millions of his black countrymen. I very much doubt that Oosthuizen has ever felt the need to learn his caddy's language, though I could be wrong. The Oosthuizen/Rasego partnership of the last seven years says a great deal about how far South Africa has come since the days of apartheid.

Still, it is sobering to note that of the legions of fine players who have come out of South Africa since Gary Player only black player, James Kamte, has ever attained exempt status on a major tour which Kamte did in 2007 on the European Tour. Surely, others will follow and Oosthuizen & Rasego have made the path just that much smoother.

Intervention Cyber-Style

The year is 1950 and Ben Hogan is sitting in the grillroom at Shady Oaks Country Club. Surrounding him are his wife and closest friends. One by one, they tell Hogan that he has to seize the opportunity to change. He has survived his terrible accident and it's time to let people into his life.

The time has come for the Ice Man to melt. The Hawk must become dove-like. Hogan has to thank the people who have supported him by coaxing him back to the game following his recovery from the injuries he sustained in the terrible car crash a year before. He needs let the fans who follow him know that he cares as much about them and they do about him. A smile here, a nod of the head here. Simple warmth and human kindness.

Of course, this never happened.

His accident surely changed Hogan's body, but it didn't change the way he went about his business. Such an intervention, a contemporary phenomenon, is hard to imagine. The 50s were such different times.

Today. interventions are as common as trips into rehab. Tiger Woods has been to rehab, receiving treatment for a disease that the DSM-IV doesn't even recognize. Since no one in the golf press is really able to get next to the guy, a number of scribes have done their interventions cyber-style in an effort to chide Woods into becoming a kinder and gentler player.

There have always been grumblings about Woods' on course behavior. Some have been persuasive, like Mark Kiszla's A little deportment, please. The most relevant were written by guys like Kiszla before Woods' fall from grace. The worst of them are being written now; convenient, snide, righteous little reminders to Woods of his post-debacle promise to be a better man and to show more respect for the game.

Tiger Woods is the man he is, no better and no worse. He's not Bobby Jones, or Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan or Phil Mickelson. His style as a player and a man are well known. He is not the kinda guy I'd like to hang out with and I find his fist pumps out of place.

But, most people who watch golf like Woods' fist pumps, they like a player who exults and who seethes and that's Woods. If Woods goes on to eclipse Nicklaus' record, he'll do it as he has done it. For his style is part of his substance. In that way, Tiger Woods is just like Ben Hogan.

Hogan was a frigid counterpoint to Woods' inferno. But, Hogan's cool was calculated. His unapproachable style merely added to his mystique. Woods, too, must know the effect his temper has on other players. His on course manner has always been intimidating, even back to his amateur days. If we measure Woods by his success on the course, can we really argue with his results?

So, even though I don't much like him, I hope that Woods stay true to himself.

Erica Blasberg

LPGA Tour Player Erica Blasberg has been found dead at her Henderson, Nevada home. It's hard to find something to say about a 25 year old who loses their life just when it's getting started. Add to this the odd and troubling circumstances surrounding her death and it becomes even harder.

I watched Blasberg play only a few times; once in person, I believe, and a few times on TV. Surrounded by bigger and stronger players, she and her game reminded me more than a little of Emilee Klein. Like Klein, Blasberg's modest size and strength led her to develop a game of precision and style, not easy qualities to attain in golf.

There's been a disconcerting tone to some of what's being written about Blasberg. Some have said that she's struggled on tour. For all but a few, and fewer still on the LPGA Tour, golf is always a struggle.

There is no disgrace in struggling, but rather a dignity, and I rather think that those who wrote of Blasberg's struggles were more in search of an angle than something truly relevant to say about her. But so it goes.

In losing Erica Blasberg golf has lost a little of its brightness.

I'll miss watching her play.

Why Tiger's The Greatest?

The true essence of Tiger Woods' greatness is found in the top to bottom impact he owns. He misses a cut, hurts his neck and his coach resigns: The result? Non-stop Tiger at ESPN.com and every other online media outlet.

Who won The Players? Does it even matter?

Perhaps as impressive is the amount and variety of cyber-ink Tiger generates from the grass roots golf fan.

Just have a look at these thread titles from just one golf forum:

Tiger's New Swing Coach

Tiger divorce coming?

Un-friggin' Believable--Haney Quits !!

Tiger withdraws from The Players

Tiger with Hank or Butch?

Tiger's Press Conference

Tiger Woods is the next David Duval

Your Neck would Hurt too!

Elin is up to something....

Tiger And Security

Is Tiger Woods good for golf?

Those are only the threads that actually mention Woods by name. I would say that overall about 95% of today's forum post are about Tiger Woods, including the one titled, A bulging What? (my personal favorite).

The real question is not whether Tiger Woods will be back but rather how long can the sponsors who dropped him live without him.

Even injured, missing cuts with a swing and life in disarray he is still golf's most valuable player.

I am not sure if that says anything good about golf or not.

The Tiger & Phil Show: 2010 Edition

The 2010 Masters marked an all new start for the Tiger & Phil Show.

In this version, Tiger is the underdog; a man groping for his lost identity. Phil is the people's choice, seemingly the hometown favorite wherever he goes. Tiger is the guy with boundless ability who has somehow lost the lens he has always used to bring his brilliance into sharp focus.

Should he throw the big uppercut? Or, would an enthusiastic fist pump seem too arrogant for the kinder, gentler more Buddhaesque Woods? Tiger Woods has found himself caught between two worlds just has Phil Mickelson has found his peace of mind and the completeness of his life.

On Sunday, Phil walked off Augusta's 18th green in victory and into the warm embrace of his waiting family. While he seemed like a man who was happy to have won his third Masters he seemed even more grateful that all of his family was there to meet him.

Had Tiger pulled off the win, who would have been there to share and savor his victory? Hank Haney, his coach? Steve Williams, his caddy...his mother? What was a joyous victory stroll for Phil would have been a lonely reminder for Woods of the loved ones whom he has failed.

Since his comeback there's been a lot of talk about Woods' showing more respect for the game. It's just not his style: All the way back to the days of his US Amateur wins, part of Woods' intimidation package was his chilly treatment of his opponents and his ferocious (though usually brief) celebrations. The truth is that I have never seen Woods act with disrespect for the game or toward his opponent. Woods' manner was not for everyone, but was no more disrespectful in his way than Hogan was in his.

On Thursday, Tiger was downright chummy towards Matt Kuchar and K.J. Choi. As the tournament moved on, Woods' became more typically distant. I cannot recall one instance on Saturday or Sunday when Woods and Choi exchanged so much as a word.

This brings me to the most important point of all about Tiger Woods: The very worst thing he can do on the golf course is to try and change his demeanor. Oh sure, the talking heads can go on about Bobby Jones' transformation from a club thrower to a gentleman, but Woods has a different kind of temper. Woods has the kind of temper that actually works for him while Jones' worked very much against him. Far from getting in his way, his emotions are a big part of what made Woods as a player.

Those who haven't followed his career closely were surprised at how Woods looked and sounded after the final round. But the fact is that he looked and sounded pretty much like he always has when displeased with his game. To his credit, he has almost always made himself available for interviews after big loses. The same cannot be said of well regarded golf gentlemen, Ernie Els. After Els watched Phil Mickelson roll in his winning birdie putt on the 18th to give him a one shot win in 2004, Els was down the road without a word. Was it a heartbreaking way to lose after shooting a 67? Of course. Would Tiger Woods have stayed around to face the music? I rather think he would have...

Everyone suffers in their own way:

"I am such an idiot." –Phil Mickelson after collapsing on the 72nd hole of the 2006 US Open...

"What a stupid I am!" –Roberto De Vicenzo after his legendary scoring debacle at the 1968 Masters...

For Phil, the time of suffering has passed. He has quieted the echos of his past failures. He has silenced those who have criticized his style of play. If he never wins again, if he retired tomorrow, I still think he would be at peace with himself and his game.

But what about Tiger?

Why, with all he's accomplished, does peace of mind elude Woods? Perhaps it's because he has defined himself for so long as the one who comes to win, expects to win, almost demands to win yet is now forced to stare into the abyss of the rest of his life and sees only failure.

Winning 19 majors would make history, but not a life.

Where Would We Be Without Wie?

Just as golf is about to swing into that drab period between Bay Hill and The Masters Michelle Wie comes to the rescue.

Her club grounding inside a hazard was a non-issue (except for that pesky 2-stroke penalty), but her hilarious, defensive, and wholly self-serving reaction to the two rules officials who were doing everything they could not to laugh at her or call her an infant was precious.

It's clear that Michelle Wie is weak in her understanding of the rules of golf. Worse, it's equally clear that she has no interest in improving her knowledge. As the saying goes: She doesn't know what she doesn't know. Contrast this to the LPGA's former Number 1, Annkika Sorenstam, who, smack in the middle of her LPGA dominance, went out of her way to attend a USGA Rules Seminar.

Sorenstam was a great player; Wie wants the world to believe she's great.

Since the LPGA had the wrong-headed temerity to tells its members to learn to speak English or else, I would hope someone at the tour would be wiling to take Wie aside and tell that learning the rules is a good thing that will make her a even better player.

Surely, Wie's not going to figure this out on her own.

If Michelle Wie has handlers whom she trusts, she's making a mistake.

If she's making her decisions on her own, she's making a mistake.

It's time to learn that sometimes you can learn from a mistake before you make one.

Tiger Woods' Crossroads

By announcing he's playing in the 2010 Masters, Tiger Woods has arrived at a crossroads. The first part of his storied career is now history; the rest of his career yet to unfold. The first part of his career was characterized by a sharp and unflinching focus on history and his quest to exceed Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 wins in major championships. Until the the events of last Thanksgiving night, very few questioned Woods' ability to surpass that lofty mark. But, this is another time and another Tiger Woods.

It is very hard to play good golf during times of personal turmoil. I speak from personal experience. When a man like Woods, one who is used to controlling his environment even better than he controls the golf ball with his driver, is suddenly put under intense scrutiny, it is very unlikely to help the ball into the hole in fewer strokes.

Woods chose the Masters for good reason. If there's any event that can help him keep the lid on the press and the gallery, it's Augusta National and guys with names like Hootie. Woods knows he can't sneak back into the game. The best he can hope is to make the place of his return be among friends.

There's an even more interesting angle to the story.

Of late, lots of players and pundits have spoken of Woods' vanishing aura and the demise of his mystique. Colin Montgomerie, a man who is no stranger to off course strife said, "The mystique has gone. The mysterious nature of the guy has gone. He is suddenly more normal now." I agree with Monty: I believe Woods' virtual shields have been damaged forever.

But, here's something to consider: What if Woods wins the Masters? What if, at the very moment of his greatest vulnerability, after being driven into hiding and becoming the butt of thousands of jokes, Woods proves to the rest of the tour that it's still just a fight for second place?

If that were to happen, and I would bet (though not much) it won't, the rest of Woods' career would bear a striking resemblance to the first part. Woods would have taken the ultimate shot and bounced back to remind the tour's pretenders of their proper place. He would speak of his renewed faith, of a rebirth and dedication to the game and how he had to endure his fall to gain the humility he needed to attain the crowing achievements of his career.

Remember: We're talking about Tiger Woods...

Why Tiger Doesn't Need to Come Clean

A mere 24 hours have passed since Tiger Woods hit the Thanksgiving weekend headlines by hitting a fire hydrant and a tree with his Cadillac.

And now, the vultures have started to circle.

Today, the first voice from the golf press has implored Tiger Woods to come clean. ESPN.com's Jason Sobel opines that Wood's should for his own well-being, no less. Sobel even goes so far as to say that Woods should seek forgiveness. I'm sorry, but whom has Woods wronged other than himself and possibly his wife?

Astonishing...

By reading Sobel's piece you'd think that Wood's has been a man on the brink for the last decade rather than the indefatigable professional he's been in reality. The steadiness of his manner (off the course anyway) and the understandable privacy that is his preference has been paid for by Woods since he was a lad.

Woods earned the right to maintain his privacy now, if he chooses.

The sports and entertainment world is full of people who need to come clean. Tiger Woods is not among them. He is a 33 year old man with a wife and two children who had a very bad evening and was fortunate to escape serious injury. The only real damage that is anyone else's business was done to a tree and a fire hydrant.

Tiger Woods and his wife may have some real problems, but those problems won't be helped by his fans or critics. Scores of those same fans and critics have had bad nights, too, many likely ending up for more seriously than Thanksgiving night did for Woods.

Here's hoping that just this once, we can all tell the difference between a private matter and something we need to know everything about.

I can hope, can't I?