The Tiger Woods story—it’s not about golf.
It’s a sports story but not only a sports story. It’s also one of the great human stories of the past couple of decades: the Tiger Woods miracle—and now, in a way just as compellingly, its apparent collapse.
It’s hard to think of anyone who has achieved such dominance in any field, as Tiger Woods in golf. For enough years to be convincing, Woods kept up a miraculous trajectory of victory. His first victory in one of the four “major” tournaments came at age 20, by a record 12 strokes margin against the world’s best players. Another major at 22 by 15 strokes. He has been ranked the world’s #1 player most of the last 17 years.
Not many years ago it seemed likely that not only would he beat Jack Nicklaus’s formerly dominant record of 18 major golf championships—he would dominate it. Possibly lap it.
From early in his career the human interest of his transcendent performance began to transcend golf, all sports.
But then in 2009 came the revelation of marital infidelities, the fallout from which seemed to infect his game. Mortal after all, at 38 he’s had more than his share of body problems. After back surgery early this season, he hasn’t played for weeks.
After six years of no majors wins at all, Woods is still tied with Nicklaus’s pace, but given the trajectory, that record has begun to seem out of reach. Will he even win one more major?
Still, his story remains the dominant one in golf, his appearance or absence the main headline about any tournament. This year TV viewership of the Masters, one of the four majors, was off by 20% , the worst in 20 years. There were great players, it was a great competition, but Tiger could not play. There was no chance that he would jumpstart the miracle by winning another major. That lack of that factor alone seems to explain the drop in ratings.
This year, Tiger out of action, there have been something like a dozen first-time winners on the PGA tour. It’s a field-day for underdogs. Pretenders to the crown keep pretending.
We talk about the appeal of the underdog—lesser beings playing over their heads–but apparently miraculous domination trumps underdog overreach. And it transcends sports.
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