It’s difficult for me to explain how much I love that picture.Look at it, the pure, unbridled emotion of Y.E. Yang and the somber resigned-ness of Tiger Woods. Many of you know that I am not a Tiger Woods fan in the least. I respect his skills, ability, drive, and dedication, but I’m not a fan of the man in general. That’s probably a post for another day, but let it be known that I root for whoever is playing against him.
Yesterday’s final round of the PGA Championship was one for the ages. You can talk about all the firsts that happened: first time Tiger led after 3 rounds in a major and lost, first this, first that…blah blah blah. The bottom line is that he lost.
Period.
He blew it.
And you know what? That’s fine. People lose. In every sport, there are those that lose. How you handle it defines the character of a person. Tiger Woods storms off the final green and refuses an interview with CBS at the end of the final round. Classy, huh? Tom Watson suffers perhaps the most heartbreaking loss of his career at the end of the British Open last month, but as disappointed as he was, he still did his interviews, held a press conference, and gave Stewart Cink all the credit.
I know the whole world loves Tiger Woods, but how can you not recognize that what happened this weekend was great for golf? I heard from two people on Monday that they didn’t tune in to the final round, because it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Tiger would win. You can only see the same shot of the red shirt and fist pump so many times before it gets repetitive. Competition is good for the sport, and that’s not to say that Y.E. Yang is the next big challenger to Tiger Woods’ dominance of the game. I’m not saying he’s the next Phil Mickelson, or David Duval, or Ernie Els, or Anthony Kim. But this tournament proved that Tiger Woods is fallible…that anyone can beat him on the right day, with the right circumstances.
Trust me, going forward, you’ll all be glad this happened…Tiger Woods fan or not.
2 comments:
Oh come on...really?? I totally agree it was an awesome event to watch Yang win it all and the fantastic approach shot at 18 to drive the dagger deeper...i was more than happy for the guy. I don;t believe Tiger was showing a lack of class for not being interviewed at all! He lsot the tournament...wasn;t happy with his game and the end result. If i recall correctly i've seen a certain Guelph Hoodie get up from a poker table pretty quick when busting and not say a word to anybody too....nature of a competitor. I do it myself.
All the same, Tiger will continue to rule the world of golf and i can only say i am SO happy that i and my son get to grow up witnessing something so amazing!!
Snomankw,
It's the same as LeBron James not shaking hands at the end of the playoff series against Orlando. I appreciate the competitive aspect, but that doesn't make it right. While I (and you) may have had our own instances where we have done a similar thing on a Wednesday night at our home poker game, I'd like to think that on the biggest stage, if you or I were sitting at the Final Table at the WSOP...no matter our mood or how brutal a beat we just suffered, we would still smile and shake hands and congratulate and go through the appropriate motions. That's my point.
And even though I'm not a fan, I still believe that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer I've ever seen, or will see. And I too am glad that my son gets to experience it as well, but you have to agree that competition is healthy for the sport, and that the great Goliath falling to the unexpected David will only lead to good things for everyone involved, and for golf in general.
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