This past season much was made about Tiger Woods being a changed person. That this latest comeback, from passed out behind the wheel in post-surgical hell to nearly winning majors, has given him "a new lease on life." It seems all the announcers and media have latched on to this narrative. Friendlier, warmer, tastes great and less filling. Well, I think it's a bunch of bull.
Sure, there have been divergences. The old Tiger didn't walk down the range saying hello to rookies, like I saw him do at Tampa. The old Tiger didn't wait around the last green to congratulate the guy who beat him, like he did for Brooks in St. Louis. He wouldn't fight back tears like he did at East Lake.
Certainly, the prospect of never competing again felt scarily real to him at one point. And finally having one's family life in order years after a messy divorce must add perspective. Still, I'm not buying that he's "changed." Because what most people don't know is, Tiger's always been a good guy.
Whatever a man has done or not done in his private life is another matter. All I know is, there are few golfers better to sit down with for lunch and shoot the breeze than Tiger, and it's been that way ever since I was a rookie. In a one-on-one setting, he's a completely different person than the one the world sees in interviews. (...)
I couldn't imagine being him. The moment the locker-room door swings open, his world changes. At the first FedEx Cup event in New Jersey, there must've been 30 people clamoring to snap his picture at the back entrance of the clubhouse, which is a restricted area. I'm thinking, Haven't you people seen someone get into a car before? What are you going to do with a crappy photo like that on your phone, anyway?
Sure, there have been divergences. The old Tiger didn't walk down the range saying hello to rookies, like I saw him do at Tampa. The old Tiger didn't wait around the last green to congratulate the guy who beat him, like he did for Brooks in St. Louis. He wouldn't fight back tears like he did at East Lake.Certainly, the prospect of never competing again felt scarily real to him at one point. And finally having one's family life in order years after a messy divorce must add perspective. Still, I'm not buying that he's "changed." Because what most people don't know is, Tiger's always been a good guy.
Whatever a man has done or not done in his private life is another matter. All I know is, there are few golfers better to sit down with for lunch and shoot the breeze than Tiger, and it's been that way ever since I was a rookie. In a one-on-one setting, he's a completely different person than the one the world sees in interviews. (...)
I couldn't imagine being him. The moment the locker-room door swings open, his world changes. At the first FedEx Cup event in New Jersey, there must've been 30 people clamoring to snap his picture at the back entrance of the clubhouse, which is a restricted area. I'm thinking, Haven't you people seen someone get into a car before? What are you going to do with a crappy photo like that on your phone, anyway?
