An ode to Tiger Woods

'Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps'- Tiger Woods

As time marches on, the idols that we grew up with slowly move into the chronicles of history. Footballing legends in the time of young Ben, such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, have ditched the boots and now stalk the dugouts as managers. Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, once fierce rivals on the pitch, now duke it out on Sky Sports as part of their inspiring bromance, while also lending their voices as co-commentators. Brian O'Driscoll now spends his time on BT Sport to discuss rugby, while Jeremy Guscott finds himself alongside the lovely Gabby Logan on the BBC to pick apart that wonderful game with the egg-shaped ball. Oh, and Tim Henman, once Britain's best tennis player, can now be found in a studio once Wimbledon rolls around (yes, he's a legend- he wasn't great, but he was the best we had). But there is one man who has remained, and on 14 April 2019 he returned to the top of the golfing world. Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods, to pardon the pun, had roared back into life.

Scenes (Getty Images)

At the 2008 U.S. Open, you would have been classed as a madman to declare that this would be the last major Tiger Woods would win for a while. 'Not our Tiger! That guy is the master of golf. No man can pitch and putt like him' would be the standard reply of the followers of this extraordinary American golfer. Woods arrived on the scene at the age of 19, making his debut at the 1995 Masters after qualifying as U.S. Amateur champion. He went pro a year later, earning himself some sizeable brand deals with Nike and Titleist in a year that saw Tiger named as 'Sportsman of the Year' by Sports Illustrated and 'Rookie of the Year' by PGA Tour. It was in 1997 that the young prodigy won his first major title at the 1997 Masters, ending on -18 and becoming the youngest winner of the tournament. An incredible achievement for a 21-year-old, as it was the largest margin of victory in a major until the 2000 U.S. Open... which Woods won.

He is but a boy! (Getty Images)

Woods was now ranked No. 1 in the rankings and went on to prove that he meant business. This would be no small jaunt at the top of the world, as his overall career achievement stats show, with 81 wins on the PGA Tour, 41 in Europe and 15 majors (including the 2019 Masters win). By 24, Tiger had already accomplished a career Grand Slam (the youngest golfer to ever do this) and has even had a denomination of a grand slam named after him i.e. the 'Tiger Slam', winning the four majors simultaneously but not in the same year. As Tiger aged, the trophy cabinet swelled in size to proportions that would rival the likes of Manchester United or Michael Phelps. Even in 2008, after undergoing knee surgery, he returned for the 2008 U.S. Open and defeated Rocco Mediate in an 18-hole playoff. Mediate said that Tiger had '[beaten] everybody on one leg', and the subsequent announcement that Woods would miss the rest of the season due to the injury meant that his latest win was just that much more inspiring. It was to be the last major he won for 11 years.

When Burton Albion score a last minute winner and your acca comes in (Getty Images)

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Once you reach the top, the only way is down. Insert more phrases here. You can already tell what happens next, or indeed know what happened. Numerous bumps in the road, including the passing of his father Earl in 2006, had threatened to curtail Tiger's progress, but the man was made of sterner stuff... or so we thought. In November 2009, amidst stories of an extramarital affair, Woods crashed his car outside his Florida home and later issued a statement to keep the media off his back. Tiger would give three statements apologising for his infidelity and transgressions over the last 2 months of 2009, which signalled the beginning of a dramatic fall. Brands and companies began dropping Tiger from their books, such as Gatorade, Gillette and TAG Heuer, as Woods' mastery over the golfing world slipped through his fingers. Injuries and poor finishes meant that new names such as Rory McIlroy could begin to make a charge for the number 1 spot. By August 2011, he was ranked No. 58 in the world, but a surge in form saw him claim top spot in 2013. All good, end of story, happy days.

I'm not mad, just disappointed (Getty Images)

Well, no; we are just getting started. In the 2013 U.S. Open, he finished 13-over-par as an elbow injury gave Tiger his worst ever score as a professional, with the 2014 season bringing with it a back injury and surgery, which he underwent again in December 2015. His golfing and physical form were starting to crumble as he missed the cut at both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship in 2015. At the Masters, a rogue tree root made contact with Tiger's club and damaged his wrist; a bone popped out apparently (goodness me) but he soldiered on to finish. 2016 was the first year Tiger would miss all four majors due to the recurring back troubles, but he remained adamant that Jack Nicklaus's record of 18 majors would be broken. The world burst out laughing at his ludicrous statement to break the record, especially as he was ranked 1199th in December 2017 after having yet another procedure on his back (the fourth of his career). The sun was setting on Tiger Woods, especially after being arrested in May 2017 for being found asleep at the wheel of his car due to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Game over, man.

Movie magic

It was 2018 that saw a recovery so miraculous that even Lazarus was impressed- and he had risen from the dead, mind you! At the Open Championship, he tied for 6th, managed to finish in 2nd at the PGA Championship and won the Tour Championship to finish 2018 in the top 20 golfers for the first time in bloody ages. The likes of Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka were now looking over their shoulders in sheer fright as Tiger had found his roar (sorry, had to use that pun again) once more. Now, in 2019, Tiger Woods is 6th in the world, has claimed the first major of the year and has put those young rapscallions back in their place. Those who had chortled with glee at the prospect of Tiger catching up with Nicklaus's 18 major wins now look on in embarrassing silence. One thought that a Masters win would lead to Tiger's retirement, but when you're back in the form that first got you to the top, then why stop? By the end of this year, Tiger Woods may have just won all 4 majors and truly establish himself as the greatest golfer who ever lived.

Stonking trousers for a stonking golfer (AP)

The story of the rise, fall and return of Tiger Woods may seem like a ramble, and boring if not a fan of either golf, medical ailments or personal drama. Regardless, you can't help but applaud the incredible story of this man. Underdogs always cause one's heart to stir, and the fact that even at the lowest point of his career Woods wanted to reach major win number 19 proves that either he is made of sterner stuff or still believed that he was the best in the world, so had lured himself into a false sense of security. Indeed, you can cite other figures such as Roger Federer in being a more inspiring sporting star who has dominated the game. Then again, Roger has always been the king of the court, with a 'dip in form' being classed as missing out on the semi-finals. That man does have a hell of a lot of class about him as well; serious man crush, not going to lie.

Oh jeez (Getty Images)

We all know the inspiring tales of many figures throughout all fields of society, as they fought their personal demons to rise above these restraints and make a name for themselves. The 'rags to riches' stories give us all something to strive for and take inspiration from when we are faced with our own challenges. People will always have obstacles standing in the way of our goals, no matter how simple or convoluted these goals may be. From a niggle in our knees to the blatant restrictions of being of a certain race or gender, there is always a barrier relentlessly guarding the path towards our ambitions. A strong frame of mind and solid support base are just a few factors that can lead us to the promised land. Essentially, we should never give up.

Wait, who said that? Can't see anyone there...

Tiger Woods, for this humble blogger, is just one of the personalities that can be classed as 'heroes'. He fits into the numerous categories that make up the general classification of being a hero; overcoming physical limitations is one that Tiger fits into nicely. Much like Lionel Messi being too short to play football or Niki Lauda suffering a horrendous crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix, Tiger Woods had multiple surgeries on his back and still managed to make it onto the course. Personal issues also blighted the mighty Woods, with his weakness for alcohol, drugs and other women threatening to completely derail any notion of maintaining his place as a person who could be relied upon. Robert Downey Jr. cleaned up his act after a 'party hard' life in the 1990s, and now he's freakin' Iron Man. Well, we will see after Avengers: Endgame whether Robert can make it through to the end and continue to reside in the marvellous MCU.

Don't you DARE die in space (Getty Images)

Let's bring this all to a close, as we could spend all day swooning over the achievements of Tiger Woods and we would have a very unproductive Easter weekend. To wrap this all up in a pretty bow, the thing to take away from Tiger's tale is to never give up, overcome the brittle entity that is the human body and cherish every challenge thrown your way. We've already seen Tottenham snuff out any notion of a Manchester City quadruple this week, so you all know that anything is possible! Tiger overcame back problems, Spurs triumphed over a distinct lack of Harry Kane- it's basically the same thing. To drift back on course, as the possibility of the second best team in North London being crowned European champion leaves a sour taste in this blogger's mouth, it's time to bring this ramble to a close. Basically, be a bloody Tiger. Let no one tell you what is possible and make damn sure that you win in style. Just stay away from the substance abuse and sneaky rendezvous with people who you aren't in a committed relationship with. There are limits when emulating your heroes.

Always be like Captain America though, he's awesome. Also, don't you DARE die in Endgame

Ben G 😁 xo