Filed under: Golf & Tennis
"I'll be honest, the feeling in the locker room is slightly different," golfer Paul Casey said. "With the way (Woods) played the past week, guys feel like this is wide open, and that's not a feeling that a lot of guys have had before. Graeme McDowell played tremendous golf at the U.S. Open. So did Louis playing his golf at The Open. That, combined with the way Tiger played last week, I think guys now feel there are multiple possible winners this week. It's different. Not a feeling we've had in a while."
Tiger hasn't won a major since 2008, and sits just four majors away from the most significant record in all of golf: The winning of 18 major championships, a record held by the great Jack Nicklaus. Tiger was all set to break the record by the year 2012, but his capability has been questioned after some very poor performances as of late.
Woods shot 18-over par at Firestone, where he's won seven times in the past. This seems to show that the challenges of his personal life continue to wreak havoc on his golfing skills. As Woods faces his own mortality as a golfer, the PGA Tour has changed dramatically: fewer commercials feature Woods, and his competitors are no longer nervous when he's at the top of the leader board. Tiger Woods has effectively become one of us.
The season isn't over yet, so perhaps there's reason to be hopeful. Early indications are that Tiger has been practicing on the course he will be playing on next week, and that he is excited about the tournament. It may be the case that Tiger is simply saving his best for the end of the season. If he can walk away with another major before the end of the year, then this would have been a great year.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.