Tiger is Still Tiger

Masters and PGA Breathe Sigh of Relief



When Tiger Woods held his press conference earlier in the week my first reaction was, "Hmmmm, he's got a goatee, this is gonna be badass Tiger... Awesome."

But then... he scared the golf world, "I am actually going to try and obviously not get as hot when I play," confessed Woods, "But then again, when I -- not as hot, I'm not going to be as exuberant, either."


As people started to move to the next question, you could almost hear everyone at the Masters and PGA scream out, "NOOOOOOOOO."

Tiger Woods makes golf exciting. I'll write that again, Tiger Woods makes Golf... GOLF, exciting. The purists out there will tell you that golf is exciting no matter who is playing, but Woods makes golf exciting to the average sports fan.

Woods is why golfers are now making more money than they ever thought possible. It is easy to understand why golfers are angry with Woods; if Woods goes, so does almost all of the money he brought with him.

Anxiety set in for PGA officials, even after he nailed his opening drive down the middle of the fairway, just waiting for a sign, any sign, good or bad, that the old Tiger is lurking.

The moment came on the eighth hole. His blind approach shot stopped within 30 feet, and after nailing the eagle pump, Tiger roared; he pumped his fist, albeit, a little subdued, but still, the same emotional Tiger. he finished his day at four under, his best opening round at the Masters, and more importantly, just two shots behind the leader.

No matter what happens between now and the end of the Masters on Sunday, the fact that the old Tiger is out there, stalking his prey, is good for everybody: the man, the golfer, his fans and of course, the PGA officials who were "embarrassed" by his actions.