Woods driving charge
Tiger is back in the dock and this time there might well be no way back
What is it about Tiger Woods and cars in the dead of night? If his crash into a fire hydrant in 2009 led to his downfall as an icon, then, who knows, his charge of driving under the influence might finally spell the end of his career as a professional golfer.
“Rock bottom” was the first phrase which sprang to mind when hearing of the 41-year-old’s arrest and then seeing that awful, bloated mugshot of him released by Palm Beach County jail.
It is hard to reconcile the broken figure in the photo with the red-shirted superhero who burst into our sporting and, yes, social consciousness with such vibrancy and certainty two decades ago.
How can this be the same person who refused to observe the boundaries of this white-man’s sport and promised a new, inclusive future? That Tiger was unbeatable and even if he was not, would never have acknowledged defeat. But this Tiger, with that bleary-eyed visage of resignation, has nowhere to go, nowhere to run and, definitely, nowhere to roar. It is almost impossible to look at that belittling, shameful image and envisage those old fist-pumps of victorious belligerence.
The cruel cynics are already feasting on that sorrowful countenance and harking back in joy to the statement on his website last week. It is, indeed, a quite glorious irony. “I haven’t felt this good in years,” Woods had declared, talking about his latest surgery. Presumably, as he lay in that Florida cell yesterday, Woods had not felt that low in years. Not since the emergence of the sex scandal which devastated his life.
After going some way to rebuilding his reputation by emphasising his role as the divorced but dedicated father to two young children, and with the occasional and, it must be said, apparently reluctant, acknowledgement that he had tried to fix a deeply flawed personality, this will put Woods back to square one on the infamy chart.
Woods will be dreading the fallout, facing the press, hearing the catcalls from the galleries, although he issued a statement late last night suggesting it was a reaction to prescribed medication, rather than alcohol abuse, that was to blame. Either way, could he stand going through all that ignominy again? That must be the principal consideration when trying to ascertain where this leaves him in the sporting sense. The prospect of all that scorn really might convince him to hang up his spikes for good and retreat into the shadows of that huge, lonely mansion in Jupiter. Yet with Tiger, nothing has ever been guaranteed.
With this complex man the urge always is to jerk the knee and now there will be all sorts of predictions and obituaries.
Except, the truth is, many had believed he was finished anyway. Woods has not won in four years because of his back problem, which has required four operations in two years. He is 41. He has played only 54 competitive holes this year and is not expected to play any more. Yet until this moment, at least there had been a little hope, albeit most of it provided by his own assurances from behind his ludicrously reinforced curtain.
Following the seemed success of the spinal fusion (“It is hard to express how much better I feel,” Woods wrote. “It was instant nerve relief ”) there was optimism that the 14-time major-winner could resume his chase of Jack Nicklaus’s record mark of 18. That pursuit now seems more forlorn than ever.
Those who have maintained that he has become only a brand, perpetuating the illusion of remaining a contender for financial reasons, will feel their conviction strengthened. Where next?
There will be no worries on his playing options, that is for sure. The PGA Tour will not do anything. This is Woods and he remains synonymous with the circuit’s incredible growth. He is still the biggest draw in the game.
It will be intriguing to see how his sponsors react, although nobody should anticipate anything other than complete support from Nike. Woods’s main backers stuck by him during the last shaming.
Taylormade, which signed up Woods to a multi-year contract in January, might wonder what a golfer supposedly in rehab from surgery is doing driving under the influence, particularly after his assurances that he was doing all in his power to come back.
Last Wednesday, he told the world: “I want to say unequivocally, I want to play professional golf again. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me.”
Those comments now look utterly ridiculous and he cannot expect an easy ride. Tiger Woods is back in the dock and this time there might be no way back. What a sad, wretched conclusion this could be for one of sport’s most uplifting legends.