IT ALL IN , TIGER
Potteries legend Ryan has an American dream Thrilled to link up with Neville and Beckham
TIGER WOODS is “living in a dream world” if he is entertaining thoughts of a golf comeback following his horror car crash.
That’s the view of twotime Major winner and Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin.
Woods needed emergency surgery, involving the insertion of a rod to support multiple fractures in his right leg, after his SUV struck a kerb and rolled down an embankment (above) in Los Angeles last week.
And Jacklin maintains it is now crucial the American superstar, 45, puts all ambitions of a golf return to the back of his mind in order to concentrate on his rehabilitation.
He said: “It doesn’t look like he’s going to be able to add to his tally of 15 Major wins, or think about breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18, but the most important thing is that he has survived.
“With something like this, your life is in the lap of the gods. It’s a whole new ballgame for him now because he’s got to channel that fierce determination and absolute passion he showed on the course to find inspiration and come out the other side.
“He’s looking at between one and two years of rehab – that consideration on its own is daunting enough.
“To even contemplate being able to compete again at this stage of proceedings is living in a dream world.
“The idea he could break Jack’s record pales into insignificance now.
“He’s got young children, they’ve still got their dad, and that’s all that matters. Possible golfing accomplishments would be the least of my worries if I was in his shoes.”
The strength that has always set Woods (inset, top) apart from his rivals has been his mental fortitude and, according to Florida-based Jacklin (inset, below) that is going to be needed again.
He added: “You could tell when he burst on the scene and won three straight US Junior Amateur Championships in the 90s that this guy was going to be what the Americans call a ‘phenom’.
“Nike and the other big companies came in with a bucketload of cash and he delivered for them on the world stage.
“Baseball had Babe Ruth, boxing had Muhammad Ali and golf now has Tiger Woods.
“In more recent times we’ve seen golfers like Bryson Dechambeau and Michelle Wie make outstanding starts to their careers and they quickly found out how tough it is to deliver.
“Tiger, though, set himself apart from the rest by delivering year after year. His mental strength is what has made him stand out from the pack.”
Jacklin, now 76, remembers a conversation with one of Woods’ peers – Kiwi Michael Campbell – in which the 2005 US Open champ offered an insight into the extraordinary mind games the star used to play to maintain his mindset and focus.
“Michael told me that Tiger times exactly how long it takes for a putt to reach the hole and also counts how many footsteps he takes in one minute when he’s out on the course.
“These are all exercises designed to keep him in the zone.”
ANY last-minute doubts about swapping a cold blustery day in Stoke for the heat of Miami were surely removed as Ryan Shawcross said farewell.
Despite there being no fans in the bet365 Stadium, the Potters wanted to recognise their captain’s departure to join David Beckham’s Florida adventure with a presentation before last weekend’s game against Luton.
Cue a gale-force wind and downpour which saw the club photographer frantically recovering the England international’s going away gift which had escaped from the weighted down table and was heading towards the Boothen End.
“To be honest it might be too hot and I’ll be yearning for the cold days of Stoke,” smiled Shawcross as he looked forward to joining Inter Miami in the MLS.
“It’s going to be a bit of shock weather-wise as well as a complete culture shock.”
But the opportunity to finally catch up with two figures he played alongside fleetingly in his teenage years at Manchester United was one Shawcross, now 33, could not miss.
He explained: “Inter Miami ticked all the boxes, especially with Phil Neville going there as manager.
“I was excited about trying something different. I knew I wasn’t going to be offered a new contract at Stoke, and so this came down to me wanting to play football for a couple more years.
“I’ve spoken to Phil a few times on the phone.
“He comes across as a really enthusiastic guy.
“He has done really well with the England women’s team.
“I know him a bit from Man United and his brother, Gary, was an England coach when I was in the squad.
Ticked
“It will be a new voice with different ideas.
“I’m looking forward to that, the different formats, different methods of the American way compared to the English way.
“I’m open to everything and it’s going to be very interesting seeing how things work over there.
“Hopefully all the questions I have will be answered.”
Inter Miami will be going into their second season in the MLS under Beckham’s ownership.
Once they made their interest known, Shawcross spoke to Stoke boss Michael O’neill about cutting short his contract, due to run out in June.
Shawcross said: “The manager was great and we had an honest conversation.
“I haven’t played much recently with the emergence of Harry Souttar.
“He has done brilliantly, I
I’ve been here at Stoke so long there’s a lot of sadness... but also all the excitement looking forward to the future
have had to hold my hands up. The manager isn’t an idiot, he has to play Harry.”
But his departure after 14 years at the club – 11 as captain – prompted an avalanche of accolades from Stoke fans
He said: “It feels like I’ve died and everyone is doing eulogies about me.
“It’s a strange feeling after being part of a club for so long and then to be facing a massive difference in my life. There’s a lot of sadness, but also excitement about looking forward to the future.
“In the last couple of weeks I’ve watched a few old games.
Nervy
“With moving house I’ve been searching out some old shirts, which has brought back memories of all the good times I’ve had at Stoke.”
It was a nervy 19-year-old who turned his back on attempting to join Beckham, Phil Neville and Co in the Old Trafford side – he made just two League Cup appearances.
A loan spell at Stoke became permanent with Shawcross revealing: “I came in as a young lad not knowing whether I was even going to make it as a footballer.
“I came in with so many doubts, but I ended up scoring on my debut at Cardiff and then everything seemed right. To get
into the Premier League at 20, stay there and play as many games as I did was brilliant.
“We got to the FA Cup Final and played in Europe.
“One of the best Stoke performances was when he beat Manchester City 2-0 in 2015 with Bojan Krkic as a false No.9, Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri.
“There was also that 6-1 win against Liverpool in May 2015 – great memories.”
BRENDAN RODGERS insists Kieran Tierney is a captainin-waiting at Arsenal.
Leicester’s boss gave the then teenager his big break at Celtic and looked on with pride as the left-back tied up a £25million move to the capital in August 2019.
The Scotland defender, 23, has emerged as one of the undoubted bright spots of Mikel Arteta’s stuttering campaign.
He even went toe-to-toe with centre-back David Luiz during a training-ground spat – a clip that went viral on social media.
And Rodgers believes that Tierney will, in time, take over the armband after showing his battling qualities to make it with the Glasgow giants.
He said: “Kieran is frightened of no one. He knows no fear. That’s how he plays and it’s what he is on the field.
“There were plenty of spats in Glasgow. Don’t worry about that. He wouldn’t have been the only one involved.
“The thing I loved about the Scottish players is their competitive nature. Kieran’s right out of that mould.
“He plays with leadership attributes. At Celtic he had a great mentor in Scott Brown. He was an incredible captain and Kieran was very close to him.
“Kieran watched him and he saw how he performed every day.
“I have no doubt that once he’s down here for a period of time that Arsenal supporters will see that in him. He will be a great ambassador for Arsenal on and off the pitch.”
Protege
Rodgers said he had no doubts his former protege would succeed once he found his feet in North London. He added: “At Celtic, he had close friends, family and his parents around him.
“To move away from that takes a lot of adaptation time and, of course, he was injured as well.
“But he’s true to the game. He plays how you would want a player to play it. Every day he’ll be at the training ground at London Colney for two-and-a-half hours being the best he can.
“He doesn’t waste time doing stupid things. He’ll be back afterwards, resting, living a quiet life to be the best footballer he can be.
“That was the attitude and energy I first saw in him. I had been aware of him – but when I arrived I saw this tenacious youngster who played like a supporter. He would give his life for it.
“Even when I first went there, there was talk Arsenal wanted him.
“In my first week, I went to the club’s chief executive, Peter Lawwell and said, ‘If we could tie this boy up, it would be amazing’ because he was such a talent.
“He never had it all his own way, he wasn’t picked for Scotland’s youth teams, there were others chosen ahead of him, but it showed his character and persistence to keep going.
“He’s worked so hard. You look at his body now and compare it to how it was when he was younger tells you everything about how hard he has worked and what a special player he is.”