Tiger Woods navigates the trials of golf and life

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The question was about his second act, an awesome second act that has allowed Tiger Woods to develop rivalries with a younger generation of players. Yet rather than focus on Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy or others 10 and 15 years his junior, Tiger chose the long, par-5 view.

“It’s great to be part of the narrative,” Woods said Tuesday as he prepared for the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. “My narrative spans 20 years now, just over 20. You’re not measured like an NFL football player when you get in the Hall of Fame after nine years. If you played out here nine years, you haven’t really done that well. You’re measured in decades. Arnold Palmer played in 50 straight Masters.

“We’re able to hang around a lot longer and still be relevant. When Jack (Nicklaus) played in his final PGA in 2000, I played with him, he said he played with Gene Sarazen in his final PGA. The fact that golf can span what, 60, 70 years and playing careers, that’s what makes it so special.”

After years of pain, embarrassment and occasional chaos, Woods’ golf narrative and his life’s narrative have fit so comfortably, so beautifully the past month. On this day, McIlroy talked about how he sees a grateful Tiger. A golfer who has gone from back surgeries that threatened to end his career to a thankful dad hugging his kids after completing one of the great comebacks in sports history at the Masters.

“He’s a different person,” McIlroy said. “He’s in a different space in his life.”

At Augusta, Woods won his first major in 11 years, his 15th overall, and the athletic world marveled. As Woods stood there beaming the other day at the White House upon receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom — an “incredible honor” — clearly the 43-year-old Tiger had found that fulfilling and nourishing space.

And then news broke Monday night: The family of Nicholas Immesberger was suing The Woods Jupiter, restaurant owner Tiger Woods and general manager/

Woods’ girlfriend Erica Herman for Immesberger’s wrongful death last December. Immesberger, a bartender at The Woods, had a blood alcohol level of .256, more than three times the legal limit in Florida, when he crashed his Corvette.

The lawsuit alleges Immesberger, 24, got off work a

3 p.m. and remained there until 6 p.m. and the restaurant has destroyed video evidence of him drinking to excess. The lawsuit also alleges that Woods, Herman, and other employees were aware of his severe drinking problem and still over-served him during and after his shifts. Furthermore, the civil complaint alleges Woods and Herman were drinking with Immesberger a couple of nights before his crash, and Herman knew Immesberger had crashed another vehicle a month earlier after drinking at the restaurant.

“We’re all very sad that Nick passed away,” Woods said Tuesday in response to the one question about the lawsuit. “It was a terrible night, a terrible ending, and we feel bad for him and his entire family. It’s very sad.”

There is a warning sign at the first tee at Bethpage Black stating that it is an “Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” Tiger talked about how it is one of the biggest “ballparks” you’ll ever see, and it has only gotten bigger in recent years. He talked about the first time he played No. 7 he reached the green with a

3-wood and 7-iron and Monday he hit driver, 5-wood,

3-wood and still didn’t get there.

Yes, life, like Bethpage Black, is a long, arduous journey. Unlike Bethpage Black, there are no posted warning signs. None of us know what’s around the next bend. And when a guy has a

.256 blood alcohol level, he doesn’t know anything at all. Woods didn’t serve Immesberger. He didn’t hand him the keys to his car. He wasn’t even there. And what of personal responsibility? Still, there could be legal culpability for him, for Herman, for the restaurant. It is tragedy.

The point is no matter how far a man has rebounded, no matter how rich, how famous, how blessed, life will continue to have trials. Sometimes great trials. Woods saw his image shattered a decade ago when he was exposed as a serial philanderer chased out of his home by his then-wife with a golf club. He was humiliated, and he deserved it. When he was arrested a few years ago on DUI charges, he was found to have painkillers, sleep drugs and an active ingredient in marijuana in his bloodstream. His back was screaming with pain and his life appeared to be a mess. Yet two years later, there he was at the Masters hoisting his son in victory at the same spot off the 18th green where he had hugged his late dad.

Many of us cried. We all celebrated his comeback in golf and in life.

During a news conference with Immesberger’s parents

and their legal representation held at the same time Tuesday when Woods was speaking in Long Island, attorney Spencer Kuvin said Woods is one man who should have been sensitive to an employee’s needs.

“Just like he ignored his own problem for years, he and his girlfriend chose to ignore this problem that their own employee had,” Kuvin said.

Those are hard words. They also are allegations a judge may or may not accept.

There was a time when, if you looked beyond the wonder of his dominance, Woods was not the easiest guy to root for. He could be distant, giving little of himself publicly — a man, in retrospect, with plenty to hide. He is different now. More open. More accessible. More embraceable.

On this day, Woods spoke warmly of his caddie Joe LaCava. Tiger talked about how LaCava would leave his home in Southbury, travel south to Florida and simply be around for him during his difficult times.

“I was struggling with being able to walk, and Joey would come down, he’d drive the car, he’d help me around the house,” Woods said. “He was just an incredible, incredible friend.”

Woods hasn’t played since the Masters and the pressing question going into the PGA is will he be refreshed for another major or rusty? He said he wanted to play at Quail Hollow a few weeks ago, but hadn’t been ready to resume the long grind. He worked in the gym and mostly on his short game. Yes, he arrived at Bethpage Black last week and surveyed everything. But the days of him working on every part of his game, he said, are long gone. He believes remaining fresh is paramount.

“The body doesn’t bounce back quite as well as it used to,” Woods said.

He still has no idea how his back will feel the morning after a round of competition. Good range of motion? Bad aches? Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, no.

“That’s the fickle nature of having my back fused,” Woods said.

Stamina will come into play. Four days over a tough championship like Bethpage will have its mental and physical toll. He asks for no pity and gives none. John Daly, 53, has been granted a waiver to use a cart this week because of a knee problem, and Woods isn’t on board.

“I walked with a broken leg, so …” said Woods, who won the 2008 U.S. Open with a tibia fracture.

The competitive nature can flare with the great ones. Pressed on why he said he doesn’t fear Woods, for instance, Koepka answered: “We’re not fighting. Unless I was standing there and not prepared for a punch, he’s not going to knock my teeth in. He’s not going to hurt me. So what’s there to be afraid of ?”

Life.

And how we react to its trials.

Again, Tiger Woods knows this.