December 16 -- Were it not for the past three weeks, there would be little question that the Associated Press would name Tiger Woods its Athlete of the Decade.
For the past 10 years, Woods’ achievements on the golf course have been unparalleled by any other athlete in any other sport. Until a Tuesday New York Times report indirectly linked Woods with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) via his relationship with a doctor suspected of supplying such drugs to athletes, Tiger’s history of golfing achievements over the past decade was unquestioned.
Now, with the superstar golfer enveloped in a never-ending saga of sex, sleaze, and possible PEDs, it would seem unlikely that the AP would risk the ridicule such a move would generate.
Before. Before Woods’ bizarre car crash on November 27 and ensuing tabloid reports about possible domestic violence and an unending stream of “mistresses” and prostitutes, golfers wondered when Woods would win his next major and move closer to Jack Nicklaus’ vaunted record of 18.
After. Since Woods became tabloid fodder and a Saturday Night Live punchline, any discussion about Woods’ golf career is about if and when he’ll ever play again.
If the AP bestows the honor on an athlete based on her or his prowess on the field of play over the past decade, and not on real, imagined, or fictional reports and rumors about one’s private life, Woods would certainly deserve the title.
Dominant. There is no dispute that Woods has dominated his sport as no other athlete has. Over the past 10 years, Tiger won 56 PGA Tour victories, which included 12 major championships. His success rate was a “staggering” 30 percent, notes the AP’s Doug Ferguson.
But Woods’ magic on the golf course went well beyond the numbers. Like capturing the U.S. Open, in a playoff, while hobbling around on a busted knee.
Ferguson listed the accomplishments of the world’s greatest golfer, noting that Woods:
- Won first U.S. Open by 15 shots
- Was the youngest player (24) to earn the career Grand Slam
- Earned nine victories by at least eight shots
- Was the first player to finish at double digits under par (12) when he won the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which Ferguson compared to running a four-minute mile
- Finished the 2000 U.S. Open 15 shots ahead, “the largest margin in 140 years of major championship golf,” according to Ferguson
- Made worldwide headlines by losing the 2009 PGA Championship to Y.E. Yang because it was the first time he’d coughed up a major heading into the final round with the lead
- Has been the top-ranked golfer in the world for all but 32 weeks of the last decade
- Won six PGA Tour events in one season five times, including nine wins in 2000
Clutch. While unbelievably impressive, the stats don't do Woods’ on-course accomplishments justice.
Talk about clutch. Ferguson recalled that 6-iron from a bunker, over the water, and on the green -- to win the tourney in Canada. Then there was the chip at the 2005 Masters that hit the green, did a U-turn, degrees, hung on the lip of the cup, and then dropped in for birdie.
Remember the patented Tiger fist pump after that one?
Woods was also single-handedly responsible for filling the coffers of the PGA Tour and the pockets of his playing partners. Before Woods joined the tour in 1996, purses totaled $65 million; by 2009, prize money had rocketed to $275 million, Ferguson pointed out.
Then there were the TV ratings, which zoomed when Woods teed it up, and ticket sales, which helped the PGA Tour raise more than $1 billion in charity, according to Ferguson.
"Pick any metric applied to all sports, and his contribution has lifted the game," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told Ferguson.
There has been no athlete who has performed better or has meant more to her or his sport over the last 10 years than Tiger Woods.
It’s when you tally up Tiger’s feats and remember that he could do with a golf club what others can only imagine, that the full weight of the tragedy of his self-inflicted wounds fully resonates.
For now, the golf-related for Woods is, will the greatest golfer of his or any generation reap the rewards of his efforts, or will his fall from grace be complete and deny him the title of Athlete of the Decade.
When you relive some of Tiger Woods’ most memorable moments on the golf course, it’s hard to imagine that a second-tier golfer would even question his dominance. Yet Colin Montgomerie did just that. Read about it at Woods has lost his mystique, says Monty.
Remember Tiger's chip-in at the 2005 Masters? Watch it here:
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Tons of crazy photos of Tiger and milf Theresa Rogers leaked at www.tinyurl.com/theresatiger
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