Tiger dwarfs plenty of ‘09 memories
December 22, 2009
For some golf fans, Feb. 19 effectively marked the start of the season.
It wasn’t because Phil Mickelson finally got his game on track with a 63 atRiviera, rather it was the day Tiger Woods posted a statement on his Web sitethat filled golf with optimism it had been missing for eight months.
“I’m now ready to play again,” Woods said, announcing his return from kneesurgery.
What followed were plenty of memories in 2009. The fairy tale that turnedinto a heartbreaker at Turnberry when 59-year-old Tom Watson failed to make parfrom the middle of the 18th fairway and lost the British Open in a playoff.Henrik Stenson making more news for stripping down to his skivvies than forwinning The Players Championship. Michelle Wie winning more tournaments thanVijay Singh.
Too bad so few people will remember.
Because the year effectively ended Dec. 11 with another statement Woodsposted on his Web site.
“After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break fromprofessional golf,” he said.
Mark those two dates as the alpha and omega of the 2009 season, and allowyourself to soak up some of the moments in between.
It wasn’t the best year in golf—it can’t be, not with as much focus on therunner-up as the winner.
Angel Cabrera won the Masters at the expense of Kenny Perry, at 48 trying tobecome the oldest major champion. Lucas Glover’s magnificent 8-iron to the 16that Bethpage Black was overshadowed by Mickelson missing two short par putts.Stewart Cink denied the golf world one of its greatest stories by beating Watsonin the playoff. And Y.E. Yang made more news for whom he beat (Woods) than whathe won (the PGA Championship).
With a putt here and a chip there, the major champions could have just aseasily been Chad Campbell, Ricky Barnes and Chris Wood.
Watson might have been the most celebrated runner-up in history, trumpingGreg Norman’s collapse in the 1996 Masters. Even five months later, it all seemsso impossible that a player past his prime even by Champions Tour standardscould crouch over an 8-foot putt with a chance to put his name on the claret jugagain, 34 years after it first was engraved.
A devastating loss? It apparently was for reporters, but not for the man.
“This ain’t a funeral, you know,” Watson said with that gap-tooth grin ashe walked into the media center.
Mickelson also found perspective in defeat after another amazing tale thatlacked only the happy ending. His world rocked by his wife being diagnosed withbreast cancer, Mickelson again found himself on the cusp of an elusive U.S. Opentitle. The long birdie at the 12th. The eagle on the 13th. Bethpage already wasflooded by a week of rain, and the tear ducts were starting to leak.
Then, he missed par putts from 3 feet and 8 feet over the final four holes,and made history as a runner-up for the fifth time.
“Now that’s over, I’ve got more important things going on. And … oh,well,” Mickelson said.
Perry showed golf is a game for the ages by winning twice and finishing No.5 on the money list. The teenage infusion came from Rory McIlroy of NorthernIreland, who cracked the top 10 in the world ranking by the end of the year, andfrom 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa, the youngest player to win the money title on arecognized tour (Japan).
Woods showed again why he is measured by a different standard. Despite sevenvictories worldwide, the FedEx Cup, another PGA Tour money title, Vardon Trophyfor lowest scoring average and every award for player of the year, he had toexplain why it was a great year without a major championship.
Instead, he won a different kind of Grand Slam—a victory in his finalstart before every major.
For all the grousing about the FedEx cup, it delivered the ultimateCinderella in Heath Slocum, who qualified for the playoffs by the slimmest ofmargins, then won the opening event over Woods, Steve Stricker, PadraigHarrington and Ernie Els. The last three playoff events were won by the topthree players in the world ranking—Woods, Mickelson and Stricker. So somethingis working.
Wie, meanwhile, might have the best of two worlds. She appears to be lovingeverything about college life at Stanford—something hardly any of her peersever experienced—and she had a blast on the course, too, winning for the firsttime and playing a key role in the Americans’ victory in Solheim Cup.
Arnold Palmer turned 80, and while this doesn’t count as a present, it wasannounced a few weeks before his birthday that Jack Nicklaus would be joininghim for the ceremonial tee shot at the Masters next year.
Golf was not without a scandal. The tour announced Doug Barron became thefirst player to test positive for a performance-enhancing substance. This didn’tmake a lot of news because so many fans didn’t know who Doug Barron was.
And by the end of the year, there was only one scandal.
The way the last month has gone, there was really only one story.
It was Tiger Woods.
And it had nothing to do with his golf.
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