The Masters has provided the perfect ending to the Tiger Woods saga.
Millions of people tuned in to see if Tiger could rise above his personal challenges. In fact, it was the highest-rated Masters since 1991, and one of the most watched Thursday’s ever. Tiger was in contention, which kept people watching into the weekend. And then the golf on Saturday and Sunday was some of the best we have seen in a long time.
To cap it off, Phil Mickelson won the tournament with some gutsy play. The signature shot was his 6-iron off the pine straw, through a gap in the Georgia pines and over Rae’s Creek to 4 feet on the 13th hole. But the best part of this Masters was Mickelson’s emotional embrace behind the 18th green with his wife, Amy, on the golf course for the first time since being diagnosed with breast cancer.
That embrace was a reminder to the world that there are men who stand by their wives. There are good people who take bold steps for what is right and honorable. And they win on the golf course, and always in the course of life.
Golf is filled with hundreds of different people, many with positive stories. Some people are worried that golf’s image as a game of ethics will be tarnished by Tiger’s transgressions. But Tiger is just one man, and as good and popular as he is, there are other people with stories just as interesting.
Tiger was never the symbol of golf. Once upon a time he was a great hope. But golf lacked the infrastructure to take advantage of all the young people and minorities that could have joined the game. Instead, when those people arrived at golf courses ten years ago, they received the less-than-friendly welcome that most beginners receive.
Personally, I think there is a lot more that the PGA Tour can do, through its players, to promote the positive aspects of the game. The NFL and MLB use their players aggressively to meet with kids, promote charities and give back to the local communities. This effort builds interest and shows a human side to the game.
Golf can do more to build off positive stories like Phil Mickelson and his wife. But it will still be up to golf course operators to open their arms and truly welcome into their clubhouse juniors, women, minorities and others.
We need to make the golfing experience a wonderful and fun one for everyone – and not just the 50-year-old man who has a handicap. Only then, will our real saga be behind us.