Tiger seemed as if he was back in his element this week at The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga. He began the week with a sort of “bedeviled” look with a goatee on Monday for his press conference. There were more apologies and he said the most difficult part of the last few months was facing what he had done and the hounding of his family by the media. He still seemed unable to accept it was his own actions that lead to his family being pursued by the media.
On the course, he’s constantly flanked by his caddy, security team and his lawyer. Yes, his lawyer. Seems the only real friend a superstar former-philandering golfer has is his lawyer. Wonder what they were talking about on the way to the club house? Golf, I guess. It was evident at the end of the first round of play in Augusta, Tiger was back. He shot his best first round ever on a day when many best rounds were shot.
Elin Woods, Tiger’s wife, was nowhere to be seen. It was reported by Team Tiger she would not be attending The Masters this week. One can only hope if he’s in contention on Sunday, she will show up. It would be a great picture if he won and she was there. Not sure if she’s ready for it with reports of one of Tiger’s mistresses stripping in a local Augusta nightclub, Augusta may not be Elin’s first choice for a weekend away.
He was on his best behavior for the most part. My husband and son had the opportunity to attend the Monday practice round and they said Tiger was uncomfortable early on and then warmed up to the crowd as the day went on. By the first round of the Masters, Tiger looked relaxed. Gone was the goatee. By the 11th hole, when he made his first bad shot off the tee, he slammed his club to the ground and mouthed some colorful words. Tiger is back.
Media watcher and bestselling author, Bernie Goldberg pointed out that Babe Ruth would have never apologized for his carousing. So what has happened since then? You can say it’s the loss of the culture, a compromising of morals, but this can’t be the first time a celebrity has cheated on his wife. We seem to want the salacious details and then we want to make the guy pay. Whether it’s Britney Spears, Michael Jackson or Tiger Woods, we want to build them up and then tear them down.
So let’s accept that Tiger is a good golfer. Let’s hope he’s learning to be a good husband and father. In the grand scheme of things, that is much more important.
Martha Zoller is a political analyst and conservative talk show host for WXKT FM 103.7 in Gainesville, Georgia and syndicated on The Georgia News Network. She is one of the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” Talk Shows in America. She can be seen regularly on cable news. She is the author of “Indivisible: Uniting Values for a Divided America.” E-mail her at martha@marthazoller.com.
