Tiger Effect

Normally, I don’t follow golf but last Sunday something remarkable happened. A lot of writers had hailed Tiger’s astounding victory at the Masters as something that will revive golf and will inspire many more people than when he won the Masters the first time around. This victory will be even more impactful.

I tend to agree. The first time when he won at the Masters as a very young man and as a black person, the impact was great but mainly upon a “small” group of people, mainly youngsters, and golfers. He apparently had a great impact on advertising as his name brought in much money. I knew of him and recognized him only because his face appeared everywhere.

Then in 2009 came that infamous marital spat that brought out all of his affairs. That was the beginning of his many troubles: divorce, back problems, loss of sponsors, addiction, weird military adventures (for lack of a better phrase) and inability to win. It was long fall from grace and it was speculated that he would never again attain the heights of winning in golf.

Until last Sunday.

I read an article this week that two years ago he had a back surgery that was supposed to be the last option because if you had that surgery, you would never be able to play golf at the elite level because the surgery would do something to your spinal cord that would limit your stamina and flexibility. So that particular surgery was considered the last option for a golfer. Tiger had that surgery.

And last Sunday he won the Masters.

And that’s awesome.

The surgeon who was talking about that back surgery as the last resort said that what Tiger did was an impossibility or a miracle.

Whatever it was, it’s going to be inspiring.