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warrior bodhisattva
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
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The Return of Tiger Woods
Quote:
Tiger Woods prepares to tee off at Masters
CTV.ca News Staff
Tiger Woods will begin his comeback in earnest today, as he tees off this afternoon for his first tournament since his personal life unravelled publicly with the disclosure of numerous extra-marital affairs.
Woods hasn't competed since November's Australian Masters, which he won. But at 1:42 p.m. ET Thursday, he will tee off at Augusta National Golf Club for the Masters tournament, in the second-to-last group.
The 14-time major champion will be seeking a fifth Masters title as he pursues the all-time record of 18 major crowns won by Jack Nicklaus.
Though there's been little attention paid to anything else this week in Augusta, Masters chairman Billy Payne said Wednesday he isn't overly concerned Tiger's return will overshadow the tournament.
But he had some harsh words for the golfer in his remarks, saying Woods won't be judged in the future solely on his performance as a golfer, but by the sincerity of his efforts to change as a person.
"As he now says himself, he forgot in the process to remember that with fame and fortune comes responsibility, not invisibility," Payne said during his annual state of the Masters news conference.
"It is not simply the degree of his conduct that is so egregious here. It is the fact that he disappointed all of us, and more importantly, our kids and our grandkids."
He added: "Is there a way forward? I hope yes. I think yes. But certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par, but measured by the sincerity of his efforts to change."
CTV's Paul Workman, reporting from Augusta, Ga., says Payne's statement was much harsher than anyone expected and was essentially a dressing-down for Woods.
"It's being described here in the papers as Billy Payne taking Tiger Woods to the woodshed. It was essentially a fatherly rebuke, really to say ‘Come on Tiger, your behaviour has to be better than this'," Workman commented.
On the eve of Tiger's return, Nike aired a new TV ad Wednesday featuring the voice of the golfer's late father.
In the stark, black-and-white ad, a solemn Woods looks directly into the camera while a recording of his late father is heard, speaking about taking responsibility.
"I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. And did you learn anything?" Earl Woods asks.
Some are calling the ad "powerful" and "gutsy", while Associated Press writer Tim Dahlberg calls it a "nauseating" and "laughable" attempt by Nike to manipulate public opinion in Woods' favour.
Woods remains the face of the company's golf line and will be using its products when he plays Thursday.
No one knows what to expect from Tiger's game. He hasn't competed since November, spent 45 days in rehab for "personal issues" -- generally assumed to be rehab for sex addiction – and has stayed famously out of the public eye for close to five months, until recently.
Fellow player, Australia's Robert Allenby, says he expects Woods will probably still remember how to get the ball in the hole.
"He should do pretty good -- he's coming off a win," he cracked on Wednesday.
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CTV Toronto - Tiger Woods prepares to tee off at Masters - CTV News
What do you think about Tiger's return to golf?
What do you think of the new Nike ad? (That's his late father's voice, btw)
The Nike ad appears to be the company's attempt to start revitalizing their "Tiger" brand. I think it was a huge risk, but in the long run I think it will pay off.
Either way, the sooner things get under way, the sooner Tiger can put this behind him. I think it's time to move on. His private life has had enough of the spotlight already.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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