Tigermania returns ... and golf needs it
“Hello World.”
Feel free to read just a tiny hint of sarcasm into those two words.
Look, I was as thrilled as almost any golf fan around the globe when Eldrick Woods won The Masters on Sunday.
Tigermania is back, as you could tell from the thunderous roars at Augusta, and the breathless, wall-to-wall coverage of Tiger’s first major victory since 2008.
It’s all coming back as Woods, now 43, absolutely hypnotizes the golf planet just as he did at the beginning of his 81-victory career — which doesn’t even count another basketful of wins outside the U.S.
It was more than two decades ago that Nike gambled on the three-time U.S. Amateur champion and produced the commercial that repeated those words.
“Hello World.”
Needless to say, Nike got it right.
And golf fell in love with Tiger, just as he swooned over the sport he’d played since infancy.
SO WHY would I even mention the word “sarcasm” about the Nike ad slogan that came spectacularly to fruition?
Well, because Tiger did really bring the world to golf.
The sport became “cool,” since Tiger represented youth, minorities and plenty of people who hadn’t followed the sport or hit a bucket of balls at a driving range.
What that meant to regular, pre-Tiger golfers was a longer wait for a tee time at your favorite course — shuffling around for a half-hour as two foursomes of kids in T-shirts and jeans began whaling away at the ball.
These young people sometimes didn’t know the etiquette of the sport, and dug huge divots in a fairway as they all sought to imitate Tiger Woods and blast the ball into the next time zone.
As sad as it was to see Tiger slip from the pinnacle of golf, and then go through the agony of four back surgeries, there was just one little bit of upside.
GOLF WASN’T so cool anymore.
An entire generation started forgetting the names of PGA stars, many of whom look and play the same — raw power and mostly white skin.
Seriously, even if you’re a regular weekend player, would you recognize Brooks Koepka or Xander Schauffele if they walked through downtown Coeur d’Alene?
Dustin Johnson is ranked No. 1 in the world, and he’s mostly famous for letting huge tournaments escape him and being engaged to model Paulina Gretzky — daughter of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
Paulina debuted a new hairstyle at The Masters — did you notice?
No?
When that’s what the PGA Tour has to offer, fans begin to doze off.
Even regular players around Kootenai County would have trouble naming the winners of last year’s four majors.
But they can instantly tell you who won the first one this time around.
That’s the impact that Tiger has on the entire sport — who watches and even who plays.
So now that Tigermania is back in full swing, more people will play and everyone will swing harder.
But watching Tiger win is a lot more enjoyable than trying to imitate him.
Stay in the galleries and in front of the TV, Tiger fans.
Trust me, it’s better than wrenching your back while blasting a drive into the trees.
And it’ll be easier for me to get a tee time.
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Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
He also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once each month.
Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA
Email: scameron@cdapress.com