I’d just like to see that these twerps got exactly what they deserved.

This has been an MSF lesson in why you don’t mess with golfers. (It also doubles as a lesson in why being a douche bag will eventually come back to bite you in the remote-controlled douchemobile.)

Granted, Bradley nor anyone else on the PGA Tour has the track record that Woods has, but that’s part of what made this weekend, and golf over the past few years, great.

Keegan Bradley is one of many "no-names" to hoist a major trophy in recent years.

One of the biggest reasons that people watch sports is the unpredictability.  People watch because they don’t know what is coming next. Watching Tiger dominate week in and week out has its appeal, sure; but after a while that act gets old.

I hate dynasties. I hate watching the New York Yankees win, just as I hated the Jordan-era Bulls. That’s one of the reasons I like watching baseball, which has had nine different World Series champions in the last 10 years.

I hear all the time that parity is good for sports like football and baseball, so why can’t this be true for golf?

Bradley became the 13th different winner in the last 13 majors, with seven of those guys earning their first major win. He joined a list of relative no-names like Louis Oosthuizen, Y.E. Yang, and Charl Schwartzel in securing one of the four top prizes in golf.

How could this possibly be bad for golf?

Week in and week out, the story of every tournament is Tiger Woods. That storyline gets old real quick. The story should be how each and every tournament is wide open, and how each tournament provides four days to get to know some of the other great golfers that walk this planet.

This year, we’ve gotten to learn the stories of excellent players like Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Luke Donald and Adam Scott, amongst others. I loved watching the final round yesterday, learning that Jason Dufner isn’t quite there yet and that we might have to watch out for Keegan Bradley in years to come.

On top of all these great young players, there are still veterans than can win a tournament at any given time. Guys like Steve Stricker, Phil Mickelson and KJ Choi have been having solid seasons, and they can still pop up and win a tournament any week. But this crop of young golfers is unprecedented. There’s a good chance that many of these players grew up watching Tiger dominate, and the fact that they have been taking it to their idol is truly remarkable.

Any golfer, including Tiger, could win any given week. It seems like Rory might be the next big thing, but I think it will be tough for anyone to win like Tiger once did.

Will Tiger ever return to his dominance? With the golfers on tour today, I don’t see how he could.

In this post, I am going to focus on one of the more notoriously entertaining aspects of the Charles Barkley Experience: his putrid golf game, manifested so awfully with every herk, jerk, and duff produced by his flagrantly ugly swing.

And recently, on the 1st tee at the Champions Tour Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek, Barkley delivered one of the more ignominious moments of his mostly ignominious golfing “career”.

Watch the video:

Yes, that was Barkley knocking the head of his driver right off the shaft with his first tee shot of the day. Not really sure what else needs to be said. Just another moment in Barkley’s long litany of entertaining moments.

Here is Barkley and his playing partner Fuzzy Zoeller holding the detached driver head.

One thing we can say about Barkley for certain is this: when it comes to golf, he is most certainly not a role mode.

This can sometimes be difficult to see through the smoke of constant self-promotion but is most evident during ESPN’s consistently compelling show E:60. The latest example of this is a story called “Mumbai Masters: A look at how golf is played in Mumbai, India”.

This segment, which I encourage you all to budget 8 minutes to watch, tells the story of Anil Mane. He is one of the few people in India who has seen and experienced the two vastly different ways that golf is played in India, where the separations between classes are shockingly wide.

Anil is from the slums, but he got a job caddying at a country club because of his skill and determination. This E:60 segment shows us the world of golf in India through Anil’s eyes, ending with a fascinating look at how a golf tournament is constructed in the slums.

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Obviously I and probably not too many of our readers can even come close to relating to the living situation that Anil and so many others in India face on a daily basis. But I bet those of us in our late 20s and older, born before video games took over youth entertainment and it was not uncommon to spend entire summers outside playing sports, can relate to the participants of the “Mumbai Masters”.

Whether it is using ghost runners in baseball or creating golf tournaments with your friends or playing two-on-two in the driveway with everyone pretending to be a famous NBA superstar, sports and the imagination are so often intertwined. From the slums of India, where we are taken in this video, to the suburbs of Indiana, which is what I knew growing up, sports offer a world of fun, challenge, and limitless potential to the unabashed dreamer.

I think that is why so many of us fall in love with sports at a young age and why the love affair never dies but just evolves as we get older.

So from one sports fan sitting at his desk in Dallas to another who is hundreds of worlds away in the slums of India, here’s to you Anil Mane. Keep dreaming your unabashed sports dreams. My sports dreams are now lived vicariously through others, and for you and your family I hope that all of yours come true.

So with that in mind, surely no professional golfer could ever card a score as high as, say, 16 on a single hole right?

Na.

Oh sorry, let me be a bit more specific: that is “Na” as in Kevin Na, who will now be ignominiously known as the guy who went 12-over par at the opening round of the Valero Texas Open yesterday.

Here is the gory video proof:

Kevin, on behalf of crappy golfers everywhere, I would just like to say: thank you. Ironically, your 9th hole misadventures have inspired me to get back out on the links. Now, every time I shoot a 15 or lower on a par 4 (probably 50% of the time) I’ll be able to say that I outperformed a professional golfer.

You may be too shocked and embarrassed to realize it now, but you truly are a hero to us all.

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Sure, Tiger cooperated by shooting the one number that would provide the potential for this kind of chuckle-chuckle double entendre, but you get credit for capitalizing on the opportunity.

Link to story: Reuters

And if you don’t get it, my apologies. You’re probably too mature for this website anyway.

Actually, the headline really does not go out of its way to have sexual connotations. Tiger shot a 69. What else could it say? Still, I always wonder if the headline writers themselves chuckle when publishing something like this. Wouldn’t you have to? As big a story as Tiger’s sexcapades were last year, and considering that every warm-blooded American male chuckles at the mere mention of the number 69, I bet said headline writer did.

I have now spent way too much time analyzing this. Tiger Woods + any word or phrase with even the loosest sexual connotation will provide funny double entendre until he retires. I’m just glad we got it going right from the start here in 2011.

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However, Twitter can also be awesome. Very awesome. One great example: Jim Irsay. Another great example: the tweet Tiger Woods sent out earlier today that may do more to humanize him than anything else since last Thanksgiving. (And I think I may actually be serious about that.)

Here is the tweet:

Link

For anyone who doesn’t get it, watch the video at the end of this post. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it is one of the funniest and most famous comedy sketches of all time.

In the tweet, someone asks Woods what he thinks of Chappelle’s hilarious portrayal of Woods and his “white” mannerisms and reputation. Woods’ response is pretty much the funniest thing he possibly could have said. (Update: actually, it would have been slightly funnier if he had said “for shizzle”…but I don’t want to be picky.) And immediately, the retweets poured in.

Gold!

**does slow clap for @TigerWoods**

That’s funny!

Seriously, that is the funniest thing Tiger Woods has ever said.

And on and on. It is undoubtedly getting passed around and retweeted at the speed of web as I write this, and I’ll tell you right now what this tweet is doing: it is putting something positive about Woods into the mind of sports fans – both those who tweet and the non-tweeters who undoubtedly will come across this tweet somehow. In the process, this is highlighting the positives that Twitter can bring, which is making multi-millionaire, world class athletes seem, well, kind of human. For a guy like Tiger Woods, all things considered, this is not an easy thing to do anymore. But he just achieved it in less than 140 characters.

You might say I’m exaggerating. Maybe so. There is no discernible way to measure the impact, if any, that this tweet will have on Woods’ reputation or the way sports fans view him. But anything that can make him seem like more of a regular guy is a good thing, and the one thing we can all relate to is humor. Regardless of whether you think this tweet has any shred of importance, it is definitely funny. Fo shizzle.

Update: For further proof that it was an unexpected but entertaining day on Tiger Woods’ Twitter account, Tiger  settles something that clearly we’ve all been debating for years…is he a Tupac or Biggie guy? Tupac.

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Dave Chappelle “Racial Draft” Sketch

Unfortunately for Tiger, he has shown no signs that he is ready to compete for a major. He had the worst four-day performance of his career last weekend, and it is clear that golf’s erstwhile greatest player is currently a mental and physical mess.

Well, on the eve of Tiger’s first round at Whistling Straits he sought out the guidance of the man he’s been tracking his entire career. As usual, MSF was there with our camera and transcription machine to capture this golfing Kodak moment.

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There will be no storyline in golf over the next few years – perhaps even in all of sports – than whether or not Tiger Woods can return to playing championship-level golf. For so many years Tiger was heads and shoulders above the field; Woods ultimately getting to 19 major wins and beyond was not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Now? Previously unimagined doubt is creeping in from all corners of the golfing world, and it seems to be warranted.

Tiger almost surely will improve and return to some semblance of his former self, but he still need to win five majors to get to 19. That may not sound like a lot, but it is. Five major titles would be a glorious career for 99.9% of golfers; Tiger still needs to win five with Father Time and the realities of life starting to become real obstacles.

The one positive thought Tiger can and should hang onto is that Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at age 46, the oldest person to do so. With that as a frame of reference, Tiger should have still have 10+ years during which he can reasonably be expected to compete for majors. I, for one, hope that he does, not because he is deserving of the record in any way but simply because it will make golf more exciting.

Time will tell, though it would appear that Tiger’s chances of getting major #15 this weekend at Whistling Straits are infinitesimally slim to none.

So if you’re a Phil Mickelson fan because of his clean cut image and publicly displayed family values, or if you’re his wife Amy, this picture can’t make you feel really comfortable:

And if you’re Tiger Woods, you have to be thinking, “This no talent ass clown Mickelson steals my fans, then steals my green jacket, and now he’s stealing my gambling/carousing buddy. ZOMG WTF!”

Sorry Tiger, you’re old news now for someone like MJ.

4th place? Seriously? And you want to be friends with a guy who won championships in each of his last six full seasons with the Bulls?

Sorry Eldrick, MJ only hangs with winners. You’re yesterday’s news. You’re Bryon Russell.

Okay, maybe not.

This picture is actually from 2009, so it has nothing to do with Tiger losing the Masters to Phil. And while Phil and Michael might be plotting some kind of wild night in Vegas in this picture – would you really be that surprised anymore? – Phil probably deserves the benefit of the doubt that this was just a discussion between two sports icons and that no home-wrecking skirts were chased as a result.

The real reason I’m posting this picture is because it gives me an excuse to link you to a pretty good/interesting/funny/revealing Phil Mickelson photo gallery over at SI.com. Man does this guy have the ability to look goofy in candid photos. You’ve all seen this one, but how about this one?

See them all: Phil Mickelson photo gallery — (SI.com)

Oh, and by the way, in case you’ve heard any of the whispers about a rumored affair between MJ and Amy Mickelson (and yes, there are such whispers, though only of the Internet variety), Deadspin did a pretty good job of dispelling that nonsense yesterday.

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* – Phil Mickelson / Michael Jordan photo credit: Warren Little/Getty Images via SI.com

* – Tiger Woods photo credit: Reuters

The Masters is a big enough deal as is, but when the world’s No.1 player returns after a five-month scandal, you can bet that The Masters will be the most-watched tournament in recent memory, if not, in history.

Masters Odds and Pick

Tiger Woods (+400)

We won’t even go into what happened to Woods if you haven’t heard yet, but what you do need to know is that he essentially owns a deed to Augusta National. Woods has four wins here, he owns the course record with his demolition of the field in 1997 at age 21, and last year’s T-6 was his worst result at Augusta in his past five trips there. As for the time off, Woods doesn’t play that much anyway, so we know he can win a tournament cold.

Phil Mickelson (+1000)

It’s a wonder that Mickelson has sports betting odds as good as this, because “Lefty” has struggled this year, and especially on the weekend. But again, given his history at Augusta, you have to count Mickelson in the hunt. He has two wins here, and since 1999, he has fallen out of the top 10 just once. Still, Mickelson will have to put together four good rounds together to have a chance.

Ernie Els (+1100)

Els should definitely be ahead of Mickelson in your sportsbook with his two wins this season, that is, until you look at his history at Augusta. From 2000 to 2004, Els didn’t finish lower than T-6. Since then, he hasn’t finished higher T-27 and has missed the cut here three straight years. He should fare better this week, but we’re not too confident that he’ll break through for the win.

Paul Casey, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas (+2500)

Kim and Villegas have both won this year, while Casey had to withdrawal from his defense of the Shell Houston Open crown (which Kim won) due to a bad shoulder. Villegas finished T-13 here last year, while Kim was T-20 in his first trip to Augusta. Casey also finished T-20 last year, and that’s in addition to three previous top-10s he had at Augusta. At least one from this group should challenge, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it was Casey.

Pick: Our pick for the week is Retief Goosen at +2200, because he offers some value to players, but he’s also excellent at Augusta, even though he missed the cut last year. Goosen has five top-six finishes in seven events this season, but he still has to be more consistent with the putter. In NBA betting terms, Goosen would be Orlando: other teams (Cleveland, Boston) get the attention, but they’ll be there down the stretch. Go with Retief Goosen.

Some (me included) have never wavered in their prediction that Tiger will play in the 2010 Masters. Others have been more non-committal or even suggested that it could be a year or more before we see golf’s most exciting player back on the Tour.

A bevy of reports from this week, taken together, suggest an increasing likelihood that Tiger will be playing for the fifth Green Jacket in what will undoubtedly be the most hyped golf tournament of all time.

First, here every little bit of information you need to know about this year’s Masters, and then I’ll tell you why I am now about 99.9% convinced that Tiger will be teeing it up in Augusta this April.

2010 Masters Quick Preview:

• 2010 Masters Dates: April 5-11
• 2010 Masters Location: Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA (of course)
• 2010 Masters TV Schedule: Opening rounds on ESPN; Weekend Rounds on CBS
• Official Website: 2010 Masters
• StubHub: 2010 Masters Tickets
• RazorGator: 2010 Masters Tickets

Before we get into the specifics about why I think he is going to play, I want to restate the obvious just so we’re all on the same page: if Tiger Woods plays in this April’s Masters, it will instantly become the most hyped and anticipated golf tournament ever. I defy anyone to argue with that statement.

After what has happened over the past few months with not only golf’s biggest star, but the biggest star in all of sports, Tiger’s very public return to his profession will make even his practice rounds that week must-see viewing, even for people who aren’t golf fans.

We know that golf fans will be excited; it’s the Masters. Add Tiger’s return to the mix and you pull in even the more casual golf fans like me.

But what will make this year’s event transcendent is the housewife who couldn’t name one golfer but who will tune in because they followed the Tiger and Elin story on the news and in the tabloids and now want to check out the latest development.

Add to all of this the insanity and ubiquity of modern day sports media, and the level of coverage could reach a Super Bowl pitch.

Of course, this only happens if Tiger comes back and plays, which he has not yet announced that he will do. So why am I, along with so many others, becoming convinced that Tiger is going to be playing for the Green Jacket?

Here are five significant reasons:

1. He is reportedly practicing like a madman again

According to a TMZ report from earlier today, Tiger has returned to the golf course with a vengeance. Here is how they describe his practice session, which allegedly lasted from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm and is pictured, “unstaged”, below.

Tiger Woods is golfing like a man possessed — hitting ball after ball after ball at the golf course near his home in Isleworth … and TMZ has obtained the first unstaged photos of Woods back in action.

We’re told Tiger’s session was uninterrupted — and he seemed completely focused throughout the entire grueling workout.

Obviously Tiger is not going to be hitting the links for an intense practice session without a goal driving him.

Considering that no goal drives him more than the numbers 6 and 18 – the Golden Bear’s records for Masters and total Major Championships won, respectively – I feel safe in assuming that he is working towards regaining his form so he can play in the Masters.

2. Hank Haney has been summoned to Orlando

In addition to the reports of Tiger’s day of practice, another interesting bit of news hit the Interwebs today. Sports by Brooks reported that Hank Haney has been summoned to Orlando to help Tiger retool his swing and get ready to resume his golfing career:

After Haney wraps up his responsibilities with The Golf Channel, I was told by a source today that he will travel to Orlando to begin assisting Woods with his golf comeback.

Why would Tiger bring Hank down to Orlando if he weren’t pretty serious about getting his groove back, and quickly?

3. Haney already making Augusta plans

Sports by Brooks is also reporting today that Haney has already made arrangements to be in Augusta for the Masters from April 6th through the 12th.

Now, in and of itself, this could mean nothing. Haney is one of the most famous swing coaches ever so it is reasonable to assume that he might attend golf’s greatest annual event whether he’s working with Tiger or not; but, coupled with the reports of Haney’s impending arrival in Orlando to work with Tiger, it does at least lend a smidgen more credence to the expectation that Tiger will return this April.

4. Tiger and his problematic knee are not getting any younger

An exchange from today’s Bill Simmons-Rick Reilly podcast made me even more convinced that Tiger will do whatever is necessary to play in the 2010 Masters.

I did not actually listen to the podcast, but I read Ty Duffy’s assessment of it at The Big Lead. The part where Simmons and Reilly discuss Tiger’s surgically repaired right knee is what hit me.

They both agreed his surgical repaired knee will be the determining factor for whether he passes Nicklaus.

Reilly: “The problem is that knee. He’s now had four operations on one knee.”

Simmons: “This guy had total reconstructive surgery on his knee…In golf you’re just pushing off the same parts of your legs, time after time after time. It’s like pressure over time and he’s already had some structural failure.”

For most of Tiger’s career, we’ve all viewed him as something more than human. His amazing feats on the golf course have compelled us to do this because, well, he has achieved things and done things that no other human who has ever played golf has even come close to achieving or doing.

The dominance of his first Masters victory. His ridiculous chip shot. His U.S. Open victory on one leg. His amazing overall consistency.

When Tiger enters a tournament we expect greatness and we expect him to win. We never, ever view him as vulnerable.

But now he is, and the knee is a major reason why. Reilly and Simmons hit the nail head with their comments.

I expect that in the back of his mind, maybe even in the forefront, Tiger is thinking something similar. He is no longer the invincible spring chicken who came storming out of Stanford dead set on breaking every golf record. He is older, more brittle, and will not recover from future injuries as quickly.

Tiger proved at the U.S. Open a few years ago that he has the mental and physical toughness to fight through pain and still win. At some point, however, especially if the chronically bad knee deteriorates, Tiger could – could – be in a position where no level of mental or physical toughness can overcome the knee.

His injury issues are not going to get better with age and he is still four Major victories away from tying Jack. Like women have biological clocks, Tiger probably has a similar feeling of wanting to achieve his goals while his body will still let him. Passing up a shot at the Masters while he still has his youth, strength, and health does not move him any closer to his goals.

For someone who has spent his entire life being driven by said goals, I can’t imagine him passing on this opportunity to potentially get one Major step closer to achieving them.

5. Tiger is “probable” for Bay Hill

Lastly, no one expects Tiger to make his first tournament appearance at Augusta. He will undoubtedly want to play in at least one Tour event as a warm up.

Another report from Sports by Brooks, which was posted yesterday, posits a few reasons why Tiger showing up to play at Arnold Palmer’s tournament in Bay Hill is looking more likely. The tournament is a few weeks away and a few weeks before the Masters, which would allow it to serve perfectly as Tiger’s official return and warm-up.

To sum everything up, no one can be 100% sure yet what Tiger will do. If we have learned anything over the last four months it is that we don’t really know anything when it comes to Tiger. However, there are many legitimate reasons for optimism if you are hoping to see Tiger at Augusta this April.

And if it happens, get ready for a media circus and a level of hype that will not only be unparalleled in the annals of golf, but that just might trump the build up and hype for any non-Super Bowl sporting event that we have ever seen.

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* – Tiger Woods in Green Jacket photo credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images via Bleacher Report

* – Tiger Woods practicing photo credit: TMZ

* – Tiger Woods injury photo credit: Obit-Mag.com

Midwest Sports Fans (MSF) Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that MSF makes a small percentage of anything purchased upon a click-through. That said, MSF only writes about stories that we believe will interest our readers, and we only link to and endorse sites and services that we would use or have used ourselves. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Every time I think that the Tiger Woods story is ready to die down, more bizarre details emerge. And this morning, perhaps the most bizarre details of all are emerging.

First, TMZ reported early this morning that Tiger Woods was initially admitted to the hospital as an “OD” after his car accident.

And then, in perhaps the most bizarre and stunning detail of this entire week, a 911 call was placed that sent an emergency crew to Tiger Woods’ home where a blonde woman was taken on a stretcher and transported to the hospital where she was listed as an “advanced life support patient.”

This story of a woman being rushed to the hospital from Tiger’s home was first reported by WESH in Orlando.

Orange County firefighters responded to a medical call at the residence of Tiger Woods on Tuesday morning.

The call was received at 2:36 a.m.

A radio log showed an adult woman was transported to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee. The log also showed the patient initally refused transport, but was later listed as an advanced life support patient.

Video from the hospital showed a middle-age woman being removed from an ambulance on a stretcher and taken through an emergency entrance.

There is no word yet on who the woman is. Obviously people want to know if it is Tiger’s wife Elin Nordegren, but I’ve seen no news sources even going so far as to speculate yet. This story comes just one day after reports first surfaced that Elin had moved out of the couple’s home.

As The Big Lead observes, there are conflicting reports that make speculating about the identity of the woman rushed to the hospital from Tiger Woods’ home impossible:

Could it be Elin? Elin’s twin sister? Their mother? Immediately after the ambulance reached the hospital, a Black Escalade pulled up, and according to a caller to FOX News “an attractive blonde woman” stepped out and ran into the hospital. Point being: Nobody is sure who was on the stretcher.

And finally, if you needed a reminder of the source of all this craziness at Tiger’s home, TMZ has posted another picture of Tiger out on the prowl in Vegas.

What an incredible story this is. It just does not stop. And unfortunately, at this point there is really nothing to up the ante other than some kind of tragic development. I certainly hope that whoever was rushed to the hospital this morning is okay and that this story soon blows over with the rest of it.

I always have been, and I probably always be.

I enjoy playing the game, although I do not play it all that much. And I enjoy watching the game, although I do not watch it all that much if Tiger is not playing nor a prominent story.

For me, Tiger Woods is golf, and I have followed him as much as I’ve followed any athlete over the last decade.

Part of the reason for that is because Tiger is so dominant at his sport, so fascinating to watch from an athletic perspective, so famous, so wrapped in sporting mythology, and so ubiquitous.

And part of the reason is that, like many men my age (I am 28), Tiger has always been like the high school senior that most of us probably looked up to as freshman.

• He was finishing college and joining the PGA Tour as I finished high school and looked towards college.
• He was establishing himself as the dominant force in his chosen profession as I was finishing college and searching for a chosen profession.
• He was getting married to a beautiful woman and having a family as I was finally starting to gain a solid post-collegiate footing.
• And now…

Well…now…what, exactly?

I think for many people who have watched Tiger, cheered for Tiger, and bought into the mythology of Tiger, the past week has probably seemed far more surreal than it has real.

If you would have told me at any point before last week that Tiger’s name would someday be linked to an affair, I would have scoffed and called you crazy, despite the readily accepted notion that all athletes cheat.

And maybe MSF’s good friend Robert Littal from Black Sports Online was right when he said via Twitter:

Certain athletes people “want” to believe are perfect..Tiger was one of them which is why white people are shocked..lol

Well, I am certainly “white people” and I am certainly shocked. And truth be told, after I read the alleged “sexting” text messages from Tiger, I immediately began to find every single aspect of this story distasteful whereas I had previously found every little nugget of info fascinating.

I can’t really explain the sudden change, except to say that I have always been predisposed to athlete worship. My dad was a college football coach, I grew up in locker rooms, I had prominent (mostly African-American, as my dad was a defensive secondary coach) Big Ten athletes as my baby sitters and the guys who picked me up front school, and I always considered athletes “better” somehow than the rest of us.

And even though I’ve learned over the years that, rationally, these expectations, inferences, and judgments were subjective at best and flat out wrong at worst, it’s still hard to change first impressions and predispositions.

So I’m not sure exactly how I feel about the Tiger Woods story right now. One of my favorite athletes has been tainted…but by what exactly? His athletic achievements are not being called into question. He is not being accused of drug abuse, or murder, or something as egregious as failing to support a child.

He has been, according to reports that still may or may not be true (but probably are, in my opinion), linked to numerous affairs. And while, as a man, I know that is bad and worthy or rancor, I still sit here rationally wondering a) why I really care and b) how soon we can just move past all of this.

The fact of the matter is that Tiger Woods is not my dad, my brother, or my friend. He’s not married to my mom, my sister, or my friend. He’s just a guy with marital and perhaps self-control issues, and he just happens to have an other-worldly gift to play golf.

His golfing ability is what I cheer. It’s why I even know his name. So why do I, or should I, care about the other stuff?

I don’t know. I guess I’m one of those “white people” that Robert was referring to. If my reaction to this past week has taught me anything, it’s that I did — subconsciously or otherwise – want Tiger to be perfect, on the course and off of it. I don’t know if it has anything to do with Tiger being a minority, but I wouldn’t rule it out as a part of the reason.

Why do I care that Tiger is alleged to have cheated away from the golf course, when my only connection to him is on the golf course? I don’t know. I just do. Someone else, someone further removed from my Tiger-worship, might be more qualified to answer the why than I am.

I do know this: I got caught up hook, line, and sinker in the marketing machine that created Tiger Woods, and I rooted for the kid, and then the man, without ever really knowing much of anything about the real Eldrick “Tiger” Woods.

And you know what? That’s precisely how it was supposed to be.

I was one of the minions, and I certainly wasn’t alone.

But I do wish that I had read the articles that I have posted below before tonight. None of them, either individually or collectively, would have caused me to stop rooting for Tiger Woods, but they would have added a much needed layer of perspective to my Tiger fandom.

You see, when Earl Woods and IMG imagined who they were selling Tiger Woods to, it was probably someone a lot like me. I think I’m probably about as middle-of-the-road America as you can get. And I bought into Tiger Woods, wholeheartedly.

And you know what? Even with what I “know” now, I’m still a buyer and still would have bought in retrospect. But I do wish I’d been a more savvy and informed — and less naive — consumer.

If this week has taught us anything, it’s that Tiger Woods is just a man. We can all decide for ourselves now if we believe him to be a good man, a bad man, or simply a flawed man, but he is, contrary to the mythology, a man.

And you know what? That’s what he should have been all along.

Here are the articles I was referring to above. Read them. I spent a decent chunk of tonight reading them and am quite glad I did.

• The Man. Amen. — Controversial 1997 Esquire piece by Charles P. Price
• Is This the End of Tiger Woods? — A reflection, posted 12/1/09, by Charles Price on his 1997 piece linked above
• The Tiger Woods Creation Myth — by Charles P. Price in March, 2009
• My Vacation From Hating Tiger Woods — by Chris Jones
• Why Tiger Woods is the Opposite of Hope — by Tom Chiarella
• In a Kind of Biblical Awe of Tiger Woods — by Scott Raab

As a post script, I will simply tell you what I would tell Tiger if given the opportunity to provide him with one piece of advice: come clean, 100%. Fess up to whatever it is will end up coming to light anyway. Do right — at least, as right as you can, all things considered — by your wife, your children, and the rest of your family.

In the process of telling the truth, I suppose that you would also be doing right by your fans.

I don’t believe that Tiger owes me anything, per se. He entertains me, I consume his entertainment, and it’s a pretty even deal. But as someone who will undoubtedly continue cheering for Tiger to get Majors #15, #16, #17, #18, and #19, I would like to see this salacious sideshow left in the past. And there is only one way for that happen:

Tiger needs to get out in front of the truth.

If recent history has taught us anything in this ever-evolving age of the media, it’s that the truth is truly the only thing that shall truly set you free (repetition purposeful and for effect). Tiger and his team missed their opportunity to get out in front of the story from the beginning and frame the narrative. All they have left now is a chance to dictate the epilogue.

If the current accusations being floated about prove true, even if they are only “proven” true in the court of public opinion, that epilogue must be written with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

There is perhaps no subset of America (other than music fans) more forgiving than sports fans. Tiger, you’d be wise to do whatever it takes to help us all accept and move past this salacious off-course nonsense and quickly as humanly possible.

Ultimately, we didn’t start cheering for you because you are, or were, a good father and husband. And though many may now question their previous level of Tiger Woods idolatry, the majority will simply be looking for a reason to accept the events and accusations of this past week and move forward so that they can resume cheering Tiger Woods, the golfer.

We’re used to forgiving athletes for far worse than what Tiger Woods is alleged to have done. Perhaps that is sad to say, but it certainly is realistic and true. Yet, we are not used to seeing an athlete of Tiger’s stature and previously omnipotent control face such an onslaught of unexpected negativity in such a short time.

Welcome to 2009-10, the age of the Internet, blogs, TMZ, and Twitter.

In the end, we started cheering for Tiger Woods because of his wizardry from tee to green. Whenever he steps onto a golf course again, most of us will continue to cheer this golfing greatness.

Right now though, Tiger Woods’ life, past and present, is like an onion, and every day is the peeling of another layer. The quicker Tiger can peel it all himself, and become the owner of the truth, the quicker we can all go back to following him for what were really interested in all along.

Without the golf, there would have been no mythology in the first place.

Now, there is simply no mythology.

So all we are left with is the golf.

And that’s fine by me, because the golf has always been mythic enough.

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* – Elin and Sam Alexis photo credit: Damian Dovarganes/AP via Golf.com

* – Tiger celebrating photo credit: Baltimore Sun

Five players hold their fate in their hands and can win the $10 million prize by winning here, so let’s check out their scenarios and the standings after we bring you the particulars for this weekend’s event:

TOUR Championship Preview

• TOUR Championship Dates: Thursday, September 24th through Sunday, September 27th
• TOUR Championship Location: Atlanta, Georgia
• TOUR Championship Course: East Lake Golf Club
• TOUR Championship Purse: $7.5 million ($1.35 winning share)
• TOUR Championship Length: 7,154 Yards
• TOUR Championship Thursday-Friday TV Schedule: GOLF Channel 1 pm – 6 pm ET
• TOUR Championship Saturday TV Schedule: NBC 2 pm – 6 pm ET
• TOUR Championship Sunday TV Schedule: NBC 1:30 pm – 6 pm ET
• Official Website: TOUR Championship
• StubHub: Great deals on TOUR Championship tickets
• StubHub: Great deals on all PGA Tour tickets

Current FedEx Cup Standings:

1. Tiger Woods (16 events) – 2,500 points
2. Steve Stricker (21) – 2,250
3. Jim Furyk (21) – 2,000
4. Zach Johnson (24) – 1,800
5. Heath Slocum (26) – 1,600

Tiger Woods (TOUR Championship Odds: +100): The world’s No.1 romped to an eight-stroke win at Cog Hill two weeks ago, but with the reseeding that gives everyone in the field a chance to win, his lead fell to 250 points over Steve Stricker. That’s no matter, though. The last time he was at East Lake, Woods won.

Steve Stricker (TOUR Championship Odds: +1600): Stricker is coming off his worst result of the season, a T-52 at Cog Hill, and he was T-24 here last year. If he is going to overtake Woods, he’ll need the tournament of his life this weekend.

Jim Furyk (TOUR Championship Odds: +1400): Furyk is a steady play for online sports betting players, and he racks up top-10s like it’s going out of style. He was T-3 at East Lake last year, and he finished second to Woods at Cog Hill (albeit a distant second). With six top-10s at East Lake, look for Furyk to be there on Sunday afternoon.

Zach Johnson (TOUR Championship Odds: +2200): Johnson was fifth at Cog Hill, and he certainly likes East Lake: he has the course record there with his 60 in 2007. He has four top-20s in his last five events and he’s improved his score each week in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Heath Slocum (TOUR Championship Odds: +10000): Slocum is used to being a darkhorse in your handicapping software, because quite frankly, he wasn’t even supposed to be here at this point. He jumped from 124^th in the 125-player FedEx field to third with his surprising win at Liberty National in the first event, but has since cooled off with a missed-cut and a T-38. In his last East Lake appearance in 2007, Slocum came in T-17.

Prediction: Padraig Harrington (+1400) should win the event as he has five top-10s in a row, including four in the top-six, but he needs to win and for Woods to finish third or worse, which isn’t the best scenario. Woods to win the FedEx Cup is one of the easiest sports picks of the weekend.

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* – Tiger Woods photo credit: TopNews.in