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This Is Why I Will Never Take Tiger’s Comeback For Granted

Tiger Woods 2019 Masters @rolex

Tiger Woods won the Masters. To be honest, I still get chills every single time I think about it, hear it, say it, etc. and it’s almost been a week since that epic Sunday. This is why I will never take his comeback for granted.

I’ve always wanted to believe Tiger would win his 15th major, let alone play competitive golf again, but never really felt like it either was going to happen. Probably because I never wanted to be disappointed. I mean, the guy had surgery after injury after scandal and this went on for years.

First, it was his knee.

Then it was a fire hydrant. Then it was an apology on national TV. Then it was his back. Then he became Mac Daddy Santa. Then it was his back again. Then it was a mug shot after a DUI arrest. Even after all that, not once did he ever not take responsibility for his actions. And not once did I ever hate on him or said he was “done.”

However, it was the fusion back surgery, which was his last resort that might’ve single-handedly changed the game’s history. It was a decision he tried to put off as long as he could. But when you can’t stand up, you know it’s time something needs to be done. It was now or never.

Of course, everybody remembers the good old major days.

Including his Masters win in 1997 by 12 where he had sandwedge into basically every par-5. Or his U.S. Open win in 2000 at Pebble Beach where he won by FIFTEEN. Or the finger point on the first playoff hole at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Or that absurd 3-iron he hit out of the fairway bunker on 18 at the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine. Or the playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey when he won on a broken leg. Or the chip at the 2005 Masters that hung on the lip and fell in. This list can go on forever.

And then there were the bad times like the 2015 British Open, when ESPN had a Tiger channel and he was so far out of it, like nowhere near making the cut. We had to watch him walk back to the tee after losing a drive in the gorse and it was miserable. Or when the club flew out of his hand at the 2015 U.S. Open. Or when he popped a bone back into place at the 2015 Masters. 2015 was not a great year.

I was miserable watching him struggle.

We all were miserable. Nobody wanted to watch a superstar supernova before our very eyes. I’d be sitting there on a Friday afternoon watching him on TV and wondering if he’d make the cut. This being the same guy who holds the record most consecutive cuts made 142. Well, today is a new day.

Slowly things started to progress after that surgery. His health improved. He was able to stand up again. He started posting videos on social media of his swing. It started to look good. Like really good. He got rid of the chipping yips. The back (knock on wood) seems to be holding up. What’s crazy is that he was in pain for years, like in 2013 and we really had no idea/didn’t care because he won FIVE times!

I remember when we got word he’d be ready to go for the 2017 PGA season after missing all of 2016 with another back issue.

We lost it. This was it. He looked decent at the Hero. Tiger is back.

A missed cut at Torrey shortly after parlayed into a WD from a Euro Tour event after a long flight and the next thing we knew, Tiger was back on the shelf indefinitely with ANOTHER back injury. He had no idea if his career was over. He hoped it wasn’t. We hoped it wasn’t either. As I write this I am still getting the chills.

That’s when he made the executive decision to fuse his back.

No golfer has ever really tried to come back from this type of procedure. He just wanted to have a pain free life again so he can stand up and play with his kids. Golf was secondary.

It was this perspective that may be the most glaring change in Tiger. He’s a human. For so many years, the guy was a well-oiled machine trained to win. The man used to make zero eye contact with you on the golf course and step on your throat. He was only there for blood. End of story. Now it’s like he almost wants to be your friend, before stepping on your throat, obviously.

We all saw the images of him hugging his kids after the win just like his father Earl did to him when he won his first green jacket. Again, chills. He’s just as human as you are. We’ve seen him take selfies with other tour pros who want the memory that they had a chance to play with a legend. We’ve seen him be a leader during the team events. We’ve seen him let his guard down at least a little bit. Honestly, I was skeptical he’d be able to win again being Mr. Nice Guy because the other guy who had no regard for other forms of life produced some of the greatest golf we’ve ever seen.

The other positive thing about the fusion surgery was that Tiger can swing the golf club again, arguably better than before.

His swing speed is among the leaders on Tour and he’s finding infinitely more fairways with his driver. Plus he’s his own swing coach! The thing is is that he never forgot how to hit his irons. He’s still the purest iron player in the game by far. And that Scotty Cameron putter he uses has won him 14 majors. Name a better duo. We’ll wait.

So here we go again. It’s now 2018 Tiger says he’s ready to play a fullish schedule.

After all, he’s got to figure out his new body. For all he knew it could fall apart in one swing. First, it was the Hero yet again and there were flashes of brilliance. Then he went to Torrey, made the cut and didn’t WD. Then it was T2 at the Valspar a few weeks later. Then it was a T6 at the British Open. Then it was runner-up at the PGA Championship. You’ve got to trust the process.

Each time he put himself in contention on a Sunday, particularly the last couple of majors, you can tell he was relearning what his body was able to do. Each round he pressed the gas a little more. The mental game never seemed to have left him. Dare we say it’s even stronger now?

After 18 events, he finally shook off all the rust and notched his 80th PGA Tour win at the Tour Championship. It was a culmination of so many things it makes our heads spin. We cried. Tiger was back.

A few more events of building in 2019, and then the Masters happened.

It was historic. He is all the way back. The comeback is complete. Tiger Woods. Masters champion once again. What a world.

He’s the only golfer who when he holes a putt grown men hug each other. And when he wins, we cry. Everybody who I’ve talked to said they at least shed one tear. A few others who were playing golf the Monday after was “because of Tiger.”

This is a whole new Tiger. Tiger 2.0 if you will. A new generation of young golfers who’ve always heard of what Tiger Woods used to do, they’ve seen highlights on YouTube, but they never saw Tiger at his best until that Sunday at the Masters. More chills. It truly is legendary stuff.

As for the fans like me who remember watching him slip on his first green jacket in 1997 – IF he stays healthy – we have the potential to witness the best player at his peak for the second time in our lives.

Please. I beg you. From one fan to another. Never take Tiger’s comeback for granted.

Chills.

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