No I Won’t Grow Up!
Phil Mickleson’s win Sunday at the Masters is a terrific accomplishment for him and great for the game. He’s had a tough year as his family struggled with his wife’s and mother’s cancer. You can see that Phil has matured as a person and a golfer.
Illness in a loved one can put things in perspective very quickly. How you play the game becomes as important as winning. While Lee Westwood was not jubelant with coming in second, his after round comments showed that he was appreciative of the life that golf has given him and of the play of his fellow competitors, especially Phil.
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, showed us just how immature he really is. Tiger said nothing about any other player while he indulged himself in a tantrum because he didn’t win. He didn’t give one acknowledgement that coming back to compete in the game he supposedly loves was reward enough after having been out for more than 4 months. Peter Kostis tried his best to help Tiger with his responses, but he was having none of it, being completely overcome by the storm in his brain.
If you want another comparison, look at Freddy Couple’s comments after his Sunday round, another guy who has had to deal with real adversity off the course. He admitted he could have played better, but was clearly happy with the day and tournament in general, happy his back held up, happy he can still compete at the highest level and happy for Phil.
Think back to how Tiger, or most prodigies are raised in this day and age of infatuation with fame and it’s not hard to understand why they never mature emotionally. Tiger has never moved beyond being the center of attention. You don’t have to look far to find other athletes, blessed with god-given talent, who live in a bubble and never grow up. The giveaway is angry outbursts when competing and the pouting that goes with losing and comments that are me, me, me!
I thought everything that Tiger has gone through in the last months might be the shock treatment he needed to mature. It’s plain for all to see that he hasn’t really changed. He doesn’t get it. He’d be better served to find a new meditation teacher, coach and caddy.
Anyone who’s meditating seriously every day has a much better pespective on the ‘big picture’ than Tiger demonstrates. With Tiger’s swing issues on the tee box getting worse, it’s clear that Haney’s instruction isn’t helping Tiger anymore than it did Charles Barkley. While I like Stevie Williams, Tiger needs a caddy willing to slap him on the course when he acts like a spoiled brat.
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Comments
Is it really the caddy’s job to kick him in the butt? Mr. Woods is an adult even tho he didn’t act very adult-like in that interview.
I wanted more from him. I wanted him to congratulate Phil, talk about how great it felt to be golfing again, maybe a comment of feeling at home on the course, or just a “thanks to my fans for coming out.”
Hopefully he’ll get it…someday. Until then, I will continue to appreciate Mr. Woods’ game, but not much more.
Before all the drama, I didn’t mind Tiger cursing or getting mad but now that HE HIMSELF said he would stop….he should stop
It isn’t the end of the world for him to try….