He missed the cut in the U.S. Open last month. It was the only
time that Tiger Woods ever missed a cut in a major as a
professional.
While everyone was shocked to see golf’s most dominant player
miss the cut, I’m saying don’t be surprised if Woods misses several
more cuts before he makes one.
He missed the cut in the U.S. Open last month. It was the only time that Tiger Woods ever missed a cut in a major as a professional.
While everyone was shocked to see golf’s most dominant player miss the cut, I’m saying don’t be surprised if Woods misses several more cuts before he makes one.
And don’t be surprised if it takes a while for the No. 1 player in the world to win again. Don’t be surprised either if he slips to No. 2 or lower in the rankings.
The reason is that golf is a mental game, and without Earl Woods – his father, mentor and principle architect behind his success – in his life, the golfing sensation from Cypress may not have the burning dersire to keep grinding it out on the PGA Tour anymore.
Sure, there is still the incentive to catch and exceed Nicklaus’ slew of records but it won’t be the same without Earl.
I remember when Tiger won his first Masters in 1997 by record score. The 22-year-old phenom was so focused that year that he reminded me of Iron Byron – the robotic machine that is used to test golf balls. He had a surreal focus about him that entire tournament. I noticed the only time that he broke down, I mean really broke down or showed any emotion was when he saw his dad afterwards. The feeling I got was almost like, “Dad, I did it all for you.”
Anyone would breakdown after winning the Masters. Tiger broke down because he received the ultimate acceptance and sense of achievement from his dad. He seemed to relish those “thumbs up” from his dad, especially when his dad was at the particular event that he was competing in.
Sadly, as Earl’s heart disease and other ailments progressed, he attended fewer events, and none since the end of 2004. But Earl always seemed to be the main focus on Tiger’s mind.
When Tiger won The Masters in 2005 for the fourth time, he said the victory was “for Pops,” his favorite name for his father.
Tiger seemed to have a terrific relationship with his dad. Afterall, he was, in a sense, molded and shaped by his dad from the time he was still in a high chair to be the greatest golfer that ever set foot on the planet.
In fact, if Tiger hadn’t succeeded, Earl’s relentless obsession to guide his son to the top could almost be looked at as abusive.
Who else would have their kid beating golf balls into a net at the age of 2? I couldn’t imagine a single 5-year-old in the country that could focus for more than two holes or three holes on a regulation course.
But golf was Tiger’s job from day one. And as he got better and better his dad, the architect, also did a fine job marketing his skills.
If ever a golfer was bred for success it was Tiger Woods. He couldn’t fail, and his dad made sure of it. America already knew him by the time he was 2 – the age when his dad got him on the Mike Douglas Show, where he had a putting contest with Bob Hope?
A few years after that Woods was on the show That’s Incredible, as a 5-year-old, who more often than not broke 40 for 9 holes – on a regulation course! That’s one heck of a feat, but it seems to me like it was forced on him. How else does a kid that young shoot a score that low.
Jack Nicklaus didn’t even swing a club until he was 9. By the time Woods was 9 he was a seasoned veteran.
I remember a writer from the LA Area telling me one time that Earl once took out a second mortgage on his home so that Tiger could play in all of the top junior tournaments across the country.
Playing in all of those tournaments helped Woods hone his playing skills. It was his dad who took the mental side of the game to another level. As a former Green Beret who served two tours in Vietnam, Earl knew the importance of mental toughness.
Shortly after Tiger won his first Masters, Earl’s book, Training a Tiger, was published.
In one of the exerps Earl pointed out that he started drilling his son on mental toughness at the age of 2.
“I pulled every nasty, dirty, obnoxious trick on him,” Earl wrote.
He tossed balls in front of Tiger while he putted. He dropped bags of clubs behind Tiger when he hit tee shots. He’d cough during the backswing. “I played with his mind,” Earl wrote.
“There will never be a tougher golfer, mentally, then Tiger Woods,” Earl once said in an interview.
Unfortunately for Tiger, there will never be another Earl.
