AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Tired of Tiger?
Becoming weary when golf's greatest player says something about making amends only to have a former "acquaintance" force him to amend his story?
Well, buckle up. There is no rest in sight, not with live television coverage scheduled for Tiger Woods' first swing today at the Masters at roughly 1:42 p.m.
He is the story of today, no doubt. He shoots a 64, he leads newscasts around the country. He shoots 84, he may lead newscasts around the world. Even if he shoots par, he'll be the top sports story everywhere.
The undeniable interest here in Woods the golfer is balanced by the complexities of his situation. It was highlighted Wednesday, when Augusta National chairman Billy Payne spoke directly about Tiger's fall from grace in his annual state of the tournament address.
"I hope he can come to understand that life's greatest rewards are reserved for those who bring joy to the lives of other people," Payne said. "We at Augusta hope and pray that our great chamnpion will begin his new life here tomorrow in a positive, hopeful and constructive manner, but this time with a significant difference from the past."
Before new Tiger, though, there was still some old business to handle.
New claims surfaced Wednesday of another mistress as a 22-year-old daughter of one of Woods' neighbors became the latest name to shoot to the top of Google searches everywhere.
The details again paint the picture that Woods the person is every bit as unbelievable as Woods the golfer. He may need to hire an extra caddie, let Steve Williams carry the clubs and the new guy carry all that baggage.
"Our hero did not live up to the expectations of the role model we saw for our children," Payne said. "Certainly his future will never again be measured only by his performance against par, but measured by the sincerity of his efforts to change."
Make no mistake, though, golf needs Woods, and he needs the game more than ever. Without a golf club, Tiger's a guy that cheated on his family who knows how many times. With a golf club, Tiger is, well, Tiger.
"In the last 12 years, he's done so much for the game of golf," Phil Mickelson said Tuesday. "I think we are all appreciative, and I don't think this is going to have any long-term, devastating effects to the game of golf."
Maybe, and certainly not here. The Masters will be the Masters regardless who plays. Woods, after all, is an invited participant -- like the other 95 players in the field.
"We are very secure in who we are, and the Masters has almost now a 74-year history," Payne said. "We just kind of do things our way. We are not threatened by other big news stories or things like that."
There's no denying that interest sky rockets when Woods in is the field, even here.
Without Tiger, televised golf to a lot of America is a blissful combination of HGTV and the Weather Channel on steroids. Nice weather at exotic locales with sunshine and green grass -- it's a pleasant reminder to most of the nation that summer is coming and we can go outside again.
With Tiger, golf went mainstream. He's the sport's rock star, right down to his penchant for a rock star's lifestyle. The sponsors, the interest, the television deals and money -- a lot of that is because of Tiger.
We thought he was perfect. We were wrong.
We thought he was too good to be true. We were right.
E-mail Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com
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