Tiger Woods, Golf Legend

By Ryan Dugan

Usually I could care less about any sport, or athletic event that does not take place in what I call “The Big Four” of professional sports. "The Big Four” would include, MLB, NFL, NHL and NBA.

If it does not include a team or an athlete within the big four, nine times out of ten I turn my head. However that was before I found myself working a corporate event in San Diego California for the Buick Invitational.

The experience of working a PGA tour event was something I will not soon forget. The most remarkable aspect of working the Buick Invitational was watching the hype, excitement, and the overall performance of Tiger Woods.

I first saw Tiger tee off from the 7th green at Torrey Pines as part of a practice on Wednesday morning January 24, 2006. The crowd that followed the man and the hush over the spectators was a sight to see.

Tiger was all business!

A few shoulder stretches before a few practice swings and then it was off to a power drive! Wearing his standard blue Nike shirt with black pants, Tiger is taller in person then I had expected. The seventh green is a par 4, 462-yards long and it plays to the southwest. Tiger’s first shot was well over 250 yards! The drive was more powerful than any other I had seen on the course Wednesday. He began eating a banana after his drive, keeping his protein levels up while playing the course.

Few people in the world can capture a crowd like Tiger!

The people that followed him were like a herd of cattle being driven thru fences on a farm. Hundreds of fans followed him as he worked the course. And this was just an average practice on a Wednesday morning!

After watching the practice, I began researching Tiger’s accomplishments over his eleven-year professional career.

Tiger has won over 70 tournaments including 54 on the PGA tour. He started 2007 with his 7th straight PGA victory. He owns the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines. In ten career appearances in La Jolla, he has always finished in the top five, which includes five victories.

Then we get to the purse!

Tiger has won over 68 million dollars in tournaments alone (55 million on the PGA). Then there are his endorsements! Tiger is arguably the most marketable athlete on the planet presently. He has signed deals in the past with McDonalds, Gatorade, and EA Sports. He currently holds a 100 million dollar deal with Nike. He earned an estimated 87 million dollars in 2006, and is ranked number one in both golf and in athletic income.

By the second day of the Buick Invitational, Tiger had made his long awaited start on the south course. The buzz of his play on the south course was a week in the making! He went par for the day including some trouble on a par five on the 18th. Caught in the rough twice, Tiger bared down and brought out the best of his bunker game. Using his pitching wedge on his third shot, he was able to get up on the green. The amazing thing about watching the whole experience was that Tiger was in seventh place only eight under and trailing the leader Brandt Snedeker by 7 strokes. Brandt played the 18th two groups later. The crowd that remained to applaud him was impressive, but not nearly what Tiger had. Brandt was 61 in Round one, 70 in Round two, for a –13 score. Tiger was 66 in Round one 1, 72 in Round 2 for only –6.

By Sunday the fourth and final round of the tournament, everyone knew what was coming! The Tiger victory could be sensed by everyone course wide! The beginner’s luck of Snedeker was wearing off, while Buckle and Howell also began to slide on the back nine.

In the end it was Tiger!

Up two strokes with one hole to play, Tiger continued his troubles on the 18th to make things slightly interesting for a moment before winning the Buick. His final putt was a three footer to close out the day, giving him his 7th straight PGA victory.

This week Tiger is in Dubai, where the stellar play has continued.

Once every one hundered years or so, a player comes along that dominates his sport so remarkably, he becomes a legend. When placing a human face with a given sport there is always one particular person that comes to mind. Baseball= Babe Ruth, Football=Vince Lombardi, Basketball= Michael Jordan, and on and on! When one thinks about Golf, it is almost impossible to not immediately think of Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods, a legend in our time!