Tiger Talk

I digress from cricket today ….

The red banner newspaper chat this week in the United States is Tiger talk. Injury is preventing him from teeing up at the US Open this week at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda and once again sabotaging any semblance of opportunity to regain some lost ground, in more ways than one.

The cruellest of the tabloid hacks are suggesting the genuine issue is actually mental damage as opposed to physical. An increasing chorus of weather beaten scribes, who once hailed the marvellous exploits of Tiger and never questioned that he would surpass the extraordinary number of major winning feats of Jack Nicklaus, have changed tune dramatically. They used to ask the question: “When will he do it?” Then it changed to: “Will he do it?” Now it has changed from a question to a blunt statement: “He will never do it.”

There is no doubt that Tiger is fragile. He has in many an expert’s mind confused himself severely in an attempt to rediscover the perfect swing but more importantly the ideal philosophy to succeed. Some of his Team Tiger employment choices to attain that latter goal in particular have some of the best in the business raising eyebrows and shaking heads. He has forgotten what he does best. Just do it.

A recent enforced eight-month sabbatical from the links due to knee surgery did nothing to help his cause, but that was the least of his worries. Hot on the high heels of that separation from the game was the sensational sex scandal that exploded in the tabloids soon after. Revelation after revelation brutally smashed the lives of his inner sanctum, along with his previous pristine and uncluttered thought process that had served him so brilliantly when grass was underfoot. His mindset was shattered. His spectacularly imploding life took prisoners. He was nowhere with nowhere to go.

Any length of time away from top level sport results in casualty. Even more cruelly the psyche believes it can still achieve but the heavy thud of failure is often deafening. The motor skills intriguingly remember, but the syncing of the body and the brain following time away is the complicated component.

Once back in the game it all comes down to a very delicate balancing act of coordination between the mind, the body and essentially the emotions. This is where the task complication is magnified and subsequently the sportsman enters a very fragile state. A lonely search back to perfection is littered with setbacks that demonize the game and torture the individual. Only the strongest psychologically survive. Any weakness is exposed, trampled and trashed.

Tiger talk is a whisper today. The roar of the gallery has vanished.