In the past 10 years Tiger has won 64 tournaments that included 12 major ones. Only four other golfers have won more titles in their entire career let alone a decade.
The question in my mind is with the events of the last few weeks should Tiger have been given this honor? After much prayer and reflection, okay not really, I have decided that yes he does deserve this honor. A person is judged not on a single incident but on the entire body of their work. Or in this case the last 10 years of work.
I would have to say that this honor was more than justified and if I had a vote I think I would have voted for him as well.
The other part of the discussion surrounding this is how much of a persons personal life do we really need to know about?
In this time of 24 hour news we need to report on something so we report on whatever is going on at the present time in the world weather it be war or Tiger Woods.
When a person chooses to live life in a very public way, ie athletes, politicians and dare I say clergy, the we sacrifice a certain part of our private life. Right or wrong it just happens. How many clergy for example have preached on one thing only to be caught doing that very same thing. I always say, “Do as I say not as I do!” That always covers a multitude of sins…
Sports figures, in the last years, have become role models and when they fall they fall hard. Some time ago, Patriot’s Quarterback Tom Brady had a child with a woman who is not his wife. He was not married at the time to anyone. The press made such a big deal out of this fact and I can only imagine how the birth of a child changes ones life. The problem is, we were congratulating something that I find simply morally objectionable. I congratulate them for having the baby and raising the baby but they were not married and my faith tells me that is a sin.
So how far do we go in judging a persons life work? What do we call into account for it? Tiger Woods was being judged for his ability to hit the little white ball into the hole. The title is Athlete of the Decade not moral person of the decade.
Even though I condemn what he did, and we will never know all of the details, it does not, in my mind anyway, degrade the fact that Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer of the last decade.
Congratulations Tiger on your much deserved honor. Congratulations as well for taking time to try and work out the problems in your marriage. That takes guts in this day and age and you have my full support.
