.RossDellenger got to follow his childhood hero around Augusta National on Saturday. The round was shaky for Tiger Woods, but the effort was never in question
We all get beaten and broken. We hurt. And eventually, we quit — our jobs, our lives, our sport, our craft. Some of us return, only to quit again. We all have expiration dates. Even our idols, our role models, the people we wanted to be, and if we couldn’t be them, then we wanted to be like them.My junior high and high school years, 1998-2002, overlapped with his best years as a pro and triggered my interest in golf.
On Saturday at the Masters, winding through a maze of perfectly manicured turf, amid unseasonably cold weather, blustery winds and gray skies, I saw my idol in a state of complete pain, shattered almost. I saw Tiger Woods use his club as a cane. I saw him limp down hills and hobble up them.. I saw him wince, toss his putter at his bag and feign snapping an iron over his knee. I saw him shoot himself out of the tournament before he made the turn.
I saw an ailing 46-year old, the chilly temperatures and hilly layout wrecking his fused back, his repaired knees and of course his reconstructed right leg, a rod and bolts holding it together.After the round, in obvious pain, his on-course adrenaline gone, Woods limped toward a small contingent of reporters, gingerly walking up a flight of stairs and using his left leg to hoist himself onto a podium.“Never give up. Always chase after your dreams,” he said in response.
There was something about this round that went beyond the obvious, something deeper, something different. It felt like history with every step. It felt like watching the most legendary player in the sport’s history in a bloody 10-round boxing match with his beaten body, the feisty elements and this treacherous course.
The thousands of patrons following along felt it too. The members of Tiger Mania swayed with each shot. More than anything, they appreciated Big Cat’s fight. Encircling the greens — sometimes 15 deep — they rose to deliver a standing ovation as he strode onto the short grass on each hole.Everyone noticed the pain. It was obvious.
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