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Injuries often serve as opportunity makers, facilitating an athlete's rise from second-tier performer to superstar. Remember Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady?
When Tiger Woods announced via his Web site that he would miss a significant period of time because of arthroscopic knee surgery shortly after the conclusion of the Masters, the doomsday predictions about the irrevocable damage it would do to the PGA TOUR predictably surfaced.
In the time since Woods stepped away from the game we’ve had four different winners in four PGA TOUR events. It would be fair to say that all four men, three of them are still in their 20s, have yet to enter the prime of their careers.
Boo Weekley is one of the most entertaining players on TOUR. Weekley won his second consecutive Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head the week after the Masters. He has become a fan favorite and media darling with his unconventional interviews and propensity for mentioning hunting and fishing as much as he does chipping and putting. While Weekley makes a lot of them, his game is no joke. He is on track to represent the United States in the Ryder Cup come September.
Adam Scott emerged as the winner the following week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. Scott already has a win at the 2004 PLAYERS Championship to his credit and is ranked No. 3 in the world. His boyish good looks have earned him an unusually large female following and his potential has made him a trendy pick to become Tiger’s most formidable challenger on more than one occasion. Each win on TOUR can only help build his confidence and put him a step closer to winning his first Major.
Anthony Kim finished second to Weekley at the Verizon Heritage prompting talk of how long it would take the 22-year-old to finally break through on TOUR. I thought Stewart Cink’s comments hit home when he spoke about how Tiger has cheapened winning on TOUR when asked if he thought Kim would’ve won by now.
“To win a golf tournament is a lot to ask,” said Cink. “I think when we’re playing golf in the Tiger Woods era, I think winning tournaments has sort of been cheapened a little bit because you see Tiger do it so regularly, you get the perception that you think everybody ought to snap their fingers and have some trophies.
“A guy like Anthony Kim comes out, he’s young, 21, 22 years old; he’s got all the talent you could ask for and he’ll win his tournaments, but it’s not going to happen just like that. Tiger Woods, he’s not one in a million, he’s one in ever.”
Little did Cink know, it would happen just like that for Kim at the Wachoiva Championship in Charlotte, where Woods was unable to defend his championship. Kim won going away, shooting an eye-catching 15-under-par en route to his first ever PGA TOUR victory, and served notice that he is serious about taking on the role as Tiger’s main challenger now and for years to come.
But the most rewarding week for everyone on TOUR and fans of professional golf had to be this past week at the PGA TOUR’s flagship event, THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Even if their concerns went unspoken, executives and directors associated with the PGA TOUR had to be extremely disappointed that Woods’ would miss the prestigious event. With Tiger on the sidelines, well more like courtside at an Orlando Magic playoff game, and Sawgrass playing brutally, the PGA TOUR treated its fans to perhaps the most exciting finish of the season.
At 28 years old, the often-underachieving Sergio Garcia defeated journeyman Paul Goydos in a playoff finish at the legendary 17th island green when Goydos’ tee shot flopped into the water and Garcia rolled his approach to within five feet. It was arguably the biggest win of the young Spaniards’ career over arguably the most common man in professional golf. While Goydos walked away with over $1 million for his efforts, don’t expect to see him donning any corporate logos anytime soon. He played Sunday’s round with a plain green shirt and wore a Long Beach State baseball cap to support his alma mater. The UK-based Guardian newspaper wrote of Goydos, “In a profession with almost as many self-regarding bones as the average political party, Goydos is not so much a breath of fresh air as a gale-forced wind.” Too bad it was likely that winds of similar strength likely cost Goydos the championship. For Garcia this win proved what a remarkable talent he is despite his shaky putting and could propel him to No. 1 contender status.
All in all, THE PLAYERS capped a wonderfully compelling four-week stretch that showcased a number of diverse personalities everyone could enjoy and root for. Looking back, this period may be remembered for Tiger’s absence, but given the opportunity to gain a different perspective years from now, I think we’ll look back on this stretch as one of the most critical in terms of cultivating challengers for Tiger and a sense that the game could survive when he is gone.
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