Athletic Voice: Woods returns to golf, still has more to master

By Chris Beck

After roughly five months away from golf, Tiger Woods finally made his long-awaited return on April 8.

It wasn’t easy getting back in smoothly. Woods stepped onto the first tee at Augusta National to play the most prestigious golf tournament in the world, The Masters.

After months of ridicule and criticism about his personal life, the best golfer on the planet returned to what he does best, hit a tiny ball with a stick of metal into a tiny hole that is hundreds of yards away.

Everyone had an opinion on how they wanted Tiger to fare. Some wanted him to crash and burn, while some wanted him to prevail and win the title.

In the end, he finished in a tie for fourth place, taking a backseat to a heartfelt victory by Phil Mickelson.

It was a perfect ending to a tournament plagued by the “Tiger-gate” scandal and all the negativity that came with it.

Instead of glorifying the world’s first billion-dollar athlete who famously cheated on his wife with a variety of women, a beautiful scene came together.

Mickelson, whose wife has been fighting breast cancer, strolled down the 18th fairway with a two-stroke lead and a putt for birdie. He sank that putt and ended the tournament, three strokes ahead of second-place Lee Westwood and five strokes ahead of Woods.

Mickelson walked to his wife, who had been bedridden for the previous three days, and gave her a long hug.

Instead of Woods having an awkward walk off the green, with no one to hug after his victory, Mickelson’s win captured a perfect picture of monogamous matrimony.

It may have been just about the most perfect ending to the most perfect golf tournament around. The people’s choice took home the green jacket and the disgraced No. 1 golfer making a comeback had a respectable outing with glimpses of his old self.

The question for Tiger is, what now?

Woods was accepted at The Masters, which is not a normal tournament. The committee at Augusta National prides itself on avoiding controversy and all the commotion that comes along with it.

The media played down the cheating scandal because of the tradition of the course and tournament. It was almost as if Tiger was given a pass because of the tournament’s prestige.

Woods will make his next appearance on April 26 at the Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, N.C. It will be just his second tournament since the scandal erupted in late November, but this is where Tiger’s comeback will truly begin.

The main reason is that he will not have the backdrop of the most gorgeous course in all of golf. It is just another regular tournament.

At The Masters, Tiger proved he had his game back by posting a score worthy of fourth place, but his reputation was not tested in the way it will be in months to come.

To rebuild his reputation, Woods will not only need a squeaky-clean image, but he will need to win golf tournaments.

If he has one more slip-up, whether it is a speeding ticket or a photo lip-locked with a stripper in Vegas, Woods could be down for the count.

People will never forgive Tiger for another misstep and everyone will be watching closely for it. The tabloids will scrutinize his every move until they find something to call him on.

For the rest of his career, Woods will have to prove himself both on and off the course.

It is impossible to predict what his public image will be like a year from today, but one thing we do know is that the Tiger Woods’ saga needs an ending. It is up to him as to what the ending will be.