TODAY Tiger Woods takes the 320-yard-plus hike to his ball after teeing off at 07:00hrs in the Pro-Am Greenbrier Classic. The Tiger media glare will be impressive, while the attention on the other golfers – like John Daly in 2010 and Mickelson last year – will be negligible.
No matter the state of his game, like Greenbrier Owner Jim Justice said at the 2011 Classic media day, Tiger always will be pursued to play at the Old White TPC.
The timing couldn’t have been better for the Classic, for Tiger or any of the millions of interested parties that follow his every move.
His third victory of the season came last week, at the AT&T National, only 250 miles northeast of White Sulphur Springs. Tiger still has the power of intimidation that has carried him down the stretch of many, many tournaments. At the Congressional, Bo Van Pelt bogeyed the final three holes and lost by two strokes.
Tiger will make his 286th career start today. He has 74 wins, moving past Jack Nicklaus and into second place on the all-time list, behind only the 82 titles of Slammin’ Sammy Snead – the Greenbrier’s most popular figure and its former pro emeritus. If you do the math, Tiger has won 25.9 percent of the Tour events in which he has played.
A victory this week would give him a PGA Tour win in 17 states. The numbers, statistics and remarkable achievements are endless, but the issue isn’t the success of the world’s third top-earning athlete – he trails only boxers Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio.
Tiger’s experiences inside the ropes aren’t as humbling as those outside. After winning at the Congressional on Sunday, he said, “There was a time when people were saying I could never win again. That was, I think, what, six months ago? Here we are.”
He already has won twice this season before the Congressional, but decided that was the time to call out some of his detractors.