I Have Been Dishonest With Myself

I made a promise to myself earlier this golf season. I swore up and down that no matter what, I would remain as interested in the PGA Tour as I ever was... with or without Tiger Woods.

The task seemed easy enough; stars were abundant on the Tour, including the likes of Anthony Kim, Sean O'Hair, Phil Mickelson, etc, etc. The game was bigger than any one man, anyway, so why couldn't I just continue watching golf and enjoying it as much as I ever did. I love this game, and just because the world's number one wasn't on the fairways wasn't going to keep me away.

Then one tournament came and went. Then another. And another. There went Torrey Pines. There went Phoenix. Wait, the World Match Play already happened??

I could stand behind my own personal lie no further. I had been dishonest with myself from the very start, and I had to come to terms with my mistake in order to move forward.

Simply put, the PGA Tour sucks without Tiger Woods.

By no means do I wish to put down any of the other professional athletes on Tour. These guys ARE good (or so the slogan says) and provide hours of impressive talent on courses that boggle the golfing mind. And frankly, it has been nice to actually watch live coverage of the tournament leader instead of on a tape delay because Jim Nantz was too busy talking about Tiger's shot on 2.

But who are we kidding here? The man is the greatest golfer we have seen in a generation, and love him or hate him, people will continue to watch whatever it is that Tiger does on a golf course. I'm pretty sure I would even watch if he was simply in attendance at Bay Hill. That excitement just isn't there anymore whn watching coverage of an event. There are no huge crowds following one group because of one guy... and if there is, it is because there isn't anyone else worth following.

Say what you may about this entire sex scandal. The fact is, he Tiger has basically done all he can do up to this point. He's apologized both publicly and privately, he's paid the consequences of his actions in terms of sponsorship and family, and has entered rehab in order to make sure this thing doesn't happen again. Time for this guy to get back on the course and start winning tournaments again so everyone can put this situation in the past.