The Recovering Golfer: Are You Rooting for Tiger?

I’m a passionate professional golf fan…about 4-5 weekends a year. I half-pay attention to the ups and downs of the PGA schedule during the season when SportsCenter’s on, but I’m glued to the screen only those Saturdays and Sundays when a “Major Tournament” is being played — the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, and the PGA champtionship — or every other year when the Ryder Cup stirs up my latent gingoism.

For the past decade, I’ve been a proud, card-carrying member of Team Lefty. Phil “Lefty” Mickelson was known for many years as The Best Golfer in the World Never to Win a Major; and then having shooed the Majors’ Monkey off his back at the 2004 Masters, transformed into The Best Golfer in the World Not Named Tiger Woods. As the son of a cancer victim, my heart broke in 2009 when his mother and his wife, Amy, were diagnosed with breast cancer, and I literally cried when he grabbed Amy for a long embrace after capturing the 2010 Masters.

And what a contrast it was to Lefty’s nemesis, who was going through…OK, if I need to explain Tiger Woods’ annus horribilis to you, then you need to watch television at least once in a while.

But as the 2011 season started to get into gear, I found myself rooting for Tiger, and yes, feeling sorry for a guy whose net worth exceeds many developing nations, and whose reputation for legendary narcissism preceded the recent scandal by many years.

Last Sunday, when he put together an incredible string of birdies during the first nine holes of the Masters’ final round, I was yelling at the screen doing my part to help urge his ball to fall into the hole.  And I was disappointed when ultimately he fell just a few strokes short of the championship.

I guess I’m victim of the human instinct to root for the underdog.  But, just as this web site’s focus is on the second acts of recovering politicians, I think the love of a good redemption story is built into our DNA.

I’m interested in hearing from you — Tiger fans and Tiger haters: What did Sunday’s round mean to you?  Can someone redeem himself through athletic accomplishment?  Or does Tiger even need redemption: Is it our business in the first place to judge Tiger for his actions?

What say you?  Please comment below: