I thought I saw a tear in Arnold Palmer’s eye while he was hugging Tiger after the young master’s Herculean putt today to win Arnie’s Invitational.
That putt had to have invoked spontaneous fist-pumping from Arnie, Jack, Watson, MIller, Snead, Hogan, Jones, and all the golf gods, here and gone, blessed enough to have tasted that rare drink of sudden victory.
My guess is that Earl Woods himself slammed his own hat down on a cloud and rose his fists of glory to the sky. Earl’s good work continues to rumble and grow within his son.
And where were all the immortal sports announcers with their favorite catch phrases? If ever there was a time to utter them, now is that freakin’ time. “BOOM!” Indeed!
That’s all I’ve got. Go read the journalistic accounts. Go peruse the hyperbolic ramblings. Go see the replay of the putt that changed golf forever. But trust me – it’s too big for your eyes or your mind. Tonight, look in the golf sky. The balance of the galaxy has been changed.
What I’ll remember and cherish from this moment is the sound — the thud and explosion when that ball dropped into the hole. The sound was physical. Its vibrations blew the hat off Tiger’s head and into his hand, too hot to handle. It stood all of us up. It struck our hearts, amazed our minds, and squeezed out tears of thankfulness that we were witness to such epic drama.
WOW! That’s all I could say. It seems common now that every time I watch Tiger he does something I know I should expect, yet I still cannot believe. It was really special to see that sort of emotion from him as well. I keep telling myself to remove any limits of success he can reach, and honestly, I’m expecting an undefeated season, grand slam, and a bunch of scoring records. I mean, why not? He truly seems to be in a zone unlike I’ve ever seen. WOW.
I most definitely agree. I literally laughed uncontrollably for two or three minutes after that putt dropped because I couldn’t believe it. Rather than question whether he can make it though, I should question why I doubted if he could. I expected that he would win the tournament regardless of what happened on 18, but I also expected that it would be in a playoff as he lined up for the putt.
I just seems like no matter what he does, or who stands in his way…if he is locked in like he is right now, the only way he is going to get beat is if God were to strike him down in his backswing!
I told my wife that put is never gonna make it to the hole. She smiled and said just wait
We are blessed to be watching a piece of history. This will no doubt go down as one of Tigers Top 10 clutch moments, and for Mr. Palmer to be there, to embrace Tiger as he did on the 18th green was a magical moment shared between two people who have changed the face of golf like no others ever will. In my opinion this putt will be looked back on as where Tiger took over the 2008 season, on route to being the first player to ever win all four majors, as well as every tournement he played in, in one season. 2008 will be one for the books, I’m going to kick up my feet and watch history being written.
Perfectly put Dave, and an excellent piece Mr. Scotch. His skills are the stuff of legends and the sound of his putts dropping in the cup will echo through time and will. 20 generations of golfers will account us fortunate indeed to have borne witness to his accomplishments.
Yet when the improbable becomes expected, something – wonder, amazement, pick your term – something innocent gets lost. Expecting the improbable dimishes it’s accomplishment; once the mind reframes a task as probable, anything short of perfection is a let down and seen, to a small extent, as a lapse in execution and this in a game where very little is perfect.
He won’t have a perfect season and very likely won’t win all the majors. Were he to win two majors and nothing more the rest of this year he would outperform almost everyone who ever played the game since it was invented and I’d frame it a staggering accomplishment. Rather than a failure to meet my expectations, he would have exceeded them..
Thank you! I’ve been throwing down my hat at times all day!
I think the “innocence†you refer to is the element of surprise. No, we will not be surprised by any of his accomplishments. But I do not sit there “expecting†Tiger to perform miracles…..the thrill for me is that I know it is possible! And that equals major anticipation and the potential to see an event where, no matter what the outcome, there is not a chance of being disappointed as a viewer down to the very last putt.
BTW — Did you notice Johnny Miller tearing up when he was talking to Arnie about asking for his autograph? The best reward a hero can receive are tears of admiration. Then it is Art. That’s what Tiger is giving us.
I won’t say I expected it , then I wont say I was surprised.
Tiger is playing at a level thats hard to comprehend. He putts it so well you almost can ignore his wonderful ball striking.
I don’t think he missed a shot yesterday for sure not down the stretch. I knew he would get better I just had no idea how good he would get. Wow Wow Wow you da man!
I certainly agree – Tiger is art… maybe martial art off the tee and a ball-striking ballet of one on the fairways. And yeah, tears of admiration is the purest response – great observation!
A small clarification – the “innocence” I spoke of is much closer to anticipation than surprise. In the 1950s Roger Bannister was closing in on a feat some thought impossible – the world’s first sub-4 minute mile and feelings of excitement, uncertainty and anticipation were everywhere. 30 years later top high school runners were breaking the 4 minute mile; in fact it was expected of them and all those wonderful feelings present during Bannister’s banner year are no longer present. Unfortunate, but that’s the way of things. However, if today’s track fans were transported back to 1954, they’ed expect Bannister to accomplish his historic feat and thus miss out on all those great feelings. Likewise, expecting a perfect season from Tiger distances us from his struggle and thus deprives us of some great feelings.
Great Article!
I think we have to remind ourselves that we are watching history in the making.
Like some kids our now growing up never seeing Jordan, Gretzky, Sampras hit the court and ice. I never saw Jack and Arnie play until well past their prime but the legend is unwavering I can appreciate them.
When they greats of the game are as astounded by what they see as we are…truly something special is happening.
I bet Tiger goes undefeated this year and he’ll most likely bag all 4 majors indeed. Time will tell and I just can’t wait for the first Major! It will be electrifying to say the least!
Arriba Tiger Woods!