If you asked anyone to name a professional golfer, they would name Tiger, especially if they do not watch the sport. He's the face of the game. He was the top golfer in the world for 13 years. But over the past decade, Tiger has had his own set of issues: a divorce, car accident, and back issues. His last successful year was 2013; everyone said it would be the very last time he would win a tournament. Everything went downhill from there.
His back problems got increasingly worse, and there was a point in his life where doctors told him he would not be able to play golf again. He dropped out of the top 1,000 golfers for the first time in his career. His fall from grace was gut-wrenching for every Tiger fan out there, myself included.
But I believed in Tiger, keeping up with him through his ups and down, through his long journey. Everyone else said his career was over, but I believed. And this year, he returned. A never-performed experimental back fusion treatment let Tiger walk and play golf without pain.
However, this Tiger was a different Tiger. He knew that after all the stress his body had endured, he could not go back to his old ways. So, rather than play as the powerful phenom he was known to be, he became a master of finesse. He flirted repeatedly with victories throughout the year but was not able to come up with anything. His last chances were in the playoffs, a place he had not been in almost five years. Still, Tiger flirted with victory and lost a few leads. There was magic.
At this point in time, all golf fans were excited, myself included. To see my favorite player, after five years of waiting, contend for a tournament with the best of the current game gave me a sort of adrenaline rush. He did not win any of the early playoff events, but he advanced through them, and I could tell he was back.
It all came down to the final match: the Tour Championship. Immediately, Tiger burst out in front of the field, putter in hand, on a course he had not played on in a long time. The perfect combination of experience, skill, talent, luck and comfort came into fruition. He asserted dominance by leading for all four days, crushing other golfers' hopes and dreams. There was an unprecedented crowd of people like me who stayed with Tiger all these years, hoping for just one more win. And after a five year drought, his riches to rags to riches story became a reality.
The golf industry had been lacking every since the "fall of Tiger,"with viewership falling and no big figures in the golf game to push it forward. But with his return and due to his magical story, ratings and viewership is back on the rise. And I am a huge supporter of the underdog, and many others feel the same way. So to Tiger, thank you for your determination for making it back to the top. Golf would be so different without you.
