Sirak says: Will family affect Tiger's chase of Jack's majors?

Sirak Says: Tiger and Fatherhood

Will family affect Tiger's chase of Jack's majors?

By Ron Sirak

July 8, 2007

That's it. He's done. Call him a cab. Fatherhood has ruined Tiger Woods. His competitive edge has clearly been drowned in a pile of Pampers. While no rival really arose during the Tiger Woods Era to take him down, his reign as best player on the planet was ended by a 5-pound bundle of joy named Sam Alexis. Jack Nicklaus can breathe easy; his record of 18 professional major championships and 20 overall is safe.

Little Sam has done what Lefty, Vijay and Ernie have been unable to do -- expose her old man as a mere mortal subject to the same soft spots as any of the rest of us. This is, of course, hogwash. The fact Woods finished T-7 at the AT&T National, the PGA Tour event of which he is host and his first competition since Sam was born June 18, means absolutely nothing. You want to bet against him at the British Open next week? Tiger is still Tiger -- father or not.

One of the burdens of greatness is being held to an unfair standard. You are judged not against others but against yourself. And one of the annoyances of the multitasking, attention deficit disorder culture in which we currently reside is that historical perspective is no broader than the here and now. Why is there a tendency to act as if Tiger Woods is the first person on the face of the earth to ever have a baby?

First off, he didn't have the child, his wife Elin did. This is not like Nancy Lopez or Juli Inkster trying to come back and win tournaments after giving birth. Also, I'm guessing the Woods family has a little help. Do you really think he is doling that 3 a.m. feeding? Why are we acting like the birth of this child is potentially damaging to the career of this supremely talented man? If anything, being a parent will make him a happier person -- and possibly a better golfer.

Will Tiger Woods be a good father? Yup, because in Earl he had a good father after which to model himself. That bear of a man was a Green Beret but he also could be brought to tears by a mediocre greeting card. Will being a father make Woods care less about his quest to be remembered as the greatest ever to play the game? Nope. Tiger will continue to win majors for Earl -- and now for Sam.

The fact that we should speculate so intensely on the impact of parenthood on Woods is a perfect example of how self-focused society has become. If it's happening right now it must be the most important thing ever to happen. Here's a tip: Other babies have been born. And even some of them have been born to not only great athletes but great doctors and lawyers and Indian chiefs. And you know what? Those parents remained great doctors and lawyers and Indian chiefs.

There is a delicious bit of timing in the birth of Sam Alexis. Tiger needs seven more professional majors to pass Jack. The quickest Woods has won seven majors was over the course of four seasons (1999-2002). Say it takes twice that long for Tiger to get seven more and reach 19. That would make Sam an 8-year-old well able to appreciate watching her father make history. You think Tiger won't enjoy winning tournaments when his daughter is old enough to appreciate the fact he is winning them?

Here is a situation to imagine. Tiger wins his 19th major to pass Jack. Elin is there, and so is Sam. There will be a hug shared by father and daughter that will no doubt trigger tears of memory for the grandfather not there to see it. Remember, Tiger named his daughter after the code name Earl used for his son. Think about what that means.

This all started -- this entire quest to be the best ever -- back in that garage in California with Tiger in a high chair watching Pops hit golf balls into a net. It went through total domination of first the junior ranks and then the amateurs and then the professionals. That first Masters Tiger won at Augusta National in 1997 ended with father and son in a tearful embrace. The last Masters Tiger won ended with Tiger in tears -- alone -- precisely because he was alone, Earl too sick to be there.

The mission Earl and Tiger embarked on 30 years ago is not yet completed. But the finish line is clearly defined. Tiger will pass Jack. Being a father won't slow that quest; in fact it will likely motivate it further. Earl can't be there to share the hug when the record falls -- but Sam Alexis will be. To think that fatherhood will have any negative effect on Tiger Woods is pure folly.

What lies ahead is one more burst of golf so great it lies beyond our imagination. He did it in 1999-2002, and again in 2005-06. The guy is only 31 years old, and brilliantly talented. Earl is no longer there to share the walk to greatness with Tiger, but Sam Alexis is. It's going to be fun watching him win for his daughter that way he used to win for his dad. Hey, it's a family thing. And family makes us better at what we do.

Nice article and some really good points, especially to the greats being judged by their own standards.

I can't see anyone or anything slowing him down in the long run. Sure he might (and frankly should be!) a little distracted right now but once his situation calms down, that focus that allowed him to reign supreme will be even tighter if anything. Proving your abilities as a child to a parent, as he did with his father Earl, is one thing, but proving who you are to your own child is something else entirely.

There's no way that having a child will stop Tiger's career. Sure for the next few months it might slow it down a little bit. But that's expected, I'm 100% that being a farther is more important to Tiger then his golf, but he will still be just as good if not better in the long run. And I disagree completely with anyone saying that fatherhood is going to stop Tiger's career, he is to dedicated it to not still win majors.

Thought this was an interesting look back.

Hope sirak was better with his stock/investment projections

Holy resurrected threads Patrick! Almost exactly a decade from the last post. Those were the days huh? We all thought the minimum for majors for Tiger was 20-25 back then. Now, imo anyway, in some respects he is like Bo Jackson. Doesn't hold all the records but still the best I have ever seen.

Thought this was an interesting look back.

 

Hope sirak was better with his stock/investment projections

He was in the majority... probably a 95% majority back then. Especially before the injury issues Tiger had in '08 (I know they were building throughout his career). You could have won a lot of money in Vegas back in '08 if you had been able to get a bet that Tiger would never win another major. They would have taken your money in a heartbeat.

There were only two replies to a tiger thread and both replies were civil and cordial? Get me back to the future!

The OP hasn't been on this site since mid 2009. Wonder if he is still with Golf Digest?

There were only two replies to a tiger thread and both replies were civil and cordial? Get me back to the future!

LOL, before all us troublemakers joined up!

The OP hasn't been on this site since mid 2009. Wonder if he is still with Golf Digest?

That's funny, because back in the day GD was getting a bunch of their folks posting up stuff.

Thought this was an interesting look back.

 

Hope sirak was better with his stock/investment projections

How many more majors do you have?

; )

Thought this was an interesting look back.

 

Hope sirak was better with his stock/investment projections

 

How many more majors do you have?

 

; )

I was lucky to play in a few haah

My investments look a lot like Ron s predictions

I thought it was interesting, mostly because I felt like Ron did back then

Holy resurrected threads Patrick! Almost exactly a decade from the last post. Those were the days huh? We all thought the minimum for majors for Tiger was 20-25 back then. Now, imo anyway, in some respects he is like Bo Jackson. Doesn't hold all the records but still the best I have ever seen.

Nice comparison!

I guess Sirak didn't know Diddley...

The OP hasn't been on this site since mid 2009. Wonder if he is still with Golf Digest?

 

That's funny, because back in the day GD was getting a bunch of their folks posting up stuff.

I think I first started looking on here when Golf Digest closed down their forum and seemed to recommend that people moved over here.

Well this is an interesting look back at the perception of things a decade ago. I get that virtually no one felt any differently about the future for Tiger's career in 07, and we have the benefit of history which makes easy any effort at calling this media adoration on xanax steroids.. But this is next level slurping! I mean why give any weight to the notion that fatherhood alone would derail his career? it's like a serious response to the flat earth society. It's totally unnecessary. Regardless let's compare Ron Sirak's vision of the then future as seen through his sunday-red rose-colored glasses Versus.......reality

" Why are we acting like the birth of this child is potentially damaging to the career of this supremely talented man?"

Yeah, no. It's not the kid it's the porn stars and Benzo/opiate combo platters he whips up for himself at 1AM. Don't we all sort of wish now that his downfall was related to his dedication to family life? So much less drama to have him say these days "my priorities just changed about 10 years ago" and not the quinquennial "Steiny" penned, "i have successfully completed rehab" claptrap press release.

"Here is a situation to imagine. Tiger wins his 19th major to pass Jack. Elin is there, and so is Sam"

Awwww!

"There will be a hug shared by father and daughter that will no doubt trigger tears of memory for the grandfather not there to see it. Remember, Tiger named his daughter after the code name Earl used for his son. Think about what that means."

It means WTF do you have a code name for your own kid for? He needed a name, a nickname, AND A CODE NAME? And was Ghandi already taken by someone in your circle of weirdo's as a code name for their kid?

"If anything, being a parent will make him a happier person -- and possibly a better golfer"

Yes clearly family life had a calming and focusing influence on him.

"The mission Earl and Tiger embarked on 30 years ago is not yet completed. But the finish line is clearly defined. Tiger will pass Jack."

Wait wait wait, I've been told (recently) that 19 majors was never really important to Tiger? And 10 years ago, when regarded as a virtual certainty, it was "The finish Line", and "completing a Mission"? Work harder, revisionists.

And tell me more about how mean the media was to him back in the day?

Took me a minute to figure out it was 2007 and not 2017. lol

I'm sure all of us thought that there would be a day when Tiger's kids ran out to him on the green when he won # 19.

Kind of sad knowing how it all turned out.

As someone with a comeback story of my own (not quite the winning 19 majors type of situation but becoming the best Richard I could be by being a good person, good father, and taking care of my family drug free), I'm still pulling for Tiger. It's kind of interesting too that when you've been down that road you can recognize it in someone else well before others can. There's been people that I've worked with that I've known have had problems of this nature, way before anyone else suspected it. If you can correctly follow the bread crumbs that are left in conversations and behaviors it's very easy to tell. Almost tragically, my mistakes have given me an insight that most don't have. I knew Tiger was in trouble a LONG time ago. This is despite me having zero personal interaction with him.

I'd love for him to dispose of his demons and make a comeback. Whether that applies to golf or not, it's not important. As a golf fan though how great would it be for him to make a full comeback and challenge Jacks 18? Golf is seriously dying a very quick death around here. I golfed two sundays ago on a very nice local course. We had a 10am tee time. There might have been 20 cars in the lot and 3 groups on each nine. The weather was absolutely perfect too. This sport could use Tiger making a charge at the record, that's for dang sure.

Kind of sad knowing how it all turned out.

It really is. At this point, I just wish him good health. Don't even care if he gets to play anymore.

As someone with a comeback story of my own (not quite the winning 19 majors type of situation but becoming the best Richard I could be by being a good person, good father, and taking care of my family drug free), I'm still pulling for Tiger. It's kind of interesting too that when you've been down that road you can recognize it in someone else well before others can. There's been people that I've worked with that I've known have had problems of this nature, way before anyone else suspected it. If you can correctly follow the bread crumbs that are left in conversations and behaviors it's very easy to tell. Almost tragically, my mistakes have given me an insight that most don't have. I knew Tiger was in trouble a LONG time ago. This is despite me having zero personal interaction with him.

 

I'd love for him to dispose of his demons and make a comeback. Whether that applies to golf or not, it's not important. As a golf fan though how great would it be for him to make a full comeback and challenge Jacks 18? Golf is seriously dying a very quick death around here. I golfed two sundays ago on a very nice local course. We had a 10am tee time. There might have been 20 cars in the lot and 3 groups on each nine. The weather was absolutely perfect too. This sport could use Tiger making a charge at the record, that's for dang sure.

I'm curious, what signs did you see in Tiger back then that lead you to think this? Genuinely curious, because I was sure blindsided by the whole thing.

It's too bad Tiger didn't get more help sooner. Addiction is a horrible thing and ruins too many families.

I wish the best to the Woods' family and hope they can find peace in their situation.

I thought he was in trouble in 2009 and resulted in an epic thread. Really sad to see how it has worked out

I feel bad for TW too.

A Billion Dollars aint what it used to be.

Poor guy. Ill be crying for him tomorrow when

Im heading to work on the F Train nauseous standing next to some freak who smells like a goat.

Hello fellow golfwrx,

I know, dude you're in 2027, what are you doing reviving this old thread from 2017?!

Boy were you guys wrong! Remember 2020 when jack won the masters? It took until 2025 for tiger to finally get to his 20th major, the Franklin Templeton john Deere shootout shark classic, and passed Jack. Commissioner Daly came out in his scooter and showered Tiger and Pat Perez with Budweiser and m&m's. Jack finally got his wish in 2022, the balata revolt created 2 tours for awhile, but after the new masters in Ohio they all played the Golden Bear balata (a lot like the old chrome soft, just real chewy if you play 90s). There's a bunch of old courses with par 82, Olympic, Pebble, featuring at least a couple of par 7's. But the new persimmon hybrids completely revolutionized the wedge game.

Tiger's kids turned out just fine, that Mac Daddy Santa stuff really took a lot of therapy to overcome, I still can't look at the Amazon Santa.

Hello fellow golfwrx,

 

I know, dude you're in 2027, what are you doing reviving this old thread from 2017?!

 

Boy were you guys wrong! Remember 2020 when jack won the masters? It took until 2025 for tiger to finally get to his 20th major, the Franklin Templeton john Deere shootout shark classic, and passed Jack. Commissioner Daly came out in his scooter and showered Tiger and Pat Perez with Budweiser and m&m's. Jack finally got his wish in 2022, the balata revolt created 2 tours for awhile, but after the new masters in Ohio they all played the Golden Bear balata (a lot like the old chrome soft, just real chewy if you play 90s). There's a bunch of old courses with par 82, Olympic, Pebble, featuring at least a couple of par 7's. But the new persimmon hybrids completely revolutionized the wedge game.

 

Tiger's kids turned out just fine, that Mac Daddy Santa stuff really took a lot of therapy to overcome, I still can't look at the Amazon Santa.

Uber self-driving golf balls ruined the game ; )

Hello fellow golfwrx,

 

I know, dude you're in 2027, what are you doing reviving this old thread from 2017?!

 

Boy were you guys wrong! Remember 2020 when jack won the masters? It took until 2025 for tiger to finally get to his 20th major, the Franklin Templeton john Deere shootout shark classic, and passed Jack. Commissioner Daly came out in his scooter and showered Tiger and Pat Perez with Budweiser and m&m's. Jack finally got his wish in 2022, the balata revolt created 2 tours for awhile, but after the new masters in Ohio they all played the Golden Bear balata (a lot like the old chrome soft, just real chewy if you play 90s). There's a bunch of old courses with par 82, Olympic, Pebble, featuring at least a couple of par 7's. But the new persimmon hybrids completely revolutionized the wedge game.

 

Tiger's kids turned out just fine, that Mac Daddy Santa stuff really took a lot of therapy to overcome, I still can't look at the Amazon Santa.

 

Uber self-driving golf balls ruined the game ; )

Disagree. The game was ruined when they started allowing lift, clean, and place from any divot and lift, rake, and place in the bunkers. I am telling you 2020 was the worst year for golf!

Hey, do you remember when they replaced that old F Train with the moving conveyor belts? Still smelly people all over the place but at least you can just walk past them on the left side now.

I thought he was in trouble in 2009 and resulted in an epic thread. Really sad to see how it has worked out

You were referring to his swing no? Because I remember that thread in general.

This proves Tigermania is almost over. This is just the 25th post in almost 48 hours in a Tiger thread on wrx.

Play well this weekend guys and gals!

I thought he was in trouble in 2009 and resulted in an epic thread. Really sad to see how it has worked out

 

You were referring to his swing no? Because I remember that thread in general.

Yes but I called a swing coach change and that he may not win another major. Couldn't have foreseen the personal life stuff

I thought he was in trouble in 2009 and resulted in an epic thread. Really sad to see how it has worked out

 

You were referring to his swing no? Because I remember that thread in general.

 

Yes but I called a swing coach change and that he may not win another major. Couldn't have foreseen the personal life stuff

Yeah, you were right about the major. Wasn't because of his swing though. Poor guy's body has fallen apart.