When Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods strode into the hearts and minds of every golf lover some 20 years ago, little did they know that the sport was about to undergo a massive change from the way it was played during the previous decades.
Once mocked by “serious” athletes as a boring pursuit of pot-bellied pretenders with lots of spare time and money, golf is now one of the highest-paying sports at the professional level, with even those ranked outside the top 50 or 100 sometimes managing to rake in a few million dollars a year.
If it is no longer a sport for the lucky few who could afford the high costs of equipment and exorbitant course fees, or for those unwilling to follow a strict fitness regime, it is largely due to the Tiger Woods effect.
Woods has raised the fitness bar so high that, according to Danish great Thomas Bjorn, modern-day players have no option but to hit the gym after every round rather than grab a few pints as was the norm in the past.
Bjorn was speaking after he had beaten Woods in a thrilling finish at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001 when the American blew his chance by missing the fairway and then hitting the ball into the water for a double-bogey seven on the 18th hole.
Bjorn had won five European Tour events before that but Woods was playing in Dubai for the first time after a phenomenal 2000 during which he won a whopping nine titles. But despite his victory the Dane was in complete awe of Woods and spoke of how the American’s success had benefited the game as sponsors poured in more money and hundreds of thousands of people in countries such as Korea, Thailand, China and India were getting interested in the sport.
Fast forward to today and Woods, who has been dogged by various problems, among them serious injuries, and is now ranked a lowly 416th, is hoping for a fresh start as he celebrates his 40th birthday tomorrow.
Many may have written him off as incapable of adding to his 14 majors but the player himself has assured his fans that he can still pull off big wins if he stays healthy. He said: “Where do I see myself in the next five to 10 years? I am still playing golf at the highest level and winning tournaments and major championships.”
If he indeed stays injury-free, he could still give the likes of Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson, who have been grabbing most of the headlines in the recent past, a run for their money and equal or even better Jack Nicklaus’ haul of 18 majors as experts had prophesised years ago.