Draft Day Suit

It has been two weeks since Tiger Woods wrecked his Escalade in front of his house in a post-Thanksgiving mashup involving his wife, Elin Nordgren, and a golf club.

That’s 14 days of hysterical news stories – some quoting text messages from Woods to women that were enough to make me leave the room, I admit it – and enough of these rumored girlfriends to assign one to each of the 12 days of Christmas.

I’ll give the one who appeared on Tool Academy two days, just for kicks.

There was even one mother-in-law flying in from Sweden to assess the damage, who quickly made her own headlines by ending up in the hospital for a minor illness.

It feels like longer than two weeks, doesn’t it?

Widely criticized since his accident for not communicating clearly and quickly with a public that is clearly invested in what he does and with whom, Woods announced today that he will take an “indefinite hiatus” from professional golf to focus on becoming a “better husband, father and person.” He admitted to infidelity for the first time in a statement that also asked for forgiveness for him and privacy for his family.

The full text of Woods’s statement is on his Web site. He has not been seen in public since the crash.

“His priorities are where they need to be, and we will continue to respect and honor his family’s request for privacy,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement. “We look forward to Tiger’s return to the PGA Tour when he determines the time is right for him.”

Jack Nicklaus, still the number one professional golfer in history with 18 major championships won ahead of Wood’s 14, said that this situation was “none of his business.

“He’s a great athlete. He’ll figure it out,” Nicklaus said.

I know enough about the media to know that this story will not go away anytime soon, as much as most people say they wish it would. Tiger, like it or not, is a star athlete whose persona and popularity until this particular mess hit the fan has been tied up in his outstanding golf performance, and not his off-course behavior.

That game changed when he got in his car two weeks ago and whatever happened happened.

The news since then – none of it having anything to do with golf – has not been flattering to say the least, and considering his wife and children in its context has made it nothing more than sad. It’s up to the Woods family, obviously, to figure out what works for them and to Tiger to decide how to go about being the better person he seems to think that he can be.

Golf can wait a minute, even for Tiger Woods – maybe, especially for Tiger Woods.

Pictured Above:  Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren.  But who is the dude in the blue hat?

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When I first got wind of Tiger Woods’ connecting with an Escalade, a fire hydrant and a tree I knew instinctively no one would be circling around him clapping quietly and congratulating him for his play.  When I read the description of Tiger’s wife using a golf club to break out the back window of his car, “Thank G-d, she rescued him!” was not the conclusion to which I leaped.  You don’t have to tell me, I know I made a terribly unfair assumption. Call me a cynic if you will. It won’t be the first time I’ve worn that badge.  Somehow I just could not envision his wife racing out of the house-golf club in hand- breaking the window, dragging a possibly unconscious Tiger out of the front seat, over the back seat and out the back  window.  I also did not consider a scenario where she climbed into the care via the back window, carefully avoiding the jagged edges, in order to assist Tiger out of the front of the vehicle.  The story didn’t make sense.   Judge Judy  Any sage will tell you, ”If it doesn’t make sense, it’s not true.”  Eventually Tiger himself admitted he’s not so  grrrrreat. 

There are those in the professional golf community who have already begun to tee off on the course of opinion.  According to Jesper Parnevik, Tiger’s wife used the wrong club.  I wonder who will step forward next and offer her a new Caddie.

I don’t follow professional golf.  I don’t have any clue how to play golf, unless you count Putt-Putt…but even then, I rely on The Husband to keep score.  I don’t have any interest in golf at all.

I do, however, know who Tiger Woods is.  Is there anyone in this country who does not?  He’s easily one of the most recognizable faces ever.  So even if I don’t know the difference between a birdie and an eagle, I do know Tiger Woods is a golfer, and a very good one at that.

A few moments ago, I saw a tweet on Twitter that said something about Tiger Woods.  I opened up CNN.com to take a look.  And yes.  The breaking news screams that Tiger has been seriously injured in a car crash.

I was immediately concerned and checked all my news sites to see if there was additional information…but why do I care?  If it were some other athlete that I do not follow, I’d feel bad but would move on.  After all, I really don’t follow Tiger’s career and I certainly don’t know him.

Maybe it is because he is younger than I am, and I often marvel at his accomplishments at such a young age.  He is one of America’s icons, and I cheer heartily for his success whenever I flip past a golf tournament on TV (unless The Husband informs me Tiger isn’t playing).  He seems like a good guy, one who practices hard and wins big.

So even though I don’t know anything about golf, I recognize Tiger Woods.  I wish him a speedy recovery.