Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Heart of a lion
Scripps Howard News Service
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A few short days after the murder of her
husband, Lord Darnley, Mary Queen of Scots consoled herself by
repairing to the golf links. In the four centuries following its
inception, the sport of Anglo royalty found its way around the
world, yet remained firmly tethered to privilege, money and the
ruling classes.
To those unmoved by the banging of dimpled,
white balls over miles of grasses and sand, golf has seemed an
amalgam of boredom and snobbishness. Then last Sunday, a Vietnam
vet's son strode through the birthplace of golf and changed it
forever.
By winning the British Open at St. Andrews
Royal and Ancient Old Course, Tiger Woods did more than join Jack
Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player and Ben Hogan as the only
men to win all of golf's four modern major championships. He achieved
the “grand slam” — which eluded Arnold Palmer,
Sam Snead and other golfing legends — sooner and more spectacularly
than anyone dreamed. Mr. Woods won the British Open by the best
score in the history of the majors, beating his closest competitor
by eight strokes. He had just won the U.S. Open by 15 strokes.
Most astounding, he completed this mass destruction of the record
books by age 24.
There is now no denying Mr. Woods the rarest
compliment: He has risen above the entirety of his craft.
As Mr. Woods was crowned king of the sport
of kings in golf's hallowed cradle, his portrait — a stark
contrast to Scottish royalty — shined as an inspiration to
Americans. Mr. Woods is praised for breaking golf's color barrier.
But it should be noted: He is not black. He is not Native American
or Asian. He is not Caucasian. He is all of these. He is all of
us.
Mr. Woods is the consummate American, with
the consummate American story, the son of an American serviceman
soaring from ordinary beginnings to extreme wealth. He answered
a call that went out shortly after Mr. Nicklaus, the Golden Bear,
became a captive of age and could no longer conquer golf's demanding
test of will. A series of would-be successors, many from smaller
lands, made runs at taking over the Bear's reign. Had America
grown spoiled and soft? Was there no one in this populous land
with the physical ability, the mental strength and — most
of all — the heart of a lion?
No one imagined the Tiger that was to come.
(For news and information about St. Louis,
visit http://postnet.com.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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