As Woods' popularity grows, so do the dangers
By John Strege / Orange County Register
The statement that it is lonely at the top is spurious from
the perspective of Tiger Woods, who finds it extremely crowded
in his shrinking world. A staple of any meal he consumes in public,
for instance, is difficult for him to swallow: an invasion of
his privacy. In mid-bite, he often is asked for his autograph,
as though the tines on his fork contain ballpoints.
He has become golf's equivalent of a rock star, only bigger.
A popular rock musician generally appeals only to a specific demographic
group that might range in age from 12 to 30. Woods' enormous appeal
runs the gamut, from young to old, from poor to rich, from black
to white, and it is international.
For a Tuesday practice round at Royal Troon, site of the British
Open that begins Thursday, Woods was accompanied by four private
security guards, a hedge against an unwanted intrusion from an
overzealous fan in the massive crowd tracking him around the course.
Last week at the Western Open, as he made his way toward the
18th green, victory by then only a formality, the crowds broke
free of the gallery ropes and followed a beaming Woods up the
fairway, a scene borrowed from a British Open tradition on the
72nd hole of the championship.
It was a spectacular sight, one that surely will replay itself
in the future, but also one certain to add to a growing concern
for Woods' safety.
In no other sport are the participants so vulnerable to outside
forces. The gallery ropes are nothing more than a cosmetic reminder
to the crowd that it is not permitted to venture beyond them.
As players move from one green to the next tee, they follow a
narrow path called a chute, cleared by marshals through the people,
some of whom are disinclined to respect the axiom that you can
look, but you can't touch.
The haunting image of Monica Seles attacked at a German tennis
tournament is irresistible.
Woods' crime is that he threatens the last bastion of white
supremacy in sports. Apparently, there are those who disapprove;
on occasion, he has been the target of death threats.
Since Tiger was playing in junior events before little more
than a handful of people, his safety has been the foremost concern
of his father, Earl, who fashioned himself as an unofficial one-man
security force, casting a wary eye over the crowd.
The crowds now are much too big to monitor with a solitary
wary eye, or even several sets of them. Woods routinely is assigned
a security patrol wherever he plays. Sometimes they are in uniform,
sometimes they are not.
Earl, the president of Tiger's corporation, ETW, has pondered
whether his son ought to have a full-time bodyguard. He would
rather it not have to come to that, but as time passes and Tigermania
expands further, his resistance is eroding.
The Woods' camp, including Earl, Tiger and his agent Hughes
Norton, recently asked PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem to join
in a conference call to discuss tournament security.
One suggestion almost certain to be enacted is to have the
chutes widened to put the players beyond arm's reach. Or harm's
way.
The PGA Tour for the first time has hired a security specialist,
though it had been considering the idea for some time. Woods'
rapid ascent and corresponding popularity expedited the process,
however.
Woods alarmingly is becoming a prisoner of his own fame. The
world is closing in on him. His sanctuaries heretofore had been
at home inside the gated community of Isleworth, near Orlando,
Fla., and inside the ropes. Now he only has Isleworth.
The episodes are mounting. Among them:
-During the first round of the U.S. Open in 1996, when Woods
was still an amateur, he noticed security escorting his group
suddenly had been increased in mid-round, for which no explanation
ever has been given.
-At the J.C. Penney Classic last December, Woods sat down in
a golf cart to be ferried from the 18th green to the media tent.
The cart was surrounded by fans, causing Woods anxious moments
as the cart began rocking.
-At the Phoenix Open he was inadvertently knocked down by exuberant
fans.
-On countless occasions he has been stabbed by pens and pencils
carelessly thrust at him by those seeking an autograph.
When fans at the Western Open stormed the playing field, albeit
respectfully keeping their distance, it was further evidence that
this growing phenomenon is spinning out of control.
It is insufficient to suggest it goes with the territory, for
this territory is uncharted. Tigermania is a new frontier, and
as with the exploration of all new frontiers, there is a caveat.
Proceed with caution.
(John Strege is a sports columnist for the Orange County Register.
Write to hims at: Orange County Register, 625 North Grand Avenue,
Santa Ana, Calif. 92711.)
(c) 1997, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Visit the Register on the World Wide Web at http://www.ocregister.com/
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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