Tiger had some interesting comments after the US PGA. Here’s some of what he said,
”I was just trying to be, you know, a little bit happy out there and enjoy it,” Woods said. ”Unfortunately, that’s not how I play.”
”I was trying to enjoy the process,” Woods said. ”But that’s not how I play. I play full systems go, all out, intense, and that’s how I won 14 of these things.”
First off, “trying” anything is a recipe for disaster. It’s sort of good to know that the greatest golfer in history struggles when he “tries” – makes him human and a bit like the rest of us. We all know how futile it is to want something really badly and then try too hard. Almost always leads to stuffing up.
I’m really hoping Tiger learns a lesson here. If he wants to play his best and keep winning majors then he needs to return to his pre scandal attitude/mindset. Sure, he and his team are in damage control after all what has happened, but surely they are smart enough to let him play his way.
There’s gunna be the traditionalists that will say Tiger needs to pull his head in, smile more and stop acting aggressive/angry/fired up on the course. These same people also have marveled at his brilliance over the years – they applaud his great play but bitch and moan when he does something they don’t agree with. You definitely can’t please everyone.
Woods became the most popular and dominate athlete on the planet doing it his way. If this means the odd dummy spit then so be it. If he struggles to play “happy” then he needs to get rid of that concept and replace it with something that feels right to him.