No athlete is better named than Tiger Woods. He is relentless in his pursuit of victory. Sunday he was back on the trail of a gazelle named Sean O'Hair. Any reasonable person would say he had no chance to overtake a five stroke lead in eighteen holes. The Tiger felt differently. Like his Indian namesake he could smell blood and went for the kill. Time and again O'Hair would feint and dodge, and gain back lost ground. You could see the pursued beginning to struggle. His shots began to drift. His putts would not fall. The Tiger closed in. It was the last hole. They were in a tie. The match could go either direction, but the greatest golfer in the world, with nerves of steel and skills honed to near perfection, leaped at his panting victim, and it was over. Tiger Woods had won again. He had gained six strokes in eighteen holes against a very good young golfer. Not to worry too much about Sean, he will take a sizeable check to the bank, more than some of us earned in a lifetime, but he will never forget the sounds of a Tiger closing in for the kill.
I had really wanted Sean to win. I like to pull for underdogs. It was not to be. Sean O-Hair joins a long list of great golfers who have been mangled by a Tiger.
