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For many hours on that intense Tuesday morning last February when Tiger Woods’ tipped over SUV sat smoldering off the road in Los Angeles many of us could only wonder if the greatest golfer in the world was going to be survive such a terrible accident.
Forget about concerns over possible injuries or if we’d ever see Tiger on a golf course again, we just wondered if he’d ever take a breath again and hoped beyond hope that he would just be OK and be able to go on being a father for his kids.
Thankfully, Tiger did make it through that accident and while he mostly stayed out of the spotlight in the months following the crash he obviously put in a ton of work to get better in a relative hurry. It all paid off this past weekend in a very special way as he and his son Charlie were able to play golf and pour in birdies together at the PNC Championship, where they finished in second after a ridiculously awesome final round on Sunday.
The two-day tournament was tremendous television. But it wasn’t all about the golf, which Tiger and his son excelled at. For me there was just an overwhelming feeling of gratefulness that a dad was able to still be here and experience these things with his son. The fist bumps, the smiles, the taps on the head. Those are the memories that will far outlast the birdies, which there were plenty.
Charlie Woods picked up where he left off last year – impressing everyone with his swing, his poise, and his mannerisms that were straight from his dad. He’d hit an incredible shot and not even flinch. He’d miss a putt he thought he should have made and he’d be upset with himself. And he’d also confidently walk in putts just like his old man has done so many times over the years. It was great, all of it.
It’s a cliche but it’s true – tomorrow isn’t promised. It’s easy to forget that and expect to flip on a TV and see something awesome happening in sports. For years Tiger Woods has been doing that for us on Sundays and yesterday we got one more of those days and it was incredible.
We’re very lucky Tiger Woods is still here with us and that he can still get around on a golf course and provide some heroics and remind us of all of the great moments we’ve had watching him be Tiger Freaking Woods.
But more importantly his son and his family are the real lucky ones because they still have their dad here with them, and that’s more meaningful than anything that gets jotted down on a scorecard.
Man, what a great weekend for Tiger and Charlie.
Quick hits: NFL Week 15 Awards… Jake Paul’s vicious KO punch… Tom Brady tosses tablet… And more.
– My Week 15 NFL Awards kick off with the Ravens getting the worst roughing-the-passer call thanks to a diving Aaron Rodgers and has a lot of fun after that.
– You need to see this ringside angle of Jake Paul’s KO of Tyron Woodley. It’s pretty nuts.
– Tom Brady throwing a tablet during last night’s shutout loss to the Saints is too good.
– Frank Gore became a funny meme during his fight with Deron Williams.
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