Revered by many, hated by some is the lot of heroes. Tiger Woods is a hero in the game of golf and will be forever. He literally has changed the face of golf.

Back in the day, professional golf was the domain of a bunch of white guys. From Bobby Jones to Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan. Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player’s competition against each other is legendary. All, equally deserve the accolades they received.

Tiger Woods did a couple of things that changed the sport forever. Given he is black, he changed the view that kids of all races could play golf. His play was so dominating that it couldn’t be ignored.

Charlie Sifford was almost past his prime when he got his chance. Some say that when he was in his 20’s his skills rivaled those of Mr. Woods. I don’t know this as a fact, but I’ll bet there was no one tougher on a Saturday afternoon when the fellas gathered for their $2 Nassau bets.

The other thing that Tiger did was send the message that one of the keys to consistent performance is physical fitness. Overweight and out-of-shape won’t cut it anymore. Gary Player sent that message during his run, but I think it was seen as something a “little guy” had to do to compete. Jack Nicklaus says that Player was one of the best to ever play the game.

Watching The Masters this weekend I see the leader, (it’s Sunday morning) Jordan Spieth as a “lean, mean, scoring machine.” You have to know that when he was 12 he was watching Tiger and saying “someday.”

I have a single wish for you Tiger Woods. Play with joy and abandon the rest of your career. You have nothing to prove. If you take all the golfers I have named (and many that I haven’t) and put them on the course together in their prime I will put my money every week on Tiger Woods.

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