This is a tale of two golfers who decided to suspend their play.
The first one found out that his wife of thirteen years had been diagnosed with breast cancer. The golfer immediately decided that golf was a secondary pastime, pushed far to the rear by the more immediate concern for his lady's health. So the first one made an announcement that he would be taking a break from the Tour, to be by his wife's side as she began aggressive treatment to wipe out the dreaded disease.
His fellow golfers joined in on the cause. His good friend John Daly wore a pink pair of pants during a tournament. ALL golfers at the following week's tournament wore pink, in support of the golfer, his wife, and his family.
Two months after his announcement of a hiatus, the world rejoiced when the golfer revealed that his wife's cancer had been contained. He would be rejoining the Tour. In September, two months later, the first golfer, four strokes back on Sunday morning, would go on to defeat the second golfer at the Tour Championship. The first golfer would epitomize the well-loved and and admired family man and good sport, and would earn the admiration of untold millions.
That brings us to the second golfer to take time off from the Tour.
The second golfer was raised from childhood to be a competitive machine. He was raised to be, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest golfer in the world. He was trained from an early age to stay steely-cold in the face of adversity, to never show fear or weakness, and to never, ever let up on his opponents.
The strategy worked. The second golfer had physical gifts that were greatly enhanced by his mental toughness. He became the greatest golfer the world has ever seen. Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, and Sam Snead put up numbers that were so ridiculously superior to anyone else's that there was no chance that their own individual records could ever be broken. That was before golfer number two showed up. This superhuman was in a position to not only break Jack's Major wins record, but also Sam's total tournament wins AND Byron's consecutive win streak. That's sort of like a baseball player hitting more home runs than Aaron, having a higher average than Cobb, and stealing more bases that that idiot who holds the record.
One November night, the second golfer hit a fire plug with his Escalade. Oh well. Maybe he was drunk. That happens. Maybe he had a fight with his own wife. That happens too. We're all human. We all goof up from time to time.
Only... this story kept getting bigger. Turns out the wife had taken a golf club to the Escalade's window. To rescue golfer number two? Hmm...
As the days went by, the press circled. Being a celebrity can be a real bear, especially if by nature you prize your privacy. It's tough, but at least you're not sweating your next house payment.
Suddenly, from the depths of the sleazy ocean in which swam the tabloid sharks, the names of various women began surfacing. Women who claimed to be having affairs with golfer number two. Golfer number two, who had guarded his privacy as viciously as he had drilled long putts to destroy opponents, was being forced to come out and make some sort of statement to stem the tide of ill will caused by interviews with various women who claimed to have had illicit relations with him whilst he was married.
Finally, golfer number two came out and made a statement. He had engaged in various infidelities. He was sorry. And he would be taking an indefinite break from the Tour in an effort to repair the damage to his marriage.
His own mother said that she was furious with him, but, as mothers should, said that she would support him.
The golfer who introduced golfer number two to his shamed wife ripped him in public.
The number of other women, at presstime, had reached seven. Sponsors have followed one after another in either dropping golfer number two, or else severely limiting his exposure (and, presumably, his financial compensation).
And while golfer number one was celebrated when he finally returned to the Tour, golfer number two will likely be jeered, laughed at, and outright booed. How will his steely competitive side handle that?
Ironically, the aforementioned John Daly has had his own marriage woes. That surprises nobody, the reckless abandon with which he plays his game suggests that he would be quite the free spirit off the course. If anything, that just adds to his appeal.
But golfer number two is all about CONTROL. Deeply ingrained discipline is what drives him.
How could such a disciplined player have a mistress at virtually every tournament city?
Thus, golfer number two is seeing his reputation crumble faster than Richard Nixon's after his White House aides began testifying.
Is that fair? Maybe not.
But one thing's for sure: at tournaments, golfer number one served as runner-up to golfer number two far more often than the reverse took place.
But in this particular match, the one involving public perception of you as a human being and as an honorable person, golfer number one has golfer number two beaten by twenty strokes.
