Tiger is working with a handicap these days. It is a pretty big one.

He missed the cut at the PGA Championship a couple of weeks ago. His game is off, so to say… having some health issues…

This comes at the heels of one of the largest careers in sports history.

The turning point?

From our perspective, the turning point was the wild ride through the yard in his SUV… and when the world found out about his extra-marital affairs.

but was that really it?

Tiger was living pretty large in the flesh for a long time before his public tumble took place. From the worldly perspective, he had it all… and then some more on top of that!

I really am not that up on Tiger’s situation mainly because I don’t really know Tiger. I had the pleasure of sharing a conversation and walking with and his father Earl for several holes during an early round of the TPC here in Ponte Vedra. That was several years ago. But I don’t know Tiger.

I could google his name, maybe check with some of my buddies that follow golf or work for the PGA Tour, or check out Tiger’s twitter feed and come up with a few factoids or the scuttlebutt about Tiger for your entertainment here… and we could then all make some sort of judgement of where he is with his life…

the only thing I can say with certainty is this:

Tiger is a man just the same as you and me…

and

From the public’s perspective, Tiger is working with a handicap.

I do like Tiger. I like him a lot. Not because of what happened in his marriage… that was a huge disaster! And his behavior was clearly unacceptable and is repulsive to me. The world loved this man before his fall. Many idolized him… me included. I have had other sports idols too… name the sport and I can rattle off my idol. I need to guard myself against this tendency.

I like Tiger because he is the stuff that stories of Biblical proportions are made of. Tiger’s story to date is sordid. I’m not sure that I would want him anywhere near my daughters. Would I like to see him at my church? Heck yea! He could even come to our mainstream service, sit in the middle, and feel the love. I would even sit with him!

Tiger is in the public eye and is judged to a different standard than other people. That’s sad. Comes with the territory you say? Hmmm, I’m thinkin’ that’s a bit misguided. So what does the Bible say, you might ask? I’ll have to come back to my thoughts on that one at another time…

Golf’s a game that requires talent, hard work and one that requires mental focus. So what’s changed in Tiger’s world of golf? He’ll always have the talent, and appears to be working hard at it, even through some health issues. Mental focus? I believe this goes down deeper into his “wholeness,” if you will. Again, I don’t really know Tiger but would have to imagine that mental focus breaks down when the deeper link between heart, mind and soul is not right.

My takeaway:

  • Tiger is simply another man living in a fallen world.
  • From the public’s eye, Tiger is now a man with a past… and lives with a handicap.
  • Tiger is the sort of story that has the potential to inspire others to Biblical proportions.

one question remains: Where will Tiger go from here?

I’m sincerely praying the very best for him, and hope that you will too.