Let the Tiger Fawning Recommence

Tiger Woods is pretty damn good.  In case you haven't heard, he's coming back this week at the Accenture Match Play in Tucson, Arizona.  Before Woods' knee injury, surgery, rehab, and birth of his second child, the golf media pretty much only covered Woods.  Many golf fans love following other players, but the media is giving us Tiger 24/7.

Watch Golf Channel and I defy you to go 10 minutes without hearing a Tiger mention.

Read Sal Johnson's Golf Observer and see how many Tiger stories are being written.

Check out some of my golf blogging friends and how they welcomed Woods' return.

Hell, even I did a couple of posts on the subject.  One was to report rumors I had heard that Woods would return.  Then, a post to confirm it.  Then, not wanting to get too worked up about it, I posted a parody post of how Woods would save the American economy simply by returning.  Steve Elling did a post on CBSSports.com on the same day with the same premise, but his was serious.

Now, we're at the next stage.  It's time for the backlash against the Woods fawning.  Reuters writer Mark Lamport-Stokes has a piece in their Left Field blog about it, in which he links to my Tiger piece (though not in the way I had intended it to be read as funny; then again, am I funny?).

PGA Tour veteran Vijay Singh triumphed three times in five weeks to clinch the lucrative FedExCup and twenty-somethings Camilo Villegas of Colombia and American Anthony Kim each won twice on the U.S. circuit to break through into the top flight.

For many golfing purists, these stories were just as enjoyable as some of the stirring chapters already written out by Woods and, in many ways, much more refreshing.

I agree with Mark and I'm pretty sure this blog reflects that, as well as your comments on many golf stories.  Some of us may not like the FedEx Cup here, but the play of Vijay, Villegas, and Kim down the stretch was compelling and fun to watch.  I had a great time watching Lefty and Freddy over the weekend.  It's my hope that these players and others step up upon Woods' return.