How Well Will Tiger Woods Play Golf in 2010?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.
- Quoted from “Marmion” by Sir Walter Scott in 1808

It’s impossible to know what effect this public humiliation regarding his philandering lifestyle will have on the golf game of Tiger Woods. This golfing ground has never been tilled. We’re talking about the greatest player in the history of the game, in his prime, facing voluminous personal revelations that are mind-boggling. People have jumped off of buildings for less. It would be one thing to deal with this situation in relative privacy. No such luck here, when the world’s most famous sportsman conducts his life’s quest in front of thousands of observers daily. Be forewarned, they will not all be silent.

Now we know of the marital discord that surrounded Woods’ major championship efforts in 2009. It is no surprise that he missed the cut in the Open Championship at Turnberry. It is no surprise that he did the unthinkable and surrendered a final-round lead at the PGA Championship at Hazeltine. Even the most choke-proof player that golf has ever seen found it difficult to achieve his normal Zen state of mind in light of such personal turmoil. Yet the behavior continued, only shrouded in even more secrecy.

Failure itself is relatively easy to handle. Just accept it, work harder, one foot in front of the other, improve, cheerio, pip pip and all that. But recovery from this situation has become about how Tiger Woods conducts his entire life. You must realize the sheer volume of deception that goes into the type of behavior in which he has engaged for years. True, his many business interests have provided a solid cover for these sexual exploits and he has facilitators in his inner circle. But at the end of the day, the lies had to be routinely told by him to his family - the ones who get hurt the most. Woods may or may not really want to change that. Here’s one vote that, hopefully, the soul searching is already underway.