The Earl of Woods

by uclawarren on May 4, 2006 1:33 PM CDT

I figure that there are a fair number of people on this site who are golf enthusiasts, so they may know more about this than I do. Why is the passing of Tiger Woods' father such a big deal? I don't mean any offense to the Woods family, but it is more a question of why media outlets don't make bigger stories of the passing of other star athletes' parents. Anyone know why this story is so much more important than, say, Pat Riley's mother dying recently, or Bobby Bonds, or any of the other athletes/coaches who lost siblings/parents? Is it just because of Tiger Woods' stature in the sports world, or is it something more specific about Earl Woods?

But what the hell do I know? I should just put a sock in it, or I'll be outta here like shit through a goose.

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Much better

Thanks

by Peter Bean on May 4, 2006 1:35 PM CDT reply actions

Earl Woods

Was ever present at Tiger's Major championships and was a big presence in the PGA tour because of his son. I kind of agree with you that it does seem a little odd, but the man was easy to respect. He was a Green Beret and served two stints in Vietnam. He was the reason why Tiger is such a good guy.

by GoHorns on May 4, 2006 2:14 PM CDT reply actions

The reason is...

because Earl Woods taught him how to play starting when Tiger barely knew how to stand up. He also went on the record saying that his son was going to surpass Jack Nicklaus as the greatest champion of all time. Fairly bold statement for a father to make when his son's not even a teenager. Golf is an invididual sport, and the person most repsonsible for Tiger's success (other than himself) has been his father Earl. I might also note that his Dad (at least in the past when he was healthy) was more likely and willing to talk about Tiger than Tiger was himself. The media often turned to Earl as an outlet for any piece of information they could get about Woods and his family.

by Michael Bean on May 4, 2006 3:47 PM CDT reply actions