Tiger’s driving will be restricted to the golf course

Tiger Woods’ life continues to be haunted by the grandiose prediction of his late father. 

‘‘He’ll do more than any other person in history to change the course of humanity,” Earl Woods told us about his son.

You thought of that comment once more when Woods pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge in March in Florida and had his driver’s license suspended for five years.

So sad.

This man who could do very little wrong on a golf course seems doomed to do so much wrong off the course. Has it been bad luck or bad decisions? 

From the very start, Woods never had a place to hide. He was in the public eye from the age of 2, putting against Bob Hope on TV.

Tiger became the only person to win the US Amateur three years in a row, and of course he shook the foundations of the sport by winning the Masters at the age of 21.

If he wasn’t changing the course of humanity, he certainly was changing the course of the Royal and Ancient Game. 

Then came the injuries and surgeries and painkillers, some of which left him physically impaired. At times he might have been groggy because of the medications, but unfortunately that didn’t keep him out of his SUV.

In March, he was driving at a high rate of speed on a narrow road near his home and bumped a truck that had been slowing to turn into a driveway, and his car rolled over. 

He was cited for willful and wanton reckless driving. He pleaded not guilty to the original DUI charges against him. He then went to Switzerland for six weeks for treatment, returning to the United States in mid-May. He made his first public appearance since returning from treatment on June 23 when he introduced the PGA Tour’s plans to revamp its schedule for 2028.

Woods may no longer get behind the wheel, but surely he’ll have no trouble going from place to place.

You feel sorry for Tiger as well as for golf. He brought so much to the game and to sports in general. If he wasn’t the most famous American athlete for a period of time, he was close. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said, “Show me a hero, and I’ll write you a tragedy.” 

What’s happened to the hero named Tiger Woods may not be tragic, but certainly it is a disappointment. 

To see him play one more round at the Masters would be encouraging and fulfilling.