Why Tiger Woods Needs a Big 2013

Courtesy of Total Pro Sports

Tiger Woods is the man solely responsible for making the game of golf what it is today. He single handedly invoked a mass interest in the game of golf via his astounding play, his brashness, and his youthfulness. Golf had simply never seen anything like Tiger before. He was this egomaniacal, eccentric man who dominated the game of golf over the course of the better part of a decade the way no one has ever dominated a sport before. Watching him go to work was absolutely masterful, and he made the game of golf something that more people could appreciate.

Tiger burst onto the scene in 1996, and in 1997 he became the youngest player to ever win the Masters at the age of 21. Not only did he win the Masters, he blew away the competition winning by a then-record 12 strokes en route to what would wind up becoming the most magnificent and encapsulating PGA career of any golfer, ever.

Not only was Tiger the youngest to achieve Masters glory and don the famous green jacket, but he also become the youngest golfer to win a career grand slam, and the youngest to 50 career Tour wins. Additionally, he's one of only two golfers to garner a career grand slam 3 times, the other being the one and only Jack Nicklaus.

Following his early successes, Tiger became a household name and recognizable figure throughout the world. A young, black golfer was not something that had ever been the norm, but Tiger was simply rewriting every facet of the golf record book. He's gone on to end the PGA season as the money leader a record 9 times, win the Player of the Year award a record 10 times, win 14 major championships (second only to Nicklaus' 18), and become the only golfer to win each major by at least 5 strokes. Simply put, once Tiger Woods entered the realm of the professional golf world it would never, ever be the same.

With Tiger's continued success came continued fame and glory, he signed lucrative contracts with the likes of Nike, Gatorade, Gillette, and EA Sports. The latter of which still bears his name and image on their annual golf video game entitled "Tiger Woods PGA Tour". The legend of one Eldrick "Tiger" Woods was something to truly behold and it was continuing its uphill climb towards him becoming recognized as potentially one of the single greatest athletes to play any sport, in any time period. Due to his rapid ascension to superstardom, the interest in the game of golf was reaching heights that had never even been dreamt of. Young children were darting to golf courses to become the next Tiger, and television ratings were skyrocketing to numbers unheard of. He is such a renowned figure that him simply participating drew the likes of casual fans and diehards to the TV screen just to watch history happen.

It seemed that Tiger was invincible. Everyone loved him and he was turning the game of golf into something much more modern. He had no qualms with swearing, breaking clubs, and screaming with exuberance, thus reversing the old notion of golf being a "gentleman's game", and people looked past it because it was Tiger. He ran the show.

Following his now infamous infidelity scandal which erupted in late 2009, Tiger had briefly fallen off the face of the Earth. He suffered through a split with his wife, losing millions in endorsements, and watching his brand become somewhat of a joke. After spending a record-breaking 281 days atop the World Golf Rankings as the number 1 golfer in the world, Tiger saw his stock plummet as his golf game declined greatly upon his return to the Tour and at one point, he fell to number 58 in the world. A number that would have seemed wildly inconceivable a mere 6 months prior.

Courtesy of Guardian News

But Tiger regained his stroke over time, and has now risen back to number 2 in the world once again. He still has yet to win a major since his remarkable, 5-round effort in the 2008 US Open while he essentially played on one leg. Yet despite that, it doesn't quite feel like Tiger is done. In order for that to be true, Tiger needs a big year in 2013. He needs to prove his doubters wrong and show that he is, still, the single most talented golfer that has ever swung the sticks. Towards the end of the 2012 tour, you could see glimpses of Tiger rounding into shape, winning 3 PGA tour events and regaining a little bit of that swagger that made him such an enticing figure. But Woods must continue this success into 2013, and show he can still play.

However, in order for 2013 to be a real success, Tiger must win a major. To go another full calendar year without winning that elusive 15th major that he's been searching for since 2008 would be an absolute shame. It would be demoralizing for Tiger, and it would hurt his credibility among both avid and casual golf fans. If he fails to win a major for the 5th consecutive year, many would chalk Tiger up as being done professionally and turn their eyes to the new apple of the golf world's eye, Rory McIlroy. If Tiger wants people to still see him as the greatest golfer in the world, he must win a major or two, and defeat McIlroy in the process. Otherwise, Rory could go on to have another year like he did in 2012, and that'll be all she wrote for Tiger.

It's likely that in 20 years Tiger will still be revered as the greatest golfer ever, but if he falls off the cliff enough to officially pass the torch to McIlroy in 2013, he'll become an afterthought for the present. He'll be recognized as the player who could have, and should have, passed Jack for the most majors, and he should've done it in a breeze. Sure, he could win a few more events and eventually pass Sam Snead as the most decorated golfer of all-time, but it won't mean as much as passing Nicklaus' record.

In order for Tiger to be the greatest who ever lived, he must have a bounce back year and show the world he's not done yet. If he falters people will wonder how much greater the career of the world's greatest golfer could have been, and that'll be a question that lingers for eternity.