In the wake of the sex scandals that have left Woods a virtual recluse for months, last weeks Masters was supposed to be the beginning of the way back for the fallen hero. Behind the return were a dedicated PR team that have guided him through his recent turmoil to deliver him to the Masters in what was billed as a triumphant return. But the reality of the story is far from the fairy tale Woods’ remaining sponsors would have hoped for.
In very basic terms for a man that has not played competitive golf for some six months, to be able to contend on such a brutal course as Augusta is a feat in itself. But contending was not nearly enough for Woods making known early his intention was to win. Alas his final day, with its ups and downs, moments of pure genius and foolery saw him finish the tournament in a commendable fourth. But what was the perception of the new Tiger and did he at times revert back to the man people associate with the scandal?
In the build up to the Masters Nike ploughed millions of dollars into adverts that showed a humble Tiger listening to words of wisdom from his departed father. It seems Woods’ father is the only person Woods is willing to answer to and the campaign was at first heralded as a stroke of genius utilising footage of the man regarded as Woods’ moral compass. Whilst the advert may have swayed fans desperate to forgive, his long suffering wife is said to have been less than impressed by the obvious and cheesy use of her (soon to be ex) father in law and could potentially be the last nail in the coffin that is their marriage.
This was seemingly the height in the PR effort that frankly has been less than stellar and tops off a catalogue of errors that, in my humble opinion, have made this situation ten times worse than it was. In the first instance Woods ridiculous first interview commending the efforts of his wife to free him from his crashed vehicle reeked of cover up and opened the floodgates for the press to dig deeper and the gold diggers to line up for their thirty pieces of silver. Subsequent denials and then confirmations and stories of huge payouts to potential tell tale women, have all piled on the agony for the Woods family. This culminated a couple of months ago with his presentation to the world, in front of his friends and family, where he admitted guilt in this matter. But even this was wooden and did little to assuage the anguish felt by fans who had been let down by their hero.
Finally, the Masters week was upon us and what we all expected was a triumphant return in which Woods would storm back and win the first major of the year and gain his way into the hearts of his millions of fans again. It was not to be however and the polished veneer of a new humble Tiger fell away at times as Woods allowed the arrogance associated with the old Woods to seep back into his performance. With a week that started with Woods fist punching crowd members, smiling more than I have ever seen him before and acknowledging the crowd as much as possible, it ended with him sloping off like a petulant child highlighted by his three putt on the 14th. It seems his PR efforts stop when he is not winning and even the eagle on the 15th could not elevate him from his sulking mood.
Let me clarify my position. I am one of those long standing fans who quite honestly could not care less about what he gets up to off the course. For me it’s all about his golf. I respect and understand his sullen nature at times as he is a consummate professional performing under difficult circumstances. He has never conducted himself as a celebrity. You rarely see him attend film premieres or falling out of clubs and that is a representation of his sportsman discipline. Granted, had that same discipline been applied to his love life then none of the last six months would have happened but they have.
With Woods on hiatus for the near future, his PR team will no doubt be dreaming up new ways of presenting brand Woods to the public once more. I just hope that they do a better job in the aftermath of the storm than they did in its eye.
In very basic terms for a man that has not played competitive golf for some six months, to be able to contend on such a brutal course as Augusta is a feat in itself. But contending was not nearly enough for Woods making known early his intention was to win. Alas his final day, with its ups and downs, moments of pure genius and foolery saw him finish the tournament in a commendable fourth. But what was the perception of the new Tiger and did he at times revert back to the man people associate with the scandal?
In the build up to the Masters Nike ploughed millions of dollars into adverts that showed a humble Tiger listening to words of wisdom from his departed father. It seems Woods’ father is the only person Woods is willing to answer to and the campaign was at first heralded as a stroke of genius utilising footage of the man regarded as Woods’ moral compass. Whilst the advert may have swayed fans desperate to forgive, his long suffering wife is said to have been less than impressed by the obvious and cheesy use of her (soon to be ex) father in law and could potentially be the last nail in the coffin that is their marriage.
This was seemingly the height in the PR effort that frankly has been less than stellar and tops off a catalogue of errors that, in my humble opinion, have made this situation ten times worse than it was. In the first instance Woods ridiculous first interview commending the efforts of his wife to free him from his crashed vehicle reeked of cover up and opened the floodgates for the press to dig deeper and the gold diggers to line up for their thirty pieces of silver. Subsequent denials and then confirmations and stories of huge payouts to potential tell tale women, have all piled on the agony for the Woods family. This culminated a couple of months ago with his presentation to the world, in front of his friends and family, where he admitted guilt in this matter. But even this was wooden and did little to assuage the anguish felt by fans who had been let down by their hero.
Finally, the Masters week was upon us and what we all expected was a triumphant return in which Woods would storm back and win the first major of the year and gain his way into the hearts of his millions of fans again. It was not to be however and the polished veneer of a new humble Tiger fell away at times as Woods allowed the arrogance associated with the old Woods to seep back into his performance. With a week that started with Woods fist punching crowd members, smiling more than I have ever seen him before and acknowledging the crowd as much as possible, it ended with him sloping off like a petulant child highlighted by his three putt on the 14th. It seems his PR efforts stop when he is not winning and even the eagle on the 15th could not elevate him from his sulking mood.
Let me clarify my position. I am one of those long standing fans who quite honestly could not care less about what he gets up to off the course. For me it’s all about his golf. I respect and understand his sullen nature at times as he is a consummate professional performing under difficult circumstances. He has never conducted himself as a celebrity. You rarely see him attend film premieres or falling out of clubs and that is a representation of his sportsman discipline. Granted, had that same discipline been applied to his love life then none of the last six months would have happened but they have.
With Woods on hiatus for the near future, his PR team will no doubt be dreaming up new ways of presenting brand Woods to the public once more. I just hope that they do a better job in the aftermath of the storm than they did in its eye.
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