Will fatherhood affect Tiger's on-course performance?
The lead story on TigerWoods.com has nothing to do with the recent U.S. Open or the upcoming British. In fact, it has nothing to do with golf:
"Elin and I are delighted to announce the birth of our daughter, Sam Alexis Woods," Tiger wrote on the Web site. "Sam was born early Monday morning, June 18th. Both Elin and Sam are doing well and resting peacefully. We want to thank our doctors and the hospital staff for all their dedication and hard work. This is truly a special time in our lives and we look forward to introducing Sam to our family and friends over the next few weeks. We thank everyone for their well wishes and continued respect of our privacy."
Although Woods likely won't answer questions about the baby until the next time he tees it up at an event, Jason Sobel and Bob Harig proffer a few reasons fatherhood shouldn't affect Tiger Woods the golfer very much.
Harig: I have to admit, this one came as a bigger surprise than Tiger's making just a single birdie in the final round of the U.S. Open. Without all the details yet, it sure leaves open the door to many questions. Did Tiger have any idea that his wife, Elin, was due any day? Did he have to scramble from Pittsburgh to Orlando to arrive in time? What if there had been a playoff Monday?
Sobel: Yeah, just call it Tiger's Phil Mickelson moment. All that was missing was Angel Cabrera's grabbing Woods by the cheeks, screaming, "There's nothing like being a father!" like Payne Stewart did to Mickelson at Pinehurst in '99. But really, congratulations to Tiger and Elin on their firstborn child. Here's guessing she'll be able to pull a Michelle Wie-like Nike contract in, oh, 18 years or so.
Harig: And like Mickelson, Tiger apparently would have been in the position of having to disqualify himself before a Monday playoff began. The big talk at Pinehurst that year was all about Mickelson's beeper and how he would leave in a heartbeat if Amy was going into labor. The difference here is that none of us thought Elin was this close. The timing is amazing.
Sobel: That's just the way it goes for Tiger: Even when he loses, he wins. Now all the speculation about whether he'll miss the British Open -- I don't think he's had a news conference in six months in which he wasn't asked some form of a question about his availability for Carnoustie -- can be tossed out the window, as he'll certainly be around to compete for his third consecutive title.
Harig: And depending on how much -- or how little -- sleep he gets in the next few days, he might even play next week in the Buick Open, which he rarely has skipped. And this probably will put to rest the doubts about his showing for his own tournament in Washington, D.C., the new AT&T National.
Sobel: Not that any of that is foremost in his mind right now. Nor is losing the U.S. Open on Sunday by one stroke. I'm sure the pain of failing to secure his 13th major championship subsided when Elin had the baby Monday. Of course, now he'll have to deal with questions and innuendo about whether he'll be as great a player now that he's a father -- the same way he dealt with such rhetoric before getting married.
Harig: All he has to do is point to the man he's chasing, Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear started having kids before he won his first major in 1962. The last of Jack and Barbara's five children was born when Jack was just two years older than Tiger is now. By the way, Jack went out and won his next start, the 1973 PGA Championship.
Sobel: Many people thought Tiger would find less success after he married Elin in October 2004, but it has been quite the opposite. Since then, he has competed in 10 majors, with four victories and five top-5 finishes. He says marriage only made him more focused on his goals; I don't see why fatherhood wouldn't do the same.
Harig: It should have no effect on him, really, other than maybe to curtail his schedule even more. Tiger will find joy in playing for somebody else. Nicklaus has said that it will be a big motivating factor for Woods for his child to be able to see him excel.
Sobel: Nicklaus also never once missed a major while his children were being born and growing up, which might be as impressive a run as his 18 career titles. Five children? At least there's one number of Jack's that Tiger isn't passing anytime soon.
