Tiger Woods opened the door to the Golf Hall of Fame, a select group of stars that had been waiting for him since 1996, when he made his professional debut. His influence in this sport, surely the most transcendental figure in any activity, endowed him with all possible honors to belong to this constellation that began in 1974 with 11 legends the size of Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Hogan, Bobby Jones… and in which Seve Ballesteros was introduced in 1997 and Jos Mara Olazbal in 2009.
Accompanied by his whole family and his girlfriend Erica, her daughter Sam acted as master of ceremonies. The ease with which the 14-year-old girl handled herself on stage before a forum that included, among others, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, was surprised, talking about the most difficult moments, the accident 13 months ago in Los Angeles. “About a year ago you were stuck in a hospital bed in one of your worst moments and one of the scariest moments of your life and ours. We didn’t know if you would come home with two legs or not. Now you’re not just about to being inducted into the Hall of Fame, but you can stand on your own two feet. That’s why you deserve this, because you’re a fighter.”
Tiger broke down more than she did when referring to his late father Earl and his mother, whom he praised for the way he was brought up. “Without the sacrifices of Mom, who took me to all those junior golf tournaments, and Dad, who isn’t here, but instilled in me this work ethic to fight for what I believe in, I never would have made it,” he said.
Long agglutinating merits to be in the hall: the youngest Grand Slam winner (24 years old), record with Sam Snead (82) of victories on the PGA Tour; 15 greats, more than 600 weeks in front of the number 1. And being a black golfer, in a sport that in the past had undeniable racist traces.
“Inspired an entire generation. In addition to entertaining us all for 20 years and doing amazing things, he inspired the generation of gamers you’re seeing today. A lot of the 20- and 30-year-olds who are now at the top of the world grew up watching him and trying to copy him, and that’s why the level of the game is as high as it is right now,” said Jon Rahm, the first of a cascade of praise among which Gary Woodland gets the most hyperbole: “His triumph in Augusta in 1997 will have been seen 400 million times”.
