Staying on course

Admittedly a Tiger fan, I found myself cheering for John Daly as I watched the World Championships. Though he was two up with three holes to go on the last day—a position any golfer would relish going into the homestretch of the tournament—he did not win it.

This broke my heart, and I believe Tiger’s too. As he himself said, he did not want to win it this way.

How such things happen and why they do, has always been a riddle to me. I may not be able to find the answer within my lifetime but it always gives me pleasure when I see such a situation, to give it a try.

The World Championships that was held at Harding Park in San Francisco last week was the setting.

Let us take a look at the main characters who set the stage: Tiger Woods and John Daly.

Tiger has been known since Day One to be totally committed to the game of golf. He has and will do everything he possibly can to improve his game and in doing so he has taken golf to a level that very few have reached. His ability to focus and deliver when the need arises in my opinion is a reflection of how he has achieved what is known as the body/mind connection. This does not necessarily translate into winning all the time but it certainly has given him a definite edge over the entire field.

When he is on, one would have to humbly admit and say that he is unstoppable.

In the World Championships, though two strokes down coming into the last three holes, he birdied the 16th and parred to force Daly into a play-off.

Daly, on the other hand, is a product of pure talent amounting to almost genius. The speed at which he comes through the ball and execute his tremendously powerful and long shots is only made possible because of his gifted hands. They have to catch up somehow.

It is known in the golfing circles that this guy has strayed from the path— i.e., alcoholism and caffeine bingeing,—but he has put himself through painful rehab. Now with a new lease on life, and putting a lot of hard work into his game, here is where we find him today—leading Tiger Woods, the Number One player in the world, by two shots with three holes to play.

As I mentioned earlier, this is a position I believe others in the field dream of.

Though Tiger is definitely capable of performing the miraculous, the pressure was now on him. But what happened was that JD could not hold it together and call it what you like, he three putted two very crucial holes. This ended in handing over the tournament to Woods on the 17th hole and on the second hole of the sudden death play-off.

Needless to say, Tiger was a marvel to watch. Yet, despite all the drama on the last day, I still feel that JD is to be admired and congratulated, not just for leading the tournament for three days but also for reaching the point of putting himself in a position to beat the world Number One.

After all that he has been through his entire life, in my opinion this proves that not staying on course as he had does not always mean the end of the world for everyone. However, it is one’s strength and determination that will determine if he will manage to find his way back at all. Daly clearly showed that he had it in him and yet when it came down to the final stretch, the steam sort of ran out. (In golf, it is in putting that one has to achieve complete focus and mind/body connection)

The question now is: Is one who strays from the path guaranteed a comeback if he tries hard and is fully determined to succeed? Or is the degree to which he falls out of the path a determining factor in whether he can make a come back at all or not?

I somehow tend to think that one’s determination to make a comeback can only go so far. For my part, I guess this will forever remain pure speculation.

As I watched the tournament unfold and conclude, I saw how we all actually have both a Tiger and a John within us.

Have we not all been idealistic at some point in our lives and worked hard and sacrificed much in an attempt to achieve our life-long dreams? Have we also not all strayed from the path toward achieving what we think we can in an attempt to search for another way?

It comes in stages and it leaves in stages.

I think both are necessary to have up to a certain point in order to create a balanced life. The degree to which either is carried out and how far we want to take it is what will eventually spell the difference.

The choice is ours.

* * * I would like to thank all those who phoned me and sent text messages regarding my column last week entitled Winning At All Costs. I learned that Father Boyd used it in their daily homily for the Letran Admin. It came as a pleasant revelation to see how many of us -—Archers and not, still believe in the values held long ago. Though my article was not about the ineligible player being used by La Salle, the truth about this issue is slowly beginning to surface. Let us not allow it die a natural death as we often see happening to issues of great importance and relevance in our country today. I do not think that negligence nor ignorance is an acceptable excuse. It is my hope that La Salle and all its school officials decide to take the moral ground and lead by example. Let us keep watch and make sure that we give this very painful issue its due so that we can all learn from it and thus prevent the same from happening again.