Arnold Palmer Invitational 2012: Tiger Woods Win Would Secure Public Redemption

For the superstar golfer now hoping to end his PGA Tournament drought, the 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational is helping Tiger Woods change the entire scope of his career.

While few not named Charlie Sheen have had more troubles the past few years in the public eye than Woods, getting back into doing what he does best is exactly what the athlete needed. Where Sheen was forced to abandon his hit show, Two and a Half Men, and look to roast shows instead, Woods is back on the course and proving what made him a relevant American name to begin with.

Woods, who has already won the Arnold Palmer Invitational six times to date, currently leads by one stroke after three rounds of play. With 205 strokes, Woods has the advantage over Northern Irish golfer Graeme McDowell.

Both golfers are set to tee off at 2:05 p.m. today. To date, Woods has been under par in every round. History is on Tiger’s side, as his clutch play has been a part of his identity since he was young. Few would question the validity of his elite background; Woods has led after three rounds 39 times in his career, and he has only lost in two of those opportunities.

Since coming out of his much-needed break from professional sports, Woods has yet to show up like the old Tiger Woods and win a PGA Tournament. His closest previous effort was at the 2012 Honda Classic, where Woods lost to Rory McIlroy by two strokes. Woods ended up tying Tom Gillis for second place in the tournament.

Everyone in America with a television knows about the downfall of Tiger Woods in the public eye, and everyone knows the struggles that he has faced to regain relevance.

The Woods’ story was juicy and shocking and everything that one would hope to extract from a personality as compelling as Tiger’s, but consumers quickly forget that Woods was a man the entire time. When talking about Woods, we were always talking about someone’s life. While his athletic achievement elevated him to an inhuman level of abilities beyond our wildest comprehensive abilities, he was still an emotional, walking, talking human being.

No one in his or her right moral mind would condone Tiger’s actions as acceptable in any manner. Adultery is an indecent act, and Woods is not a role model by the example of his behavior. When raising my kids, I would never point to Woods as what the authority figure on the “right way to act” would be. Woods made several mistakes, and he will spend the rest of his life coping with many of them.

I would, however, use his resilience as a way that one can defy the popular narrative and cultural opinion on an issue.

Headlines including the words “redemption” and “Tiger Woods” have been in the mainstream media since December of 2009, and continued periodically, sprinkled from April of 2010 onward until today. In all of that time, however, Woods has yet to win a PGA Tour event. At this point, it's been 30 months, and the last time that Woods won a PGA sponsored event was in September of 2009, at the BMW Invitational.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational is the last opportunity that Woods will have until he enters the Masters in April. Woods has never won the Master’s without winning a tournament earlier in the year. This can be a stepping-stone for Woods; the first of many needed in order to regain relevance in popular media.

Woods will never be the same “Tiger Woods” of old, and he’s losing a step at his older age. Now 36 years old, Woods could become less popular than Rory McIlroy in the coming years. His career could be nearing an end, but his unfinished business proves there’s still much more to do.

For Woods to normalize his image, he needs to win. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is a great place to start and if he’s able to hang on, this could be the way to go for Woods.  

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