The Inspiration of Tiger Woods (Reprise)

On the one-year anniversary of Tiger's automobile accident outside his family's Isleworth home, here is an updated version of the original article written on March 18th, 2010.

The attached video is maintained in its original broadcast.

Tiger Woods came back to the game of golf at the 2010 Masters where he finished T4, five strokes behind the winner Phil Mickelson.

It was in this very room at TPC Sawgrass where he addressed the world on February 19th, 2010.

The Sunset room aptly named as Tiger, in an honest and forthright manner, put closure to his past life.

The Tiger of tales unimaginable three months earlier is a Tiger in transition moving forward now.

With the sunset behind him it is only a matter of time for a new sun to rise in his life.

This opening of a new dawn will likely carry him to new heights both in his personal life and professional golfing life.

What then is the inspiration of Tiger Woods?

We know it to be true that his parents Kultida and Earl Woods were a great inspiration to Tiger throughout his life.

We know it to be true that Tiger's Buddhist faith is an inspiration to him.

We know it to be true that his wife Elin and children Sam Alexis and Charlie Axel are an inspiration to him.

We know the game of golf has been an inspiration to Tiger too and that he wants to become more respectful of the royal and ancient pastime when he returns to championship golf.

Sometimes life is planned and sometimes unexpected fate reveals a deeper insight into the inspiration in one's life.

Tiger chose TPC Sawgrass as the location for his talk.

Others may have selected this room but one thing is for sure about what happened right here on February 19th, 2010.

Fate intervened to reveal a foundation and source of inspiration in Tiger's life for the entire world to see though the world may have missed it.

The main camera failed during Tiger's talk and the backup camera came from the left side of Tiger Woods.

The camera angle showed Tiger's mother seated in the front row but also showed something else in the background.

This door right here.

A special door made by JELD-WEN, a proud sponsor of the PLAYERS.

Carved out in wood in this door is the Stadium Course's signature hole—the island green 17th.

This hole has great significance in the genesis of Tiger Woods.

It was right there in the 1994 U.S. Amateur that Tiger made a 12-foot putt to take the lead for the first time in the final match. He won the first of his three consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships right here at TPC Sawgrass.

It was right there again on that island green on Saturday in the 2001 PLAYERS that Tiger made a 60-foot triple-breaking birdie putt that Gary Koch described to Johnny Miller as being "better than most." That one stroke meant victory for Tiger in his dramatic PLAYERS Championship.

As a future Hall of Famer, Tiger's lineage extends to the very origins of the game of golf.

Old Tom Morris, Willie Park Sr., Walter Travis, James Braid, Harry Vardon, J.H. Taylor, Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw and Payne Stewart among others tie Tiger to the very origin of the game in Scotland over five centuries ago.

As Tiger looks forward in 2011 to the green grass of Augusta National he may remember what Bobby Jones did there in the aftermath of the Great Depression.

Not a wealthy man at the time but a man with a name and reputation, Bobby Jones believed in his dream and acted upon it at a time when from a worldly sense it didn't make sense at all.

Bobby's successful dream was to build a golf course and host a tournament for the ages.

Golfers and people who don't golf alike believe in the words Tiger used right here in this room: "It's not what you achieve in life that matters; it's what you overcome."

We marveled at Tiger's ability to overcome intense competitors, difficult golf courses and intense pressure in winning 71 PGA TOUR events including 14 majors.

We surely look forward to and need his inspiring role model of someone who overcomes difficult challenges that we all face in one way or another at one time or another in our lives.

We're inspired by a Steve Stricker who earned the Comeback Player of the Year in two consecutive years.

We want Tiger to become the Comeback Person of the Century!

Note: No Comeback Player of the Year award was given by the PGA TOUR in 2009.

Tiger played well at Augusta National. No true golfer wants his fame or fortune to interfere with a fair opportunity to surpass the 18 major championships of Jack Nicklaus.

Tiger returned to TPC Sawgrass and withdrew on the seventh hole of his fourth round due to a lingering neck injury.

At the 2011 PLAYERS we hope a spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically healthy Tiger Woods speaks with his clubs out there at the Stadium Course and not in this room. 

Tiger, you were always "better than most," and still are.

This is Andy Reistetter at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Good golfing and good living my friends,

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer as well as a Broadcast Assistant for The Golf Channel and CBS Sports. He spends time on all four major American golf tours—the PGA TOUR, Champions, Nationwide and LPGA Tours.

Reistetter resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

A lifetime golfer, Andy enjoys volunteering at the World Golf Hall of Fame and pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it.

E-mail [e-mail] or check out his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net.