Not a salacious view on the scandal. But more of a sporting view and economic view of the scandal concerning the PGA Tour and Baldrick. Here is CBS Sportlines' view......
Shotgun Start: Tiger's stumble dominated '09, but don't forget Tom
Presented by Epson
CBSSports.com staffers Steve Elling and Ross Devonport take a scattershot look at three compelling and timely topics in the game with 2009 in their rearview mirror.
Of all the allegations and revelations relating to the Tiger Woods scandal, is the link to the Canadian doctor potentially the worst of all?
Steve Elling ELLING: There has been plenty of howling on this front, and even Woods' own management firm snapped out of its coma to issue a stern rebuke. No question, Woods' decision to use a Canadian doctor linked to the smuggling of performance-enhancing drugs is astounding, an amazingly damaging choice. While I have pelted Woods harder than any other mainstream media outlet over his extra-marital affairs, it's important to remember there has not been a single shred of evidence that Woods is involved with HGH or any other performance-enhancing drug. If not for Woods' endorsement of the notion, in fact, there might not be any drug testing on the PGA Tour. It took Woods a decade to pack on 25 pounds of muscle. That's hardly a 'roid-like gain. Cheating on his wife is one thing. But I find it impossible to believe that Woods cheated in his workouts in order to gain a competitive edge -- if for no other reason, he simply doesn't need it. But based on the salacious allegations in his personal life, he doesn't get any benefit of doubt on any point at the moment, does he?
Ross Devonport DEVONPORT: Even if you remove homely pancake waitress Mindy Lawton from the list of Tiger's conquests, this doctor issue still pales in comparison to the damage his infidelity has done to his psyche, Elin and the sport of golf. He probably got the odd legal supplement here and there from this crooked doc, but the fact he managed to keep all his indiscretions hidden away from 99.9 percent of the world is going to make it hard for anyone to believe anything that comes out of his mouth for quite a while. Steroids aren't going to help you in golf much anyway, except maybe to assist someone in recovering a little more quickly from an injury. The only drug that might help is something to calm the nerves, like beta blockers or valium, which I have a feeling Tiger might have a decent supply these days given his off-course troubles. On the course, Tiger doesn't need anything more than the ice water that runs through his veins.
OK, guys, the various tour awards have been handed out, Q-school is complete and as of the Winter Solstice on Monday, we're finally gaining daylight with every flip of the calendar page. After a year marked by plenty of oddities, disappointment and controversy, give us your personal highlight from 2009. Then we can bury this season and move into a new decade.
Steve Elling ELLING: I'm not sure I want to look back for long, really. In retrospect, the highlight for me was the PGA Championship, which as the months passed, came to represent the beginning of the end of Tiger Woods' bulletproof image. He blew his first 54-hole lead at a major, losing to unheralded Y.E. Yang, who nine months previously had to go back to Q-school to regain his card. It capped an all-spoiler Grand Slam season, where none of the competitive or sentimental favorites was able to seal the deal. Just as he does at the moment, Woods seemed powerless to stop the assault, this time by Yang, whose hybrid in the 72nd hole was the clutch shot of the year in men's golf. Running into Yang the next day in the Minneapolis airport, after he waded through the security line with the rest of us, then posed for snapshots with American fans, made the magnitude of his moment even more apparent. A little guy had felled a giant. For Woods, for a variety of reasons, it might never be the same again.
Ross Devonport DEVONPORT: Just like the first question, this one's easy -- the Open Championship. OK, so, as a Brit, some would claim I'm a little biased here, but nothing in 2009 could top the story of 59-year-old Tom Watson contending at Turnberry, a mere 32 years after he won his second Claret Jug there. The old man was banging in putts from all over the place and teaching the youngsters a thing or two about links golf for three days before his unfortunate bogey on the 72nd hole that forced a playoff with eventual champ Stewart Cink. I remember Watson lining up that final putt and pulling for him more than I've pulled for anyone to make a putt in a long time. But for some reason, in the back of my mind I just knew he wasn't going to make it. That awful push stroke ranks up there in the worst-looking under-pressure shots of all time, and a chance at golf history was gone.
Will golf be damaged by the Woods scandal?
Steve Elling ELLING: PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem doesn't seem to think so, which is reason No. 1 to believe that the taint is palpable, if not permanent. Will the scandal result in fewer rounds played? Perhaps not. Will fewer dads direct their kids to the sport? Maybe, maybe not. The biggest damage relates to perception and reputation. Whether most folks believe it, even in this age of sarcasm and suspicion, golf has held itself to a higher standard, one of nobility and honesty compared to other big-league sports. Not to get preachy or sound overly naïve, but Woods has proved to be nothing like what we believed him to be off the course, and given that he's one of the few players casual fans can identify, it has to hurt the game. Woods was called the most famous sports figure in the world. Now he has become the globe's most infamous person, period. That's not good for any sport's rep. Is it the end of the innocence? It sure feels like it.
Ross Devonport DEVONPORT: Ah, now we get to the tough stuff. Golf has endured its fair share of scandals both on and off the course during its lengthy history, but Woods was seen as the untouchable one. My twisted mind has compared this mess to something like Mother Theresa being exposed as a child molester at the height of her charitable work. OK, maybe that's a little extreme, but you get my point. No one with the combination of success and squeaky-clean image has ever fallen harder or faster than this. While it's impossible to really predict a level of damage, only an idiot would speculate that nothing bad is going to come of Woods playing some extra holes, shall we say. I think trust will be the biggest issue now -- sponsors might think twice about spending extraordinary amounts of money to put their logo on players' shirts with the fear that they might do something stupid. And with several tournaments still trying to secure naming deals for the upcoming season, a lack of trust at this point can't be helping matters.
