DEREK LAWRENSON: Day Two of the Torment of Tiger Woods brought revelations that slackened the jaw and numbed the heart.
Day Two of the Torment of Tiger Woods brought revelations that slackened the jaw and numbed the heart.
If you thought that the now infamous police mugshot offered a window into the shattered life of golf’s fallen superstar, then what followed on Tuesday represented chilling proof that all the money in the world cannot buy contentment.
Yes, we knew it would be difficult adjusting to reality after a world of private jets, loose women and major championship victories seemingly on tap.
But who could have imagined it would reach such depths as the greatest athlete of his generation being found all alone a shade after 2am, fast asleep at the wheel, the engine running, the brake lights illuminated, in the right hand lane of an empty highway, with the next exit presumably signposted Oblivion.
The police report into the arrest of Tiger Woods is truly extraordinary. It was like reading the lyrics to one of those country music songs where the protagonist just cannot escape a terrible fate.
All the while you had to remind yourself you were reading about Tiger, not some addicted loser up to his eyeballs on prescription drugs.
He wasn’t drinking, there was that. The sources at showbiz website TMZ, who claimed officers had smelled alcohol on Tiger’s breath, are clearly not as good as they think they are. But that was where the good news ended.
Over the past 20 years, there must have been at least one moment in the life of every golfer on the planet where they wished they could have been Tiger Woods. Reading the driver’s statement of the police report, no wonder they say be careful what you wish for.
This really is one paragraph you read and weep at what he has become: ‘Woods stated that he was coming from Los Angeles, California, from golfing. Woods stated that he did not know where he was.
‘Woods had changed his story of where he was going and where he was coming from. Woods asked how far from his house he was.
‘It should be noted that Woods was heading south bound away from Hobe Sound (where he does, in fact, live) . Takes several prescriptions.’
Does he ever. Woods told the officer he was taking four different kinds of drug: Solarex, Vicodin, Torix and Vioxx, but had not taken Vioxx this year.
What a desperate picture that conjures up, of what he has been reduced to after all those knee and back operations in an effort to find some solace.
No wonder he was asleep at the wheel. No wonder, when he was eventually woken up, his speech was described as ‘extremely slow and slurred, mumbled, confused.’
In describing Woods’ attitude the officer wrote a heart-wrenching verdict: ‘Co-operative as much as possible, very droopy, extremely sleepy, hard to keep eyes open and hard to walk.’
For someone who was present at all of Tiger’s great golfing moments, it was also hard to read on. The descriptions of what happened when the officer asked Woods to carry out certain tasks were truly pitiful:
1. Walk and Turn: Could not maintain starting position. Missed heel to toe each time. Stepped off line several times. Used arms for balance. Did not return. Re-explained instructions and again did not maintain starting position, stepped off line, used arms for balance, also stopped walking to steady self.
2. One Leg Stand: Did not maintain starting position, did not raise leg off the ground six inches, placed foot down several times.
3. Finger To Nose: Did not maintain starting position, explained instructions multiple times to which he stated he understood, did not return arms to side after touching nose.
Even before all these gobsmacking details, Woods’ latest downfall was the talk of America. The New York Post cleared their front page and came up with a headline that must have had journalists swooning in admiration the world over: ‘DUI of the Tiger.’
Woods put out a statement late on Monday night in an effort to limit the damage but that was met instantly with incredulity, and particularly when it was revealed that his agent Mark Steinberg used exactly the same excuse when he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence a few years ago.
‘I understand the severity of what I did and take full responsibility for my actions, ‘ said Woods, in the statement. ‘I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved.
‘What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realise the mix of medications had affected me so strongly. I would like to apologise with all my heart to my family, friends and fans. I expect more from myself, too.’
The entire sorry saga raises so many questions of what has gone wrong and what can be done for Woods going forward.
He is due to appear in a Palm Beach courtroom on July 5 on the DUI charge but it is plain he needs to seek help as a matter of urgency. Who knows who his real friends are but it is time they stepped forward and reached out a hand.
Not only does he have to come clean with himself he has to do so with the general public as well. This is a terrible story but it is also one where the overwhelming emotion felt by people is one of sadness, not revulsion.
If Woods starts telling the truth and pulls back from the brink he will be amazed at how warm, supportive and forgiving people can be.
At the end of the day he played his chosen sport better than any man in history for a decade and more, generated such awe and pleasure along the way, and the vast majority want him to live out his life as happily as possible.
Surely nobody wants the lingering image of Tiger Woods in his veteran years to be of him all alone on the side of an empty highway, asleep at the wheel, his brake light illuminated and the engine running.
