I have to admit that I was surprised by the Vanity Fair article on Tiger Woods, ‘Tiger in the Rough’. The details paint a very interesting picture of his dual life and how his image was so perfectly managed by his handlers (the specific content of the article must mean that they are confident in accuracy, or they would not risk the lawsuit). The summary captures it all:

In the end it was the age-old clash of image versus reality, the compartmentalization of two different lives that inevitably merge at some certain point, whoever you are. He exhibited the same superhuman confidence off the golf course that he exhibited on it, apparently convinced he would never be caught despite the stupid sloppiness at the end—text messages, voice-mail messages. He deluded himself into thinking he could be something that he wasn’t: untouchable. The greatest feat of his career is that he managed to get away with it for so long in public, the bionic man instead of the human one who hit a fire hydrant.

The Cheap Seats surprised me again with an old quote of what his dad thought he was:

But what makes it such a spectacular fall from grace — and probably a bit unfair — is just how perfect the aura of Tiger has been for more than a decade.

"Please forgive me…but sometimes I get very emotional…when I talk about my son…. My heart…fills with so…much…joy…when I realize…that this young man…is going to be able…to help so many people…. He will transcend this game…and bring to the world…a humanitarianism…which has never been known before. The world will be a better place to live in…by virtue of his existence…and his presence…. I acknowledge only a small part in that…in that I know that I was personally selected by God himself…to nurture this young man…and bring him to the point where he can make his contribution to humanity…. This is my treasure…. Please accept it…and use it wisely…. Thank you."

When your dad talks about you like this, as Earl Woods did to Sports Illustrated back in 1996, you’re either going to fail to meet these oh-so-modest expectations OR have a religion founded in your name.

In the end, it all comes down to that old rule of ‘whiter than white’. If you say you are one thing firmly – to everyone, are not willing to take feedback – acting above it all and then act in another way, eventually it will catch up with you.

This tumble from grace is just as big as others. The difference is, so many people believed it. One could argue, that the game of golf for the last 15 years has been built on it.