The facts about the Tiger Woods situation are now obvious:

By Herschel  Caldwell

Tiger was involved in a one car accident in front of his home, suffered minor injuries and was cited for careless driving and fined by the Florida law authorities.

Tiger withdrew from his own tournament (the Chevron Challenge), citing injuries from the accident as his reason.

Speculation and rumor began to surface about the cause of the accident being Tiger’s reported sexual encounters with numerous women.

Tiger issued a statement on his website indicating he had failed to live up to his own values and admitting to “unnamed transgressions.”

No less than 12 women have come forth to claim that they had ongoing affairs with Woods in the past three years.

Tiger has issued yet another statement confessing infidelity and announcing his intent to take an “indefinite break” from professional golf.  There’s more speculation that the break could be up to two  years, depending on how long it takes him and his family to gain perspective and heal.

Some of Tiger’s fellow professional golfers came forward to express their views.  PGA Professional Jesper Parnivik’s comments were “damming” as he lamented over introducing a young Elin to Tiger years ago, and now wishes him further pain.  Conversely, John Daly expressed disappointment at hearing negative comments from other PGA Tour players and called on the press to cut Tiger “some slack.”  Famed golfer Jack Nicklaus says that he believes this situation to be none of the public’s business; that it is a matter to be played out privately among the Woods’ themselves.

As publisher of Minority Golf Magazine I have had numerous calls from around the country, asking my opinion and warning me to “tread carefully” and not defend Tiger over this issue. While that is in no way my intent, I do plan to call things as I see them.

Tiger Woods has given the sport of golf a popularity that it has never known in its history. The riches Tiger has brought to golf tours and tour players are astounding—and both have enormously benefitted. Records indicate the PGA Tour has enjoyed a near 700% increase in revenues and prize money since Woods turned professional in 1996 during the Milwaukee Open. The players? Those golfers making a million dollars or more increased over 7000 per cent.  Not a bad payday from my perspective.

The minority golf community has benefitted as well in having a Person of Color as the greatest golfer in the world.  Tiger’s emergence and eventual dominance sparked great interest among minorities in golf—some of whom would never have taken up the game. As a result of Tiger’s participation, hundreds of junior golf programs sprang up across the country to educate, train and equip young minority golfers. Woods himself has been a significant contributor in birthing young golfers; Through his own efforts as well as that of the PGA’s First Tee program. It was hoped that young minority players would “catch the fever” and follow in his giant steps to learn, play and master a sport that had historically denied them entry for nearly 130 years.

Yet one additional fact—for which Tiger can’t be blamed – remains:  in the near-14 years since Tiger turned professional not one African American has earned his or her LPGA or PGA Tour Card—let alone won a tournament at that level of play. 

We continually hear the same cry from the minority community about the lack of sponsors and development money for promising minority golfers. That, in and of itself, is accurate because golf is not an inexpensive sport. However, in a careful review of  thousands of minority junior programs over a thirty year period,  one could rationally ask, “Why hasn’t there been another African American male or female to ‘make it’ on the LPGA or the PGA Tours?”   Where are the minority golfers? Now that Tiger has literally and figuratively taken himself out of play, who in the minority community can step up to the bar to represent John Shippen, Ted Rhodes, Charlie Sifford, Jim Dent, Calvin Peete, Jim Thorpe and and yes,  Tiger Woods in his absence?  Sadly, the answer right now is no one.

Next month, Minority Golf Magazine online will begin a series of articles and conferences around the country to begin to address those questions.

Now, as truths of all the allegations unfold, we believe that Tiger and his family should be left alone to work through these matters. Tiger and Elin will then come out on the other side of this situation stronger together or  stronger separately—in either case the choice should be theirs. Tour players and writers have generally been very supportive of Tiger’s decision to step away from the game for a while.  We at Minority Golf Magazine also support that decision and trust that Tiger in due time will, as he stated, re-emerge as a better husband and father—and a stronger player.

While the game of golf can survive without a Tiger Woods, the past 13 years have shown that both golf and Tiger prosper well together—and that is a fact no one can dispute.