In every sport, new athletes come forward who redefine the sport by upping the standards of competition and pushing the limits.

Over the past few days, one such individual has accomplished such a feat. He has broken records and barriers and has brought more attention to the game in the process.

The man is Tiger Woods. He is the youngest ever to win the Masters, as well as the first person of color to win one of golf’s major championships.

At the time of the writing of this column, Woods was teeing off for the final round of the Masters, leading the pack with an unheard of 15 under par, with second place trailing by nine strokes.

He is leaving golfing greats like Tom Kite and Fred Couples in the dust.

Woods was well on his way at the beginning of today’s round to break a 37-year-old record of 17 under par set by Jack Nicklaus.

What is Woods’ secret? A lot of credit is due to his upbringing. Woods was introduced to the sport at the early age of three. He spent his time eating, sleeping and golfing. It has paid off. Since then, he has been a three-time U.S. Amateur champion, and has landed a rather lucrative deal with Nike, to which he has been holding up his end of the deal rather well.

Woods proves that form prevails over brawn. At 165 pounds, Woods is one of the smallest guys on the fairway.

But you wouldn’t know it from the yardage he gets off a swing.

He pulls out his wedge more than most, because that is all he needs after the initial drive to get on the green.

Woods intimidates his competition with his composure. He is described as a no-pulse, no-choke, cold-blooded finisher.

Woods leaves many men, some more than twice his age, fighting for second. Here is a quote from the Sunday papers:

“There is no chance. We are all human beings here. There is no chance humanly possible that Tiger Woods is going to lose this tournament. No way,” Colin Montgomerie said.

Montgomerie’s quote sums up the feelings of all of those who trail Woods.

Woods is the individual that was needed to revive the sport of golf. A sport that was dying because its following is considered to be the retired, white male. A sport that was getting a bad rep because O.J. Simpson has been seen frequenting the public links.

Woods has brought golf increased attention, making many shed their stereotypes of the game. Even more amazing, it appears that TV ratings for golf are on the rise. Hopefully, Woods will end the jokes about watching golf on the tube.

Thanks to Woods, golf is in a renaissance.

---

RORY FLAHERTY is a senior in construction engineering from LeMars.