Thompson was in Fort Worth this week to speak at TCU, before he headed to Augusta to attend the 2026 Masters. Along with Chuck Klosterman, Thompson is one of the writers who can write about anything from food to true crime<\/a> to golf. All of it is good.<\/p>\n Wright has written many words about Tiger, including a piece titled, \u201cThe Secret History of Tiger Woods,\u201d<\/a> published in 2016 that is the standard on the most popular golfer in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cTiger was the thing that made golf into F1. He turned the majors into the Super Bowl. And the zeitgeist,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI don\u2019t think modern golf needs to move on from Tiger Woods. Modern golf is Tiger Woods, and whatever is going to replace this will have to form organically on its own. I think that scares a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n No sport is more reliant on one figure than golf is with this broken down, busted man who has been devoured by fame.<\/p>\n Tiger is not in Georgia, but he\u2019s all over Augusta National<\/p>\n The focus during this Master\u2019s week at Augusta National should be on Scottie Scheffler<\/a> and the top players playing the world\u2019s most famous tournament, but instead the camera wants to be on the guy who recently flipped his SUV for the second time.<\/p>\n All of the world\u2019s greatest golfers combined are boring compared to Tiger and his now Elvis-like<\/a> descent. Watching a prodigy embarrass the world over 72 holes was riveting; equally captivating is following the same person be exposed by life, hubris and ego.<\/p>\n On March 27 in Jupiter, Fla., Tiger rolled his SUV, was charged with a DUI. That\u2019s his second.<\/a> He also wrecked his SUV in Feb. 2021. He\u2019s lucky he\u2019s not dead. He\u2019s lucky he didn\u2019t kill someone.<\/p>\n You\u2019re Tiger Woods. You can afford Uber Black. Or a driver. Or another Blonde.<\/p>\n Rather than play Augusta in an attempt to add to his green jacket closet, Tiger announced that he is \u201cstepping away.\u201d A judge allowed Tiger to leave the country to enter a treatment facility where he can have privacy.<\/p>\n Nearly all of the players present at Augusta National have been asked about Tiger, and their thoughts range from sympathy and support, to anger that he would again drive impaired. Their opinions about Tiger are more interesting than anything they will do on Amen corner.<\/p>\n Tiger Woods continues to follow Ben Hogan\u2019s path<\/p>\n Tiger is determined to emulate one of the best golfers who ever lived, former Fort Worth resident and renowned isolationist, Mr. Ben Hogan. In 1949, Hogan was famously involved in a near-fatal car crash<\/a> with a bus near El Paso.<\/p>\n Hogan suffered a broken rib, broken collarbone, a broken ankle and a double fracture of the pelvis. Sixteen months after the accident, he won the U.S. Open at Merion near Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Woods has come back to play despite countless surgeries, including several to his right leg that is likely permanently damaged, and now deals with a back that may be bad for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n While Hogan could retreat to his preferred anonymity in west Fort Worth, Tiger has no luxuries.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel incredibly sorry for him, and anybody who has a family member who has ever had serious back pain, or somebody who has had it themselves, understands that every day is a very delicate balance between being under-medicated and in so much pain that you can\u2019t go about your day,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a daily thing. He has torn himself to shreds trying to be Tiger Woods, and is trying to forever pick up the pieces and put them back together again.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if he was healthy, at 50 Tiger\u2019s best golfing days are behind him. He\u2019s eligible for the PGA Tour\u2019s<\/a> Champion\u2019s Tour, which is a soft way to say Tiger is old.<\/p>\n He will come back again, because golf is what he knows how to do. It\u2019s all he\u2019s done. Some athletes are better at moving on to their next phase, while countless others are lost when their bodies can no longer do the activity that gave him their identity, and their purpose.<\/p>\n We should have seen this coming; Tiger was raised to do one task, and he was better at it than anyone who has ever played the game. He was trained to play golf, not life.<\/p>\n Caught in this scenario is his sport that still needs him, busted parts and all, but would love nothing more than for the focus to be on the great players who are playing its most famous tournament.<\/p>\n As long as Tiger can walk, or even if he can\u2019t, that\u2019s where the camera wants to go. And it may be that way for the next 20 years.<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 9, 2026 at 5:30 AM.<\/p>\n Mac Engel<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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