Column: Gossip aside, golf world needs Tiger

What if Tiger Woods used human growth hormone (HGH) to improve his golf game? On Dec. 15, The New York Times revealed that a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation into the Canadian doctor Anthony Galea is underway. Dr. Galea has treated numerous professional and amateur athletes, including the swimmer Dara Torres and Tiger Woods.Galea’s assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, was caught driving across the Canadian border with fewer than two dozen vials and 76 ampoules of unknown, misbranded drugs, including HGH, and several syringes.

Dr. Galea flew down to Tiger’s residence in Florida to administer a treatment known as blood-spinning to Tiger’s knee last year and has also been linked to the controversial drug Actovegin, which contains large amounts of calf’s blood. Dr. Galea, who is suspected of providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), will appear in a Canadian court on Friday to face charges, according to ESPN’s website.

It is unnecessary to say that this is unfortunate timing for Tiger Woods. Tiger has not been implicated in the case nor charged with using PEDs. Furthermore, there would be no way to prove it, and Tiger would never admit to using an illegal performance-enhancing treatment. But what if he did?

Tiger has lost our trust. At 22 years old, I can’t remember golf before Tiger Woods. I vividly remember watching the young hotshot from Stanford leapfrog the field to a 12-shot victory in 1997 at Augusta. Interesting detail that is important later: Tiger was awarded less than $500,000 for winning his first Masters.

The country fell in love with Tiger’s pizzazz and competitive focus. He possessed the ability to forget pressure and sink the incredible putt, drill the perfect drive or chip a ball out of the woods and miraculously land it within five feet of the pin.

I fell in love with golf watching Tiger. My father and I grew closer watching Tiger play, trying to emulate his relationship with his father and their skill on the golf course. I used the products Tiger advertised. I mean, why would I use a Top Flite ball, when Tiger uses a Nike? Tiger, his play and his advertising campaign had painted a perfect image. Tiger sold the PGA, sold brands and sold the Tiger image. To show how much the golf world has changed since Tiger, the winner of this year’s Masters, Angel Cabrera, took home $1,350,000.

When the news of Tiger’s accident broke, his perfect image died between the headlights in his neighbor’s tree. Since Thanksgiving, we have heard of more than two dozen affairs he supposedly had. (I’m not going to write the current number because I am sure there will be at least two more between now and when this prints.) Tiger reportedly paid the women tens of thousands of dollars to keep quiet. Furthermore, he has been called a “player” whenever he goes out to bars and is supposedly rude to women. I didn’t believe this last one when I first heard it. I don’t know if you ever watched, but Tiger has attended several Stanford basketball games over the past decades. Tiger sits in the student section, the Sixth Man, and looks like a goofy nerd. But I guess he turns into a “pimp” when the cameras are not around.

Tiger announced last week that he was taking a break from golf to focus on his marriage and family. This was the correct move for Tiger to repair the damage that he has done, and it looks good for the rebuilding process of his moral image. But before and after Tiger’s statement, he lost several of his sponsors, including Gillette. I guess Tiger no longer projects the smooth image that Gillette wants its consumers to think about when selecting a razor.

Now the Dr. Galea investigation is introduced as a tangent to the Tiger Woods Holiday Extravaganza. I don’t think Tiger used any PEDs, and Tiger’s image-builders quickly defended their client. Honestly, he didn’t even win a major after his knee injury, so it’s not like it improved his play. But the connection to Doctor Galea is enough to raise an eyebrow and think about the scenario for a second. What if Tiger Woods had been using a performance enhancer throughout his career? What if Tiger’s fist pump involved a bicep injected with steroids? What if not only Tiger’s social image were in shambles, but if his successful career were tarnished like the careers of Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens or Mark McGwire?

It would be disastrous for the game of golf. Tiger created the golf world as we know it today. Jack Nicklaus built the foundations, but Tiger constructed the beautiful skyscraper that rests on those foundations. He is golf. The golf world needs him. The marriage debacle will cost the PGA money, but if Tiger were connected to PEDs, the sport of golf would lose much more than money. The PGA office is struggling right now to figure out ways to sell tickets until Tiger returns. Tiger brings people to the golf course. Tiger makes people sit on their couches on Sunday mornings. Tiger made golf exciting.

Tiger will come back. Tiger will win many more majors. Tiger will surpass Jack Nicklaus’ 20 major victories, but do we want him to break Nicklaus’ record now? The answer to that question used to be an unequivocal yes. But will this past month’s events have a “Barry Bonds effect” on Tiger? After information came out about Barry using steroids, no one outside of the San Francisco Bay Area wanted Barry to surpass Hank Aaron’s record. Will Tiger’s poor moral decisions and an unlikely but possible link to PEDs make him an enemy?

You probably will respond, “Yes.” But just wait until Tiger heads out onto the golf course at Augusta, down by five strokes going into Sunday, and fist pumps his way to another Green Jacket in a mind-boggling manner. You will love him again. Not for his role-model behavior, but because he is the best at what he does. Golf.